I believe, therefore I’m saved

           Some denominations teach that in order to be saved, all one must do is believe. Verses like Acts 16:31“So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” and Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” can certainly be convincing until you examine these verses, and take into consideration the Bible as a whole.

            Firstly, to “believe” means so much more than to just have faith in Jesus. If I told you that your house was going to burn up, and unless you believed me got out in the next minute you would burn up with it too, and you believed me, would you not act on those beliefs? Would you simply say “Okay, I believe you so I’m safe”?  No– of course you wouldn’t! If you believed me, and accepted what I said (Which according to some doctrine is all you have to do; believe and accept Jesus into your heart and you will be saved) then you would have listened to me when I gave you the command to leave! There is more to the word “belief” than some think.
          Now, that being said, let’s take a look at what the Bible says about becoming saved:

 

1.     Before you can believe something, you’ve got to know what it is you’re claiming to believe; you’ve first got to hear it (Romans 10:13-17, John 6:45, Revelation 1:3)!

2.     Once you’ve heard, you then have to believe or else “hearing” means nothing! You cannot believe something you do not even know exists. (John 2:30-31, Acts 16:31, Hebrews 11:6)

3.     This is where you act on your belief that you’ve gained after hearing. Once you’ve heard and then believed, you must repent (which really is getting your mind ready to become a Christian. There is a reason this comes before baptism, and that is because you’ve got to think like a Christian). If you truly do believe what you’ve heard, you would repent (or change your way of thinking) willingly. You would feel exactly like they Jews did in Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart…”

4.     After you believe and repent you must confess your belief. (Matthew 10:32-33, Romans 10:9-10)

5.      After you’ve confessed that Christ is the Savior, you are then ready to become a Christian being “…born of water…” (John 3:5) and therefore baptized (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16)

6.     Contrary to popular belief, once you are baptized and have become a Christian being added to The Lords church through baptism (Acts 2:41), you must continue to live a Godly life. You know, the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) talks about how the church will encounter rapid growth and will be spread throughout the world, but I believe the same principal should be applied to your spiritual growth. The reason I say that is this: We, as members, are the church. In order for “the church” to grow, we must grow ourselves. (Titus 2:11-14, 2 Peter 1:5-11, Romans 12:1-2)

As we can see from very clear Bible passages, there are more steps to ultimately becoming saved than just believing. Believing alone is merely the basis of becoming a Christian, or being saved. The Bible clearly and repetitively teaches that you must build upon your belief, fulfilling the required “steps of salvation” (which I have listed) found throughout the New Testament.

 

 

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(*Note: There could be more refute to this false teaching than I have covered. However, there are masses of sound articles concerning this topic all over the internet)