Who's In? God knows.

God has a redemptive story. We must understand it for ourselves, and so that we can accurately and effectively share it with those who need it. According to scripture it includes the truths:

1. Humans need salvation.
2. God wants to save.
3. God can save however he wants, whenever he wants, whoever he wants.
4. God has chosen to save through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ.
5. God has directed people forward in faith and backwards in faith towards this sacrifice.
6. God has used different faith pictures and terms to explain this salvation at different episodes in history:

• Adam and Eve through Noah – faith in God shown through sacrificing animals
• Abraham through Joseph – faith in God shown through sacrificing animals and nation building
• Moses through prophets – faith in God shown through sacrificing animals and law keeping
• Jesus through today – faith in the sacrifice of Jesus

7. Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels represent a unique episode, where He could offer his salvation to people however he chose.
8. From Acts forward, salvation is explained to people, Jews and Gentiles, in terms of repentance, belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

So what message do I give for salvation? I understand that God can save however he wishes. But, as Robert Coleman states in Master’s Plan of Evangelism, whether or not God wants to save in different ways is not my concern: I have only been given one message for salvation – Jesus Christ.

Details:

Here are the ways in which salvation was offered to people in the book of Acts. On a side note: the “kingdom of God”, which figures prominently in Jesus preaching, is barely discussed in Acts, only mentioned 6 times by the apostles when teaching.

2:38 – Peter, to Jews: “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus”

3:19 – Peter, to Jews: “repent and turn to God”

4:12 – Peter, to Jews: “salvation is found in no on else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved”

5:42 – apostles, to Jews: proclaimed the good news that Jesus is the Messiah

8:12 – Philip, to Samaritans: proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ

8:25 – Peter, to Samaritans: preached the gospel

8:35 – Philip, to Ethiopian: the good news about Jesus Christ

9:5 – Jesus, to Paul: “who are you Lord?” “I am Jesus”

9:20 – Paul, to Jews: Jesus is the Son of God

10:36-43 – Peter, to Cornelius: death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name”

13:26-38 – Paul to Jews and Gentiles: “through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you”

14:15 – Paul to Gentiles: “we are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God”

16:31 – Paul to Gentile: “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved – you and your household”

17:3 – Paul to Jews: “the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah’”

17:30 – Paul to Gentiles: “God commands all people everywhere to repent”

20:21 – Paul to elders: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus”

24:24 – Paul to Felix: faith in Christ Jesus

26:20 – Paul to Agrippa: “I preached that they should repent and turn to God”

28:23 – Paul to Romans: kingdom of God and Jesus