Moreno Valley Church of Christ
God's Plan of Salvation
The greatest gift our Lord gave us through His sacrifice of life, is the gift of
Salvation.  Through the grace of God, He has opened a doorway to us, that will
help us to reach his mercy, even though we do not deserve it.  But how do we
obtain this gift of passage?  

First, we must recognize the authority and power of God.

  • "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which
    judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  
    For I have not spoken on My authority; but the Father who sent Me gave
    Me a command, what should say and what I should speak."  John 12:48, 49
  • "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
    for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of
    God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."   II
    Timothy 3:16, 17

Second, we must accept the fact that we are currently lost.  This world has
corrupted the ideas and lessons of God.  It has created a smoke-screen that has
blinded us to righteousness.  We must accept the guilt of sin and seek to change
our ways.  And once have accepted out guilt, we must repent of our sins to God.

  • "As it is written:  There is non righteous, no, not one;"  Romans 3:10
  • "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23
  • "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." I
    John 3:4
  • "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  Luke
    13:3
  • "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all
    men everywhere to repent,"  Acts 17:30

Third, we must "hear" God's word. By this, it means to listen and search for
understanding.  God has given the word to the world so that we may have a
direct path to Him.  We must be ready to confess Him to the world.  We can no
longer deny Christ or the life that He gave for us.

  • "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day
    about three thousand souls were added to them."  Acts 2:41
  • "and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
    glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:11
  • "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.  For with
    the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
    is made unto salvation."  Romans 10:9, 10

Fourth, we must believe that all we have learned about Christ is the truth. We
must believe that He died for us, that He was buried, and raised back from the
dead for the remission of our sins.  And we must believe that He is the Son of
God, who is now sitting at His right hand in heaven.

  • "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
    whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  
    John 3:16
  • "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
    still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8
  • "But we see Jesus...that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for
    every man." Hebrews 2:9
  • "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
    authorities and powers being made subject unto him."   I Peter 3:22

Lastly, we must obey the Laws of Christ.  Our dedication to Christ is proven by
our obedience to Him.  We must chose a life of loyalty and perseverance.  We are
commanded to be baptized for the remission of our sins and to receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.  It is the doorway that opens up the path to God.  

  • "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
    and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  John 3:5
  • "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have
    received the Holy Spirit just as we have?  And He commanded them to be
    baptized in the name of the Lord.  Then they asked him to stay a few
    days."  Acts 10:47, 48
  • "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in
    the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; and you shall
    receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38
  • "For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many
    of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ."  Galatians 3:
    26, 27

There is a process to Salvation, just as there is a process to baking a cake.  If you
try to skip a step when baking a cake, or leave out certain ingredients, then you
are not going to have a good cake.  You must follow the directions to insure
success.  The same is true with your walk with God.  Don't skip steps or try to
leave out the parts that you don't want.  Christ has given us a chance for
salvation through Him.  Let's do what must be done for Success in Heaven.

  1.       Hear
  2.       Repent
  3.       Believe
  4.       Confess
  5.       Obey through Baptism
  6.       Walk the walk designated as Christians.  Full of Love, compassion,
    faith, hope, joy and devotion.