God Has Done His Part
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ Has Done His Part
Colossians 1:13-14 – “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins;”
Acts 20:28 – “…the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
The Gospel Is the Power To Save
Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
James 1:21 – “…receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Man Is Invited
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Revelation 22:17 – “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Some Things Man Must Do
Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Matthew 7:24-25 – “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.”
Believe the Gospel – Faith in God and Christ
Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
John 20:30-31 – “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Repent of Your Sins
Luke 13:3 – “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Acts 17:30 – “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”
Acts 3:19 – “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Confess Christ as the Son of God
Matthew 10:32-33 – “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Romans 10:9-10 – “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Acts 8:37 – “…If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.”
Be Baptized for the Remission of Past Sins
Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Mark 16:16 – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Acts 22:16 – “And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:21 – “…baptism doth also now save us…”
At Baptism, the Lord Adds One to the Church
Acts 2:47 – “…the Lord added to the church daily…”
As a Christian, We Must Live Faithful
Revelation 2:10 – “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Matthew 10:22 – “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “…be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Salvation Involves More Than…
Being Religious
Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Being Honest/Sincere
Acts 23:1 – “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
Proverbs 16:25 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Being Good (Morally, Neighbor, Citizen, etc.)
Acts 10:1-6 – “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always…Peter…shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”
Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”.
Hebrews 5:8-9 – “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”
Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
If You Refuse to Obey God, You Will Be Lost
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
To Be Saved, You MUST Obey God
This is a great summary! Please note the simple answer to the objection raised (most pastors know but it doesn't get explained well).
Doing good is absolutely necessary, but also absolutely impossible unless God is doing the good work alongside man, namely, saving him.
Error on one side: Antinomianism, meaning God did his work so man need do nothing.
Error on other side: Legalism, meaning man must do his work but God need do nothing to help.
Part of the work we are asked to do includes building a network on unity and truth and not fighting over nonessential details. "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all." Ecclesiastes 7:16-18. If you've followed Q you'll see an incredible amount of OT/Hebrew confirms and matching timestamps of the NT/Greek truths.
Antinomianism fails because God works using flawed sinners as the instrument. Not working means not letting God work.
Legalism fails because it is supplanting man's fallible desires for God's ultimate truth. You follow God's Law but you will also have fallible desires that may need to be curbed.
Of the two, legalism is the more insidious. Antinomianism is obvious. Legalism is sneaky. Think about the Original Sin itself. Notice that as she was deceived Eve added an additional part to God's "if you eat of that fruit you shall surely die," namely the part about "do not touch." Where did that come from? It's the insidious nature of Legalism to "add more" to what is really being said.