Salvation

We believe salvation is a free gift offered to all people by the grace of God and accepted through faith in Christ Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for sin. It is not a result of human efforts or good works. We believe that baptism, commanded by Jesus for those who would accept his salvation, is the immersion of an individual in water. It is an act of obedience expressing the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ, the crucified, buried and risen Savior. It is at baptism that Jesus’ atoning blood is applied to us, since we are “baptized into his death”. It is, therefore, the moment of the believer’s death to sin: the burial of his old life and his resurrection to walk in a new life in Jesus Christ. At baptism we not only receive the forgiveness of sins, but also the gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in each Christian. Salvation assures the faithful Christian that he will live eternally with God in heaven (Ephesians 2:89; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:47; 1 John 5:1112; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12, 3538; Colossians 2:12; Mark 16:16;, 1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:34).