The difficulty and controversy in this age old question stems from a number of things but very plainly, is rooted in a lack of knowledge and misunderstanding of the Word of God. God made Biblical salvation simple enough that even children can be saved (Matthew 18:3, Luke 18:16). Religion over time, has complicated the means of salvation and introduced man-made ideology into its precepts. There are many religions in the world and many viewpoints and opinions to what each of them teach. The obvious question then becomes, “which of them is right?”.

To oversimplify this seemingly complex question, I would submit to you that every ideology in the world surrounding salvation can be boiled down into just two categories. And of the two; only one of them is Biblically sound. Not only that, but all of the religions in world (except for one) is in one category and the other is in a category all in its own. These two categories are faith-based salvation and works-based salvation. Those who believe in a works-based salvation have a list of do’s and dont’s that you must achieve in order to hopefully make it, and they say that you can never know for sure if you’ve made, it until you die.

Faith-based salvation that the Bible produces and which we teach, puts the focus on the Saviour rather than on the sinner. It is only up to us to first believe in the finished work of Christ’s death on the cross, repent and ask for forgiveness (Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5). The plan of salvation then, is 1) believe by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), 2) accept the sacrifice of His Son as full payment for your sins (1 John 4:10) then 3) repent of your life of sin (Acts 20:21), come to Him as you are (Matthew 11:28) and allow Him to change you through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 2:13-14) and lastly 4) simply call out in prayer to God and ask for forgiveness (John 6:37, Hebrews 11:6, Romans 10:10). Baptism or church membership is not a requirement for salvation.