Compare And Summary: Works Of Salvation In The Gospels

because of the salvation they hope to receive. The first category, “works of merit,” are those whose purpose is to somehow earn the right to salvation via good deeds, fasting, public prayer, or flagellation, which were common practices in the early church whose purpose was to prove their holiness and righteousness to men. These works are condemned, and do not result in grace, as Campbellists would claim, pointing back to Ephesians 2. Dr. Harding draws a parallel between baptism, which saves men from judgement for sin, and the brazen snake found in Numbers 21. The Israelites were inflicted with a serious infestation of snakes in the wilderness, and countless Israelites were bitten by these poisonous snakes. However, Moses was told to fashion a brazen serpent to a stick that all who believe and look would be saved from the bites. Salvation was gifted to the Israelites through the gift of the brazen snake, but action was still required of the afflicted. They still had to look. So, with Christian

Here in Luke 23:43, Jesus tells a sinner, condemned to death alongside Him that, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” This sinner does not fit the criteria of a saved man under Campbellistic rule. Sure, he may fit the criteria of faith, and he may have a glimpse of repentance in his heart. He even confesses the fact that Jesus is innocent and different from the other criminals there. But, there is no evidence to support the fourth step to salvation outlined earlier, baptism. How could a man hanging on the cross to be crucified by Roman government be immersed in water for the remission of his sins? Clearly baptism was not a possibility here. So, was Jesus a liar? No. “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” (NIV,1 Peter