When I was younger I was taught something called "the five steps to salvation." While recently attending a lectureship I was given a card by another preacher and on the back of the card was listed "The Five Steps to Salvation" including Scripture. I see it listed in bulletins and written in articles. I have spoken about this where I preach.
Where did this five step idea come from? Are you really aware? On November 18, 1827, a preacher by the name of Walter Scott, presented a sermon which described the gospel in six points. Three responses were from man and three from God. (1) Faith in God's Messiah. (2) Repentance toward God. (3) Baptism in Jesus name. (4) Remission of sins - God's gift. (5) Gift of the Holy Spirit - God's gift. (6) Eternal life - God's gift. Later he revised his teaching to five points, so they could be remembered using the fingers on one hand. Scott not only insisted these five steps, but they must be in the right order. Debates took place in the late 1800's and early 1900's and by the 1930's the five points of Scott's gospel plan was turned into something called "The Five Steps to Salvation." The points were: (1) hear (2) believe (3) repent (4) confess (5) be baptized. Later there was added a sixth "Christian life." To keep it with 5 steps some dropped the "hear" part so they could include the sixth into the five steps. Many have accepted this as doctrine.
I know many still hold to these today and I'm not trying to attack anyone. We need to reexamine things to see where they came from and is it something we need to be promoting as gospel? These "steps" can be easily turned into something man does. They become an end rather than a growth process. Each step can easily become a check off list and you've arrived. But if we're honest with Scripture, I never hear anything like this tied to the gospel teaching by the apostles of Jesus. I do understand that faith, repentance, and the like are present, but they are not steps. Faith is always ongoing. It isn't a step in my life. Repentance and confession are also ongoing. When these "steps" are given for our salvation, it's almost as if we are saving ourselves by taking each step. It becomes a check list and we check them off, as accomplished. A step is something you stand on and then move to another. When we speak of confession in Scripture, it wasn't a one time confession at our baptism. It is an ongoing confession in our lives. The only one time response is baptism and that too is a response of faith, not a step of accomplishment. Our faith and trust are in Jesus Christ, not in steps. Please understand I'm not trying to trample on someones faith. I'm trying to get us to see that "the five steps to salvation" came as a result of a man's sermon and somewhere was adopted as doctrine. It's defended as if it was taught by the apostles themselves. It is true you find these things in scripture, but they were never laid out as "steps."
Over the years I've known so many respond to such "steps." These steps have carved out a theology in the mind of many rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings people into gaining "the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thesssalonians 2:14) It has created a work system rather than faith in the work of Jesus, on our behalf. It has created an arrival, a completion, rather than a new birth by God. I pray you will take some time and think about these things. We need to be better disciples and sincere followers of God's truth as revealed through His Scripture. It's all Jesus and Him crucified and nothing else!
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