Five Salvatioon Steps
July 14th, 2008At one point during the early days of the American Restoration Movement, the whole effort almost came to an end. Momentum for the concept of the unity of believers virtually stopped. Had it not been for Walter Scott, the Movement would have died.
Scott, as other preachers of the day, held “protracted meetings” (or Gospel Meetings). He would go to schoolyards and tell the children about the “Five Steps of Salvation” using the fingers on his hand. Then he sent them home to tell their parents. As a result of this simple memory technique, many people changed from their previous denominational allegiances to unite as “Christians only.”
Scott’s five steps were:
- Faith
- Repentance
- Baptism
- Remission of Sins
- Holy Spirit & Eternal Life
Over Time, these steps have changed to:
- Hear (Rom. 10:14-17)
- Believe (Mark 16:16)
- Repent (Acts 2:38)
- Confess (Matt. 10:32-33)
- Be Baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21)
And some like to add… - Live faithfully until death
One way to look at the steps is to see them as our efforts to earn or gain salvation and appease an angry God. Another way is to see the steps as the process by which God saves us and creates a loving relationship with us through Jesus. One puts the emphasis on US, the other on God.
Remember - The “Steps” are not an end in themselves. They are the beginning of our relationship with God. He does not plan for us to go through the “steps” and just endure life until we get to heaven. He intends that we have abundant life now as well as forever.
Keep The Light Burning!
Perry Greene
