Beyond Belief
A study of salvation

Welcome to Beyond Belief: A Biblical Study of Salvation. This study is simply an honest, open-minded look at what the scriptures say about salvation. This study is not designed to degrade any experience or relationship you may have with Jesus Christ. Many of you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and have given your heart to Him. No doubt, that was the most important decision of your life. God always responds when we make a sincere effort to draw closer to Him. The point of this study is simple. Was your salvation journey complete when you committed your life to Jesus Christ, or was it just the beginning? The road of religion takes us down many different paths, but this study is not about religion. If you disagree with this study, it has only cost you a few minutes of your time, but if you see where God has more for you, then your time will be well-invested.

Understand, man has taken the Bible and confused its simple message. By incorrectly dividing God’s Word, and placing emphasis on certain scriptures while de-emphasizing others, man has made this road map say many different things. Although the Bible contains many mysteries, and somethings we may never fully understand, the way of salvation is very clear. As you will see when we walk through the scriptures in chronological order, only one message of salvation is possible.

This study is an opportunity to look at what the scripture has to say about salvation. Open your mind and your heart as we study the teachings of Christ and then follow the actions of the disciples after His ascension.

Personal Responsibility

When it comes to our salvation, the Bible has squarely placed the responsibility upon each individual. Second Peter 1:10 says “give diligence” to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things ye shall never fall.” Whether you agree or disagree with this study, by taking the time to read this, you are giving diligence to the greatest need in your life, and that is your salvation.

Philippians 2:12 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We, as individuals, must lay aside any denominational bias and personal preconceptions and study the Word of God with an open mind, and work out our salvation with the understanding that it is the single most important thing we will ever do in our lives.

I dare say most of us have never taken our salvation assurance to this level. Many of us have simply accepted what we have been taught and have never objectively explored the scriptures for ourselves. Others of us may have joined a church because we liked the pastor, enjoyed what we felt, and been encouraged by what we heard. Thus, we simply accepted what was presented as the plan of salvation. The problem is the Bible doesn’t teach us to accept whatever we are taught or to embrace whatever feels good or sounds good. Proverbs tells us there is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (16:25). We must make certain our salvation is completely scriptural and not just what seems right or feels good. Although it is not “religiously correct” to say it, the Bible teaches that narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14).

There is something about this salvation journey that takes us off the broad road and puts us on a narrow path. We cannot follow the crowd or worry about what others may do. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We must give diligence to the greatest calling in our lives, which is to know we are saved according to His Word.

A Plan

First, we must understand God has always had a plan. His plan has always been very specific. He has never offered multiple ways to get to Him. We can go all the way back to the beginning of His Word to understand this. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Cain was a farmer, and as a farmer, he brought the fruit of the ground as a sacrifice. Cain was bringing something that was important to him and something he had worked to produce. Yet, God rejected it because it was not according to His divine plan. To our human reasoning, what Cain brought should have sufficed, but it was not what God had required. We must understand, we cannot rely on what seems right and what makes sense to us, since that would change with each individual. We must rely totally on what has never changed, and that is the Word of God.

When God told Noah He would destroy the world, He gave him exact specifications on how he was to build the ark. God did not offer Noah a general concept, but instead have very specific and detailed instructions.

When we study the Tabernacle Plan in the Old Testament, we find there was a certain order and specific directions for what the priest must do in order for sins to be forgiven. The priest could not alter this in any way and live. He had to follow the specific and detailed plan as it was laid out for him by God.

The Bible clearly tells us He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We have not arrived at this dispensation to find that, all of a sudden, God is offering us a buffet line of whatever we choose for our salvation. God still has a very clear and specific plan.

Foundation

Everything that endures is built on a solid foundation. The foundation we will use for this study are the very scriptures that teach us how to study the Word of God.

16 ALL scripture is given by
inspiration of God and is profitable
for Doctrine….
II Timothy 3:16

If we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and if we are to make our calling and election sure, we must first be certain that we take all scriptures related to salvation and doctrine. We cannot pick and choose only the scriptures we are familiar with or select just the ones that fall within our comfort zone and still be assured of our salvation. Thus, the first step in an objective study of salvation is to take all scripture. The second step is that we must rightly divide the Word.

15 Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
II Timothy 2:15

In the above scripture, Paul was instructing Timothy on the importance of correctly dividing the Word. Since Paul spoke of a right way to divide the Word, there must, obviously, be a wrong way. Therefore, in order to rightly divide the Word, let’s explore what the Bible says about salvation one book at a time and with an awareness of the chronological order in which the events of the New Testament occurred.