There is a lot written about salvation in scripture. It is that salvational core of the Bible that is especially detailed from Acts to Revelation.
Jesus' last recorded words just before He ascended back in Heaven are found in Mark 16:15-16...
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16)
That salvation condition is established by Jesus Himself and begins a large body of supporting writing from Acts to Revelation of its purpose, ins and outs, beginning to end.
He who believes the preached gospel AND is baptized shall be saved. Anyone who does not fit that condition is condemned. Belief is not completed until the baptism condition is completed.
The saving gospel that Jesus wanted preached is found in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4...
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
The first gospel sermon is preached a short time after Jesus resurrection in Acts 2 where many of the festival goers are accused of murdering Jesus of Nazareth, the resurrected Messiah. In verse 2:36 they want to know where they go from there and Peter tells them in verse 2:38...
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
They believed and Peter directed them to be baptized "for the remission of sins." This connects back to Jesus' original words, " but he who does not believe will be condemned?"
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2nd Thessalonians 1:7-8)
"And on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" And how does one obey the death, burial, and resurrection saving, sustaining gospel? One can go to the cross, one can be buried, but one will not be resurrected on the third day.
The apostle Paul writes there is no condemnation who are in Christ...
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
How does one get into Christ?
To escape condemnation in Christ one must be baptized into Christ Jesus and the Bible comes back to its salvational core, Mark 16:15-16.
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16)
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