THE
SEVEN STEPS OF SALVATION

(From “The Seven Steps of Salvation by Simeon Young Jr. and Simeon Young Sr. click HERE to purchase.)

The
Means of
Grace

Suppose
a
man who cannot swim falls overboard. Suppose his friend in
the boat throws him a lifeline and pulls him to safety.

Who
or what saved the drowning man? His friend? The lifeline? The life
preserver? The boat? Or did the man save himself? The answer, of
course, is that his friend saved him, the lifeline, and the life
preserver, and the boat saved him. He also saved himself.

This
simple
parable helps us to understand that it is as foolish to say that we are
saved by grace alone as it would be for the
drowning man to claim that any one of the above
means saved him without other intervention.

The
Bible
certainly does teach that we are saved by grace. But it also
teaches that God uses means. These means are
called by theologians, the “means of grace.”

This
booklet lists seven of God’s chosen “means of grace,” and is intended
to be a quick reference and teaching tool. On these pages we
have
compiled pertinent portions of the pure Word of God to show how God
saves us by His grace.

When
the
truth of salvation by grace is better understood, the doctrine of easy
believism loses its siren appeal.

–Simeon Young, Sr.

The
Significance of Seven

The
number
seven was sacred for the ancient Jews and played a prominent role in
their religious life.

The
children of Israel obeyed God’s command to march around the city of
Jericho once each day for six days and the seventh day they walked
around Jericho seven times. At the sound of the trumpet, when they
shouted a great shout, the city walls crumbled. (Joshua 6:4.)

Elisha
send his messenger/servant to Naaman the leper, captain of the Syrian
army, to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan river. He
obeyed
and was he was healed. (II Kings 5:10.)

The
Word of
God declares, “And
on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed
the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested
from all His work” (Genesis 2:2-3).

The
number seven indicates perfection and symbolizes completeness or
wholeness. In this Bible study we show the necessity of these
basic
seven progressive steps of salvation. Without all of the
seven steps
there is no salvation.

–Simeon Young, Jr

Step
1

Saved by Grace

Definition
of Grace:

1.
The unmerited love and favor of God;

2.
A state of reconciliation with God

Someone demonstrated that the letters of
the word grace suggest the acrostic:

• Great
  
• Redemption
  
• At
  
• Christ’s
  
• Expense

Romans
3:23,24:

“…all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus…”

Titus
2:11:

“…for
the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared unto all men…”

Ephesians
2:5:

“…even
when we were dead in sins, hath [He] quickened us together with Christ;
for by grace ye are saved.”

We
can not be saved without the grace of God. The unmerited favor of God
gives us the privilege of being saved, but we are not saved by grace
alone and apart from God’s chosen means.

Ephesians
2:8

“For
by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

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Step
2

Saved by Faith

Definition
of Faith:

1.
Confidence or trust;

2.
Spiritual acceptance of truth;

3.
Belief in God.

Ephesians
2:8:

“…by
grace are ye saved through faith.”

1
Peter 1:9:

“…receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls.”

To
be saved we must have faith in God.

Hebrews
11:6:

“…without
faith it is impossible to please
him:
for he that cometh to God must believethat he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Mark
11:6

“…he
that believeth not shall be damned.”

James
2:19-20

“Thou
believest
that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also
believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead?”

When
someone says, “I believe,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are
saved, because devils also believe. Devils are definitely not saved.
There is more to salvation than saying, “I believe in God.”

Romans
10:10

“…with
the heart of man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confessionis made unto salvation.”

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Step
3

Saved by Confession

Definition
of Confession:

1.
To disclose sins or faults to God;

2.
To unburden the conscience;

3.
To acknowledge guilt, wrong-doing or sinfulness;

4.
To admit to unbecoming deeds.

Romans
10:10

“…with
the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.”

Someone
said, “Confession is good for the soul.”

Make
a list of things in your life that you know displease God.
\

[Note:
This information is not recorded!

These boxes are only here to assist you in completing the Bible study.]

1
John 1:9:

“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”

James
5:16

“Confess
your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be
healed.”

Confession
involves transparency and honesty.

Proverbs
28:13:

“He
that
covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

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Step
4

Saved by Repentance

Definition
of Repentance:

1.
To change one’s mind;

2.
To turn around;

3.
To forsake sins;

4.
To make an about face.

Proverbs
28:13

“…whoso
confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall
have mercy.”

It is not enough to merely confess our
sins. We must turn from sin to be saved.

II
Corinthians 7:10:

“For
godly
sorrow worketh repentance unto
salvation…”

Luke
13:3

“…except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

II
Peter 3:9:

“The
Lord
is not…willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Repentance
is more than being sorry for one’s sins. It involves a
lifestyle-mindset adjustment. It is exciting to turn away from the old
life of sin and condemnation!

We
must not stop here.

Acts
2:38:

“Then
Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptizedeveryone of you…”

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Step
5

Saved by Baptism

Definition
of Baptism:

1.
To dip, plunge, or submerge;

2.
A religious ceremony signifying spiritual purification by immersion in
water.

1
Peter 3:21:

“…baptismdoth also now save us…”

Mark
16:16:

“He
that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved…”

Acts
8:16:

“…they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts
10:48:

“…he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

Acts
22:16:

“…and
why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins,
calling on the name of the Lord.”

Acts
10:43:

“…through
His name whosoever believeth on
Him
shall receive remission of sins.”

Luke
24:47:

“…remission
of sins should be preached in His name…”

Acts
2:38:

“Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

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Step
6

Saved by the Holy Ghost

Jesus
said to Nicodemus, “…Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How
can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4). Jesus said to
Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

Romans
8:9

“…if
any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of His.”

Romans
8:14:

“…as many as
are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.”

How
do I know if I have received the Spirit of God? What is the initial
physical evidence? Read about the new birth experience in Acts 2:1-4.

Acts
10:44-46

“While
Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles
also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them
speak with tongues, and magnify God…”

Acts
19:1-6

“And
it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed
through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain
disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether
there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye
baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John
verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,
that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is,
on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy
Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

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Step
7

Saved by Endurance

Definition
of Endurance:

1.
The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship;

2.
The state or fact of persevering;

3.
Continuing existence; duration.

The
writer of Hebrews referred to the Christian life as a race.

Hebrews
12:1

“…let
us
run with patience the race that is set before us…”

To
finish the Christian race we must keep running and enduring.

It is not
enough to begin this race by having faith, confessing sins, forsaking
sins, being baptized in Jesus’ name and receiving the Holy
Ghost. We
continue on with the Lord.

Matthew
10:22:

“…he
that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew
24:13:

…he
that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved.”

2
Timothy 2:3:

“…endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews
12:7:

“If
ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons…”

James
1:12:

“Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation: for
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.”

Conclusion

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed

to
the things which we have heard, lest at any time

we
should let them slip. For if the Word spoken by

angels
was stedfast, and every transgression and

disobedience
received a just recompence of reward;

how
shall we escape if we neglect so

great salvation…?“

Hebrews
2:1-3

All
scripture references are from the KJV.

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