salvation

We believe the directive to repent, be baptised, and receive the Holy Spirit

Peter the Apostle told the crowd clearly what must be done. In the Bible he specified the response they should have to their newly-found knowledge that Jesus had died for them and was risen from the dead.

He told them to “…repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:38).

repent

To repent is to think again. To reconsider; to change your mind. Accept that Jesus died on your behalf and recognise His love for you. Determine that, no matter what others think, you will do what He requires.

Many people never get to this point. They don’t take a moment to consider: what if there is a God? What if His Son really did die for me? What should I do about that? And some don’t get past this point – but there is a definite next step.

be baptised

Baptism means to be fully immersed in water. This is a step of faith. It is the result of your “good conscience” towards God (you wanting to do what is right). Paul the Apostle likens baptism to a symbolic burial of our old life; and our coming up out of the water as symbolic of us rising from the ‘dead’, into our new life. Jesus was baptised.

Christening is not baptism. All baptisms in the Bible were by full immersion in water. No babies were baptised in the Bible – baptism is for people old enough to make up their own minds.

You can be baptised at a Revival Centres meeting.

receive the Holy Spirit

The Bible (Acts 2) tells us that it is Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, when people received the Holy Spirit they spoke in new tongues (languages they had not learned). It was this that drew the crowd to whom Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is something definite and unmistakable. Nothing has changed since the Holy Spirit was first poured out. As happened on the day of Pentecost, you too will speak in tongues. This supernatural experience is God’s personal confirmation for you. The tiny spark of belief (and hope) you had at repentance is now overwhelmingly strengthened as you receive your personal “Pentecost”.

why do I have to be saved?

Salvation means ‘rescue’. In our unsaved state we are drowning, but maybe don’t recognise it. We learn to accept that we will die one day, and many of us just hope for the best about what comes next. But the answer is already before us. Accept God’s rescue now – not just for a future life, but for a blessed life now.