In another blog I discuss the words will be saved in most English translations of Acts 15:11. I suggested that was a bad translation of that verse.
However, there are four verses that refer to a future salvation—in the sense of regeneration—that are accurate translations. We will consider them in this blog.
Mark 16:16. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” There are two main ways to understand this. Both understand the future “will be saved” to refer to something that occurs in this life when someone believes and is baptized.
One option is that the Lord was saying that when one believes and is baptized, he is then saved (i.e., given everlasting life). That view is impossible considering the scores of faith-alone verses in John’s Gospel and the rest of the Bible.
The second option is that the salvation here has a broader meaning than that of being born again. This is supported by the fact that the second half of the verse does not mention a failure to be baptized. It just says that “he who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16b says that the basis of deliverance from eternal condemnation is believing in Christ, plus nothing. The broader salvation in 16a refers to the experience of RIBS: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit, Indwelling by the Holy Spirit, Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, and Sealing by the Holy Spirit. In the early chapters of Acts, people were regenerated and sealed the moment they believed in Christ, but they had to repent and be baptized in order to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and to experience Spirit baptism into the Body of Christ (e.g., Acts 2:38; 22:16). See this journal article on Acts 2:38 and this journal article on Acts 22:16.
You can listen to a 13-minute podcast on Mark 16:16 here and read this article on salvation in the book of Acts for more details.
John 10:9. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” This is straightforward. When one believes in Jesus, he is saved then, not at the end of the age.
Acts 11:14. “Peter…will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.” When Peter preached to Cornelius and his household, they believed and were born again (Acts 10:43-48). The salvation occurred when they believed.
Acts 16:31. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Paul and Silas then “spoke the word of the Lord to him [the Philippian jailer] and to all who were in his house” (Acts 16:32). Luke reports that the jailer “rejoiced, having believed in God with his whole household.” They were regenerated when they believed.
Keep grace in focus and you’ll not lose sight of the fact that everlasting life is a gift received the very moment we believe in Christ. It is not something we will receive after this life is over.
