How to Be Saved, Pentecost and Beyond

By Joe Gladwell

In accomplishing any truly worthwhile goal, approximately half the battle, in terms of getting there, is the strategy one employs. This is true, not only for goals of this life but also for the ultimate goal, which is clearly heaven. In this, Joe Gladwell's third published book, it is soundly proven that there is a truly specific roadmap to heaven, as revealed in the Scriptures themselves, and contrary to popular belief, this strategy employs not one, not two, not three, but six specific and distinct steps.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889601494

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How to Be Saved, Pentecost and Beyond

Joe Gladwell

Copyright © 2023 Joe Gladwell

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

Cover Artwork by David A. Beers

ISBN 979-8-88960-142-5 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88960-149-4 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

This book is dedicated to truly faithful congregations, the world over.

Start

Start: You Gotta Have a Plan!

Hear Christ's Gospel (Cornelius)

Believe Christ's Gospel (Philippian Jailor)

Repent of Sins (Jews on Pentecost)

The Good Confession of Faith (Ethiopian Eunuch)

Water Baptism (Lydia)

Faithful till the End: (Saul of Tarsus)

Moral Soundness

Religious Soundness

Finish

Finish: Faith Demonstrated

Bonus Section

Bonus Section: July the Fourth, Twenty Eighteen (Written July of 2018)

This book is dedicated to truly faithful congregations, the world over.

Acknowledgments

Iwish, at this time, to acknowledge the tremendous computer-related help that David Beers and his son Stephen have provided as I worked through this and other writing projects. Also to acknowledge, at this time, my truly patient, kind, and mentally tough publication coordinator, Trevor Boyd, and to acknowledge Travis Palmer's help as well.

On Saturday, October 1, 2022, at some time around 11:30 a.m., Grand Rapids (Michigan) time, slightly south of where Kentwood and Grand Rapids meet up with each other, I had the truly moving experience of noticing a bald eagle and spending a few minutes in its presence. Not being a wilderness dweller, this was only the second time in my above-fifty years that I had seen a bald eagle firsthand, the other time being in the spring of 1987. It was a way beyond special experience, and to get a better feel of what one of these bald eagle sightings is like, try going to YouTube and listening to the song Eagles Fly by Sammy Hagar.

Start

Start: You Gotta Have a Plan!

These words (the words that constitute the name of this particular book section) were spoken by one of my former Meijer retail supervisors, his name being Ed Trosper. He was particularly saying these words to Joel, one of my former Meijer coworkers, as he was the grocery lead after Ed left for the day, much of the time. I owe Ed a great debt of gratitude, as he was spot-on correct, not only for retail work, but, even more so, is there the absolute need for a winning game plan when it comes to the plan of salvation.

I have been told that, in a nutshell, having a great strategy is about half the battle, in terms of getting where you want to go/accomplishing a given goal. One of the most memorable moments that I have, in terms of learning this timeless truth (the intense need for a truly great game plan), is when one of my favorite professors from college (Dr. Stafford North) stated the following: If you want to end up marrying her, have a strategy. What a truly wonderful moment, and what a true statement indeed.

Consider this truth from the standpoint of high-profile sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the NBA Finals. In a strong majority of cases, the team with the better overall strategy ends up hoisting the trophy. If such is true in the physical world, such is obviously true in the spiritual world as well. Keep in mind, as to all of this, that the physical world is for this life only, while the spiritual world is forever!

Jesus Christ's pure and unvarnished New Testament plan of salvation is the greatest strategy for any given goal—ever. Such has been proven true, time and time again. It is also the most important strategy of any kind, for all of time and eternity. We are, indeed, under the New Testament portion of Scripture today—the Christian Age began around AD 30. We will thus be judged on the Final Day based upon this implied second of two Bible sections—it begins with Matthew, and it ends with Revelation. The true Christian plan of salvation has six steps, no more and no less. This book's six parts are devoted to these six steps—one step per part. Furthermore, each of the six main sections of this book features a given character within the book of conversions, which is Acts, the New Testament's fifth book.

May you all be edified (built up) spiritually, and in general, as we take into consideration this greatest strategy of all time.

In Christian love,

Joe Gladwell

Step 1

Hear Christ's Gospel (Cornelius)

With regard to American professional football, the following has been correctly stated: You have to make the catch before anything else can happen. This is absolutely true, in that, if the given receiver begins to try and run with the ball before having properly secured it, he is much more likely to drop it. This same principle (first things first) is also at work with regard to the first of six steps in the one true Christian plan of salvation. I used to think, during my childhood, that the first step in the plan of salvation was to believe the gospel message. I now know far better. A given human soul must first hear the gospel before anything else can happen (Romans 10:17).

With regard to this first of six steps in the gospel plan of salvation, there is a deep need for both the hearer to do his/her job and the proclaimer of the message to do their part as well. Both parties must do a good job, in this regard, or there will be no hope whatsoever for the non-Christian to be converted to Christianity and be saved, in the end. Let us firstly consider the need for the hearer to listen properly, and then also, secondly, let us consider the deep need for the proclaimer of the gospel message to do their job in a way where the message is unlikely to be mistaken for something else.

Acts 10:32 and 33 reads this