Should We Take The Intersection Or Union Of The Conditions Stated In The Salvation Passages?
Let’s first use the account of the rich young ruler as a test case:· Mark 10:17-22 says the man was “rich”· Matt 19:22 says he was “rich” and “young”· Luke 18:18,23 says he was “rich” and a “ruler”If we just take the intersection of the adjectives describing the man, we could only conclude he was rich. But if we take the union (everything said), we conclude he was a rich young ruler, correct?Now let’s apply the same reasoning to the Salvation passages:· John 3:16 only mentions belief as being required for salvation· Acts 11:18 only says repentance is required· Acts 22:16 and I Pet 3:21 only show baptism is necessary to salvation· Mark 16:16 makes our salvation contingent upon belief and baptism· Rom 10:10 requires belief and confession· Acts 2:38 conditions forgiveness upon our repentance and baptismSo in answering the question, "what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30), should we take the intersection or union of the conditions stated in the verses listed in the salvation passages above?· What did we do in the case of the rich young ruler?· If we did take the intersection of the conditions stated, what would it be? Nothing, right?· But if we take the union of the conditions in the salvation passages, what do we come up with?Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.