What We Believe about Salvation, Liberty MBC

Liberty Missionary Baptist Church of Norton, Summit County, Ohio has posted What we believe about salvation on their site. It demonstrates that it is not just “Calvinists” who reject the “easy-believism” that is promoted by many modern Baptists.

In order to obtain true salvation there first must be a sense of trouble, conviction, and condemnation set up by God in the heart of the unsaved person. They must pray and seek God and repent of their sins until they know for themselves that God has forgiven and saved them. Man does not convict them and man cannot tell them when God forgives and saves them. God is all-powerful and can save the soul of one seeking Him any place, any time when God’s conditions are met. However, we give opportunity for those desiring to seek and find God to come to the front for prayer. The pew sitting in the front facing the congregation is referred to as the “mourner’s bench.”

The unsaved person does not obtain salvation simply by “accepting,” “believing”, “making a decision for Christ,” or “being baptized” as many teach today.

It is true that a person must “accept” and “believe” that Christ is who the Bible teaches He is. One must also believe that he is the rewarder of those that diligently seek him. This is a historical belief and is definitely required by one seeking God. When one is saved, he/she receives a new, regenerated soul as stated by Jesus in John chapter 3 and must be under those terms stated to Nicodemus by Jesus Christ, (born again). It is true that a person must “decide” to seek Christ; he/she must be determined to seek until he/she finds Him.

We do not believe in using “Repeat after me” prayers nor in reading scripture passages to them to convince them they have prayed, trusted, or believed. We condemn the practice known as “The Roman Road” and all other “easy believism” practices. These practices substitute a historical belief for a belief from the heart.

We do pray with the person seeking God and we do believe in encouraging them according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

When God saves the individual, the individual knows, without anyone telling them – including the preacher, loved ones, or any friend.