THE TRACT SAID: 5 STEPS TO RECEIVE CHRIST

NOTE: In a Sunday high school class I taught in Harrah, we had been reviewing, discussing and replying to various denominational tracts that are passed out in our area. It is impressive and encouraging to read the work of those youth. Included in this bulletin are some of the replies I kept which were made to one of those tracts. –Gary
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1. Admit you need Jesus (Rom. 3:23). 2. Turn from your Sins (Mark 1:15). 3. Give your Life to Christ (John 1:12). 4. Believe that He came and that He will save you (John 3:16). 5. Follow Christ in Obedience (John 8:31). What to Pray: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

REPLIES OF THE STUDENTS:

To Whom It May Concern,
Your five steps to receive Christ are not wrong, but they do not include all of the steps. Your first three are about Repentance. The fourth step is Believing, and the fifth step is continuing to obey God. You have left out two of the steps the Bible teaches. In your tract nothing is said about baptism. In Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16 we are commanded to be baptized in order to be saved. The other step is confessing that Christ is the Son of God. In Romans 10:10 it is taught that confessing is essential to salvation.
Also included in your tract is “What To Pray.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say these are the words you are to speak. In Matthew 6:5-13 is the model prayer. This is where Jesus is teaching them how to pray–not telling them what to pray. We find in verse six of Matthew chapter six that He tells us to pray to the Father, not to Jesus. Also in the model prayer, Jesus begins by addressing the Father–not Himself. If He was teaching them to pray and wanted them to pray to Him, would He not tell them they should pray to Jesus?

To Whom It May Concern,
This pamphlet was handed out, and I was wondering, do you see anything wrong with it? At a glance, no; but if you really look at it you see many things. If you read this you would think that this is all you have to do to be saved, when in all actuality, at the top it clearly states “5 Steps To Receive Christ.” Receive Him where? How? Who knows!
“#1 Admit you need Jesus.” Well this could go along with hearing the word. “#2 Turn from your sins.” This as well could go along with repentance. “#3 Give your life to Christ.” This goes along with repentance as well. “#4 Believe that he came and will save you.” Believe is good. “#5 Follow Christ in obedience. That’s not so bad but it still goes with repentance. Three out of five ain’t bad!
However, if you want the truth, read: #1 Hear the word of God (Rom. 10:14). #2 Believe the word of God (Acts 10:43). #3 Repent (Luke 13:3,5). #4 Confess Jesus is the Son of God (Rom. 10:9-10). #5 Be Baptized! (Mat. 3:14).

To Whom This May Concern,
In your article, you listed five steps to receiving Christ. I Disagree with this.
The five correct steps to receive salvation: 1. Hear (Acts 19:5); 2. Believe (Mark 16:16; John 3:16); 3. Repent (Acts 2:38; Mark 1:15); 4. Confess (Rom. 10:10; Phil. 2:11); 5. Be baptized (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 19:5). If you read in the Bible these verses you will see this is what one must do to be saved.
Your steps are scriptural, we all have sinned and need Jesus, but this is not a step to receive salvation. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that. In all the accounts written about several different ones being saved, none are mentioned to have done this. In Acts chapter two we read about conversions. They heard the word, believed what Peter said was true, and they were told to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the scriptural way to be saved. It says nothing of believing and repenting only, which are the two steps you have that are the correct steps.
Now I would like to make mention of the prayer you have at the end of the column. To begin with, we are not told to pray to Jesus. In Matthew 6:9 we are told to pray to our Father in heaven. Secondly, you cannot pray to be saved. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see an example of a sinner praying and being saved. Instead, we see examples of them repenting, confessing, hearing, believing, and being baptized.