Putting Pieces of the Puzzle Together

By Bill Brandstatter     I used to like putting together jigsaw puzzles. I haven’t done any in recent years. I need to get back to doing them. Now I do a lot of crossword puzzles. Both the crossword and jigsaw puzzles can be solved by putting together pieces. With a crossword puzzle the down clues help with the across clues. With jigsaw puzzles I start with the border and work from there. Then I look for shape and color connections. I have to find the right connection to get the solution or the shape I am wanting. Bible subjects are connected. There is an expression that holds true in solving some “puzzles” in our lives. The expression is: “Two things connected to the same thing are connected to each other.” For example, if I were to tell you that all cars in the parking lot are blue. Then I told you that my car is in the parking lot. You would know without me specifically telling you that my car is blue. The Bible works in much the same way.     The Bible tells us that baptism saves us (1 Pet. 3:21). Yet, many will go to passages like John 3:16 and state that all you have to do is believe. Others might look at Eph. 2:5 and say we are saved by grace alone. Yet, when pieces are connected a clearer picture is seen and the puzzle is put together. God’s grace was seen when Jesus died on the cross for our sins (2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 2:11, 12). Without the grace of God no one could be saved. We are saved by grace. Now let us connect some other pieces.     Jesus said His blood was shed for the remission of sins (Mt. 26:28). Yet Peter said on Pentecost that those believing Jews who had listened needed to “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.”(Acts 2:38) The wording of “remission of sins” is identical in both the statement of Jesus and that of Peter. Who is correct? Does the blood of Christ forgive our sins or does baptism? They are connected. The way I come in contact with the blood of Christ is by being baptized in water. We can further connect two more puzzle pieces. We are washed from our sins in the blood of Christ ( Rev. 1:5). Saul of Tarsus, while praying, was told by Ananias to “Arise and be baptize and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”(Acts 22:16) So again, if we connect these two statements which are similar with the term “wash away sins”, we learn that baptism puts us into the blood of Christ which washes away our sins. When a person comes in contact with the blood of Christ, God’s grace is accepted and received. That happens when a person is baptized to have his or her sins forgiven which puts that person into contact with the saving blood of Christ.     Let us make sure we always put the pieces together correctly. Then the puzzle will be revealed, and all can see it plainly (2 Tim. 2:15). Belief is the first step toward salvation, but it is not the last. I must believe in God (Heb. 11:6). I must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (John 8:24; Acts 8:37). I must repent of sins (Acts 17:30). I also must confess Christ (Rom. 10:9, 10). Then, I need to be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Salvation is a puzzle that must be put together properly. If the pieces are out of place, salvation will not happen as God intends. If the pieces are in their proper place and all together, a beautiful picture results: God’s plan to save man.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/