Salvation in Spirit and Truth- Part 1

We have perverted the gospel in many ways erring to the extremes. Two such extremes are easy believism on one hand and mystical experience on the other.

Easy believeism is the notion that all you need to do is sign your name on the bottom line and get your ticket punched to heaven. 

This is totally a work of man's religion and denies the power of God.

On the other hand is some kind of mystical experience where you must experience something unusual or strange to prove an encounter with God, either to yourself or others.

I’m not concerned about proving my salvation to anyone in that regard for it is God who has proven our salvation to the world, and that was through the work of Christ on the cross. It is also God who proves our salvation to us, and that is through the work of God’s Spirit in our hearts and in the changed life.

Is there a way true to the gospel? Yes, as we see in Acts 19.

When Paul encounters some believers who have not yet fully heard the gospel of Christ, been baptized into the resurrection of the dead, identified with the church, and received the Spirit, he instructs them more fully in the good news of Jesus.

In this account we see how the gospel "works" in Spirit and in truth. In this passage we see Paul presents the necessity of (1) accepting Christ by believing in Him, (2) being baptized into Christ's death/burial/resurrection, (3) identifying with the church, and (4) receiving the Holy Spirit as a gift of grace.
Acts 19      

1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”  3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that

(1) they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 

                 5 When they heard this, they were 

(2) baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

(3) 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, 

(4) the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

I will begin explaining these in turn next time.