That question has echoed through Scripture—
And the answer depends on something many overlook:
Right division.
Because if you don’t distinguish who is being addressed…
You may take an answer that was never given directly to you.
▪️TWO PASSAGES—TWO ANSWERS?
Look at this:
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you…”
—Acts 2:38 (KJV)
Then compare:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
—Acts 16:31 (KJV)
At first glance—it seems like a contradiction.
But it’s not.
It’s a distinction.
▪️ACTS 2 — ISRAEL UNDER THEIR KINGDOM PROGRAM
In Acts 2, Peter is preaching to:
• Men of Israel
• A covenant nation
• A people who had rejected their Messiah
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words…”
—Acts 2:22 (KJV)
The call to:
• Repent
• Be baptized
was part of Israel’s national response to their Messiah in that prophetic program.
▪️ACTS 16 — GENTILES UNDER GRACE
Now fast forward.
A Philippian jailer—a Gentile—asks:
“What must I do to be saved?”
—Acts 16:30 (KJV)
Paul’s answer is clear. Simple. Complete:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
—Acts 16:31 (KJV)
No ritual.
No law-keeping.
No covenant requirement.
Just faith.
▪️WHAT CHANGED?
Not God.
But His program.
“According to the revelation of the mystery… kept secret since the world began.”
—Romans 16:25 (KJV)
Through Paul:
“I am the apostle of the Gentiles…”
—Romans 11:13 (KJV)
God is now dealing with individuals—
Not a nation under covenant.
▪️WHAT ABOUT BAPTISM?
Acts 10 gives you a key insight:
“The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
—Acts 10:44 (KJV)
They believed—
And received the Spirit before baptism.
That tells you something important:
• Today, baptism is not required for salvation
• The Spirit is given by faith alone
▪️LAW VS GRACE
“For ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
—Romans 6:14 (KJV)
Grace is not a license to sin—
It’s a new position:
• Sealed by the Spirit
• Indwelt by God
• Empowered from within
“…ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
—Ephesians 1:13 (KJV)
▪️THE GOSPEL FOR TODAY
So what must you do to be saved?
Not guess.
Not strive.
Not perform.
But believe:
“How that Christ died for our sins… was buried, and… rose again the third day.”
—1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (KJV)
That’s it.
▪️WHY THIS MATTERS
If you mix Acts 2 and Acts 16—
• You add works to grace
• You confuse the gospel
• You lose clarity and assurance
But when you rightly divide—
Everything becomes clear.
▪️FINAL THOUGHT
The Bible gives different instructions to different people at different times.
But today—
God’s answer is simple:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not partly.
Not plus something.
Just believe.
