Well, here it is:

“Hear” the Word of God, Romans 10, verse 17 [“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”].

“Believe,” or the word “faith” could be substituted there, as well. Have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and place full trust and confidence in Him, Mark 16, verses 15 and 16 [“And He said to them, ’Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”].

“Repent” of all past sins in godly sorrow, and be determined to live the very best life that one can. Do everything we can to avoid sin—to not sin, Acts 2:38 [“Then Peter said to them, ’Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”]; Luke 13, verse 3 [“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”]; Romans 2, verse 4 [“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”]; 2 Corinthians 7:10 [“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”].

“Confess” with the mouth that Jesus is the Son of God. Confess our faith in Him, Romans 10, verses 9 and 10 [“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”]; Acts 8:37 [“Then Philip said, ’If you believe with all your heart, you may.’

And he answered and said, ’I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’”]; Acts 22, verse 16 [“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the Name of the Lord.”].

And then “be baptized.” Be immersed in water, thus baptized into Christ, inthe Name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, for the remission of sins, Matthew 28, 19 and 20 [“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”]; Mark 16, 15 and 16 [“And He said to them, ’Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”]; Acts 2:38 [“Then Peter said to them, ’Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”]; Romans 6, 1 through 11 [verses 3 and 4: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”]; and Galatians 3, verse 27 [“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”].

Baptism is a physical burial in water and a spiritual burial into the death of Christ, Romans 6, verse 4 [“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”]; and Colossians 2, verse 12 [“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead.”].

We share the death of Jesus where He shed his blood, Galatians 2, verse 20 [“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”].

It is in baptism that God applies the blood of Jesus to our sins, and, thus, forgives us of those sins. The new birth that Jesus spoke about in John, chapter 3, verse 5 takes place in the waters of baptism [“Jesus answered, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”]. And, we are “raised” to “walk in newness of life,” Romans 6, verses 4 through 7 [“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.”].

One obeys the Gospel when one does these five things. YES, there are five steps. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about that; I don’t feel antiquated or unsophisticated, and I know that the elders believe this and everyone in this congregation believes this. This is what the Bible teaches! This is what we will teach! This is what we will insist upon, not because it’s what we want, but because it’s what God wants.