IF YOU WANT TO GET TECHNICAL Salvation is Not a Formula

A Biblical, Linguistic, and Theological Examination of Salvation, Faith, Repentance, and Baptism

1. SALVATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS A PROCESS, NOT A PUNCTILIAR EVENT

The New Testament uses verbs for salvation that describe action over time—not a split-second transaction.

Key Greek Concepts

• πιστεύω (pisteuō) — “to believe,” ongoing trust (present tense often).

• μετανοέω (metanoeō) — “to repent,” to change direction, ongoing.

• ὁμολογέω (homologeō) — “to confess,” to continue acknowledging.

• βαπτίζω (baptizō) — “to immerse,” an act with spiritual significance, but never presented as the moment God saves.

• σῴζω (sōzō) — “to save,” used in past, present, and future tenses.

Key Scriptures

• Salvation past — Ephesians 2:8

• Salvation present — 1 Corinthians 1:18

• Salvation future — Romans 5:9–10

This alone proves salvation isn’t a one-second switch flipped by a ritual or a prayer formula.

2. DIFFERENT PEOPLE WERE GIVEN DIFFERENT INSTRUCTIONS BECAUSE THEY WERE AT DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL STAGES

If God intended a universal “magic moment,” the instructions would never vary. But they do.

A. The Philippian Jailer — Told Only to Believe

• “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
  He had never heard the gospel—belief was step one and anyone who does what the New Testament calls “belief” (trusting faith) is saved.

B. The Crowd in Acts 2 — Repent and Be Baptized

They already believed what Peter preached (Acts 2:37).

Thus the next steps were:

• Repent (change direction)

• Be baptized (public identification)

C. Paul — Told Only to Be Baptized

• “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16).
  But Acts 9 shows:

• He had already believed (“Who are You, Lord?”)

• He had already repented (three days of brokenness, prayer, surrender).

Thus baptism was not the moment he became a believer; it was the moment he identified with Christ.

D. Acts 3 — Repent and Be Converted

Peter does not mention baptism because immediate baptism wasn’t physically possible for thousands gathered in the temple courts (Acts 3:19).

Conclusion

If baptism were the magic moment, the instructions would never differ.

But they do. Therefore, the magic moment theology collapses.

3. BAPTISM IS SACRED, ESSENTIAL, SYMBOLIC—BUT NEVER THE MOMENT OF REGENERATION

The New Testament emphasizes the significance of baptism while protecting it from becoming a talisman.

A. Baptism follows faith. Without faith, baptism is useless

• Acts 8:36–37 — “If you believe with all your heart…”

• Mark 16:16 — belief first, baptism second.

B. Paul explicitly denies baptism as the point of salvation

• “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
  If baptism were the moment salvation occurs, that verse would be impossible.

C. Baptism symbolizes union—not causes it

Romans 6:3–4 makes baptism symbolic of death and resurrection; nothing in the Greek indicates that the water produces regeneration.

Greek Study:

• συνετάφημεν (synetaphēmen) — “we were buried together with Him,” aorist passive.
  This refers to our union with Christ, not our contact with water.

Conclusion

Baptism is commanded, beautiful, and essential for discipleship—but not the magical moment God regenerates a soul.

4. BUT NEITHER IS THE SINNER’S PRAYER A MAGIC MOMENT

We must be equally clear: prayer does not create salvation. Jesus does.

A. No one in the New Testament is told to “pray a prayer to be saved.”

Not one example exists.

Romans 10:13 (“call on the name of the Lord”) quotes an Old Testament cry for covenant rescue, not a scripted prayer.

B. Prayer without faith accomplishes nothing

• Matthew 15:8

• Isaiah 29:13

• James 1:6–7

C. Faith precedes prayer, not the other way around

• Romans 10:10 — belief comes before confession.

• Hebrews 11:6 — without faith, prayer is meaningless.

• Luke 18:13 — the tax collector was already repentant when he prayed.

Greek Study:

• ἐπικαλέω (epikaleō) — “to call upon,” used of worship, not magic words.
  It is a relationship word, not a formula word.

Conclusion

Praying is an expression of a believing heart—not the mechanism that saves it.

5. WHAT ACTUALLY SAVES? NOT A MOMENT—A PERSON.

A. Salvation is by Christ, not by a ritual

• John 1:12–13 — not of the will of man

• Titus 3:5 — not by works

• Acts 15:11 — “we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus”

B. Faith is the means, Christ is the power

• Ephesians 2:8

• Romans 3:24–26

• John 3:16–18

C. The heart turns before any outward expression

• Acts 16:14 — the Lord opened Lydia’s heart before baptism

• Luke 23:42–43 — the thief believed, repented, confessed—all before dying unbaptized

• Romans 4:3–10 — Abraham was justified before any ritual

Greek Study:

• δικαιόω (dikaioō) — “to declare righteous.”
  Paul argues it refers to God’s act toward the believing heart—not to outward steps.

6. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: THE THEOLOGICAL CASE

A. There is no “magic moment” in Scripture.

Not faith alone, not repentance alone, not confession alone, not baptism alone, not prayer alone.

B. Salvation is the whole heart turning to the whole Christ.

And that turning expresses itself in:

• believing,

• repenting,

• confessing,

• being baptized,

• abiding.

C. All these together create the picture—but none of them individually create salvation.

D. Jesus—and Jesus alone—is the agent of salvation.

He saves the one who comes (John 6:37).

He gives rest to the one who seeks (Matthew 11:28).

He justifies the one who believes (Romans 3:26).

He receives the heart that turns (Acts 3:19).

We trust Him, not a moment.

We trust Him, not our sequence.

We trust Him, not our performance.

7. FINAL DECLARATION

If you want to get technical—biblically, theologically, linguistically, historically—

there is no magical second where salvation occurs because salvation is not produced by a second; it is produced by a Savior.

Baptism is not the magic moment.

The sinner’s prayer is not the magic moment.

Jesus is the saving moment.

BDD