Larry Lester Roloff said that when they “gladly received the Word<\/em>” (Acts 2) that meant they were saved because no sinner would do such! I am wondering why we did not think of that.<\/p>\n Reply: If the fact that, before they were baptized, they “they gladly received the Word<\/em>” in Acts 2:41 means they were saved before they were baptized, it also “proves” the Bereans were saved before they believed. The Bereans “received the Word with all readiness of mind<\/em>” (Acts 17:11). According to Mr. Roloff, that must mean “they were saved because no sinner would do such!” If that is true, the Bereans were saved without faith, for after they eagerly “received the Word,<\/em>” the very next verse says, “Therefore many of them believed.<\/em>“<\/p>\n Hence, if the fact that those on the day of Pentecost “gladly received the Word<\/em>” before they were baptized proves they were saved before baptism, then the fact that the Bereans eagerly “received the Word,<\/em>” before they believed proves they were saved before they “believed.” Roloff’s argument means that neither faith nor baptism is essential to salvation, yet the Lord said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved<\/em>” (Mark 16:16).<\/p>\n Ask yourself this question, “What word did they ‘gladly receive<\/em>‘”? Whatever that “word” was, it was one in which they were intensely interested. Anxiously, after hearing proof that they had murdered the Messiah, they implored and inquired, “What shall we do?<\/em>” (Acts 2:36-37). It was in answer to that burning question that they received “the Word” which they so happily and “gladly received<\/em>.” What was that “word”? It was that they, by the authority of the very One whom they had crucified, should repent and be baptized “for the remission of (their) sins<\/em>” (Acts 2:38). One cannot present a meaning of what it means to “gladly receive” that word until he defines the “word” which was “gladly received.<\/em>“<\/p>\n They had not received “the word” which told them baptism was not essential. No, rather, they were acting in response to “the word” which told them to be “baptized…for the remission of (their) sins<\/em>” (Acts 2:38). One can make no judgment about what that expression, “gladly received the Word,” means which contradicts the intent and content of that “Word.”<\/p>\n Finally, whatever the expression, “gladly received the Word,<\/em>” implies in Acts 2:41, we know it cannot bear Roloff’s explanation, for three verses earlier, the Spirit told those same people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ “for the remission of sins<\/em>” (Acts 2:38; cf. Mark 16:16; Acts 22;16). Thus, even if I did not know the full import of what it means to “gladly receive the Word,<\/em>” I would know that it could not contain Mr. Roloff’s conclusion.<\/p>\n If I were resting on his argument, I believe I would roll off it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Larry Ray Hafley Truth Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 2, Jan. 19, 2006. Larry Lester Roloff said that when they “gladly received the Word” (Acts 2) that meant they were saved because no sinner would do such! I am wondering why we did not think of that. Reply: If the fact that, before they were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[52,1506,522,47],"class_list":["post-60331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-baptism","tag-hearing","tag-listening","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1052,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-be-a-believer-and-not-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":0},"title":"Can a person be a believer and not be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What biblical reference is there that uses the word \"believer\" and says that person isn't saved? Answer: The term \"believer\" is frequently used to refer to those had entered the kingdom of the Lord. For example, \"And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55419,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/calling-on-the-name-of-the-lord-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":1},"title":"Calling on the Name of the Lord (Thetford)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Thetford I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, \"If you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you can be saved.\" Some will tell you to say, \"Lord be merciful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/by-grace-through-faith-with-the-washing-of-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":2},"title":"By Grace Through Faith with the Washing of Water","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Notice the prepositions: by, through, and with. The Book of Ephesians uses all three to describe what is involved with our salvation. It teaches we are saved by grace. It teaches we are saved through faith. It teaches we are saved with the washing of water\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97465,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-scriptures-were-the-bereans-searching\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":3},"title":"What scriptures were the Bereans searching?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 17:11, what scriptures were they searching to see if the things they were taught were so? Thank you. Answer: \"Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom, he went\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34086,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-get-added-to-jesus-christs-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":4},"title":"How do you get added to Jesus Christ\u2019s church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do you get added to Jesus Christ's church? Answer: \"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ... So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/save-yourselves\/","url_meta":{"origin":60331,"position":5},"title":"Save\u00a0Yourselves","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton Only because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and only through knowledge of what He did can we engage in the activity of faith that will result in our salvation. There is a common expression these days that \"there is nothing you can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}