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Baptism for Salvation Part 2, questions answered
- Jan 19, 2009 at 3:19 PM
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Some people have more questions about the Bible and baptism, so I'll answer them to the best of my ability..and what God sends me. This is a work in progress. I will add more as I have time and more questions come.
1. What about the thief on the cross? Luke 23:39-43 The thief on the cross died under the Old Testament as Christ had not yet died, so the New Testament had not yet come into being. Christ removed his sins the same way he did the paralyzed man who was let down from the roof. (Mark 2:1-12)
2. What about Cornelius because he recieved the Holy Spirit before he was baptized? Acts 10 (the whole chapter) If we read the whole chapter, we see that the Apostle Peter was given a vision of animals, clean and unclean, in a sheet dropping down from heaven, closed at four corners, and opened to Peter. God says, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." And Peter, appalled, says, "Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean." And God tells him, "What I have cleaned, call not unclean." This happened three times. Why? Even Peter was bewildered by what it meant, until after the Holy Spirit was shown in the GENTILES! Until then, the Gentiles were considered unclean by God and the Jews, but after Christ died, God's Grace was sufficient that He willingly accepted the Gentiles into the same fold as the Jews. The Gentiles were now considered clean. The Holy Spirit given to Cornelius and his household was a sign that they and their kind were now acceptable to God. Then they still had to be baptized because they were still in sin.
3. What about Saul of Tarsus? Acts 9:1-9, Acts 22:1-16 Saul is said to have become a Christian on the road to Damascus. He did not. His thinking was changed because of a dramatic encounter with Christ Jesus. He was then sent to a house and told to wait there for Ananias. He prayed and fasted for three days. His praying and fasting did not save him. He believed, repented, but was not yet baptized. Then Ananias came and spoke with Saul (who later became the Apostle Paul) and said, "And now, why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." He still had his sins until he was baptized.
4. What about the Ethiopian Eunuch? Acts 8:26-40 The passage states that the eunuch was reading Isaiah, which prophesied about Christ. Philip joined the Ethiopian's chariot, and asked him if he understood what he was reading, and he answered, "How can I except someone guide me?" So Philip "preached unto him Jesus". The next question is very telling..."See here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Philip answers, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And the eunuch answers, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Then they made the chariot to stand still and the eunuch was immediately baptized. What do we gain from this passage of scripture? That the Gospel of Jesus Christ and baptism are inextricably linked. You don't have one without the other.
5. What about the GRACE ONLY doctrine? This is a Calvinistic doctrine, derived from one John Calvin, a Catholic in the 1500's. It is heretical, as it would seek to exclude many scriptures, including John 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:20-21. He says that even our belief comes from God, but that would take away our free will and make us nothing more than robots. This is not why God made us. God wants us to choose Him without ever seeing Him, but believe because of what He has done for us. John Calvin, himself, had a man put to death, which is against scripture. None of the apostles had people killed for not believing them. Nor did they kill anyone for killing their brethren. Yet, this John Calvin did. He is wrong. And this doctrine is NOT supported by scripture. We are saved by grace, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism....so saith the scriptures. (By the way, I am neither Protestant, nor Catholic. I do not belong to the Catholic church nor any church that came out of the Reformation Movement. I belong to the New Testament Church. http://www.newtestamentchurch.org/ ) And I realize that not only John Calvin, but many in the Reformation Movement believed this doctrine, but it is a false doctrine. If it were not false, it would have been taught long before the Reformation, and it wasn't! John Calvin took what others started and expounded on it.
6. What about those baptized before Christ died? Those that were baptized before Christ died did not have to be re-baptized. They were the beginning of the Kingdom. Only those that were baptized with the baptism of John AFTER Christ died had to be re-baptized, because his baptism was no longer effectual. (Acts 19: 1-6)
7. What about children and infants being baptized? The Bible states that a person must Believe, Repent, Confess and be Baptized. An infant can do none of those things on their own volition. The Bible indicates that God sees children as innocent until they reach the maturity level of being able to take full responsibility for ALL of their own actions. "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for os such IS the kingdom of heaven." Luk3 18:16 They are already there, they have no need to be saved...they are "safe".
1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." When we are children, we think as children. We don't need to be baptized as children. We need to be baptized as adults...
Not only that, but every explicit instance we have in the Bible of a baptism of a person, it is ALWAYS as adult. We have no instances where we witness a child or infant being baptized. We don't let children get married as children. We wait until they are adults because this is the one most important decision they will make....baptism is even more important. Marriage lasts "until death do us part", but baptism is the giving ourselves to our Creator for all eternity. Why then would we ask a child, who can barely recognize that next week will come, to think and understand eternity so as to be baptized?
Comments:
And now, why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
I love the above scripture because of the sense of urgency. Why would anyone tarry?
The CHURCH is predestined, not the individual. Christ died for the CHURCH, which is why we need to be baptized, since when we are baptized, we are joined to HIS CHURCH...HIS BRIDE. WE CHOOSE to be in or out of the church. The CHURCH is the only thing that is predestined to go to Heaven. And John Calvin did want Severtus dead, but only beheaded, not burned at the stake. Besides, who gave anyone the right to kill someone considered a heretic? I don't read that anywhere in the New Testament. In fact, God says His People are to be a People of Peace!
If the theif died under the old law, and therefore did not need baptism, why was John the Baptist going around baptizing all the people before Jesus was crucified? Jesus did not condemn this practice and was Himself baptized by John. If all the people were baptized under the old law before Jesus was crucified, did they have to be baptized again after the resurrection? if so, the bible does not say anything about this.
"We are saved by grace, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism....so saith the scriptures."
Amen! 
Being baptized is identifying with Christ. When we truly repent of our sins and ask Christ into our heart, we are baptized as an outward symbol that we have accepted Christ as our savior.
Nope, it doesn't work that way. That is not what the Bible says. That is a man-made doctrine. There is nowhere in scripture that says "all you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart". That, again, is a man-made doctrine. Some call it "Easy Believe-ism". It is not biblical and will not save you. Acts 2:38, John 3:5, 1 Peter 3:20-21
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Actually believing in the necessity of Baptism doesn't mean that one rejects the idea of Grace alone. Without God's grace that first moves us - both to believe in HIm & Christ and to search to do God's will - we cannot reach our salvation. It's God's grace that moves people to seek baptism for themselves or for their children.
The idea of 'grace alone' can be the ideat that grace preceded all our action in realtion to our salvation. Faith in Christ (and in God) is the initial grace that God gives us at the beginning of our conversion. Christ is a gift freely given to us and he didn't come because we do something to deserve it.
- eringobrough
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