I need help from someone that believes "whoever believes in him shell not perish but have everlasting life"...

Question

What do you say when these people that believe baptisim saves you throws verses at you. What verses do you use in trying to make someone believe that you don't have to be baptised in order to be saved?

Answer 1

I would say, "you have a point." Faith is the first principle of the gospel and it inspires and motivates a person to follow Christ. Of course in no means is it the end of the road, rather it's just the beginning. True faith will, however, power us through the journey and motivate us to fulfill necessary ordinances of the gospel (such as baptism). Just like I know a strong desire to vacation in the Carribean won't drop me into the Bahamas, I know a simple proclamation of my belief won't assure me salvation. Those who believe such a thing have misunderstood the scriptures. But if my desire/faith is strong enough I will do all that is necessary in this life, and then, "it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do".

Answer 2

I think the best evidence for that comes from the thief who called on Jesus at the last moments of his life. No where in the bible does it say that this one person had a special "dispensation" not to be baptised. There is also a verse which people misunderstand. The one that reads, "those who believe and are baptised will be saved, but those who do not believe will be condemned". Notice that the second part of that sentence doesn't say "those who do not believe and have not gotten baptised will be condemned". We must remember that we have to always compare scripture to scripture. Therefore, the verse you quoted in your question, along with dozens of others, tells us that it is faith alone that saves us...not anything we do, and that includes being baptised.

Answer 3

You have to believe in Christ in order to live with Him. You need to be baptised because that is a commandment of God. Even Jesus Christ himself was baptised. Plus, you're not likely to get baptized if you don't believe, are you? Probably not. If you did, it would be pointless. You have to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, and you have to be baptised in blessed water in order to thoroughly be cleansed of all your sins. It's all a process. You have to both, but the baptism means nothing without Christ.
As for verses, I can't tell you any that say you don't need to be baptised because you do...but it's not the main factor. The main factor was Jesus Christ.
I do believe in the verse "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life", and I also believe in the verse, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes unto the Father but by me".
The baptism is very important, but you can't be saved without the Saviour.

Answer 4

The reason why you can not find a verse to fit your beliefs is because there is none.The bible tells us how to get salvation.Baptism is essential because this were the cutting away of the sin takes place(Colossians2:11-12).The reason why we need the sin to be removed is because that is what separates us from God(Isaiah59:2).Acts 2:38 states"...repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".This clearly tells you what baptism is for.Understand that other verses like Luke13:3;Romans10:9and Matthew10:32all represent a part of what one needs for salvation.You need to believe in Christ,you need to confess Christ as Lord and savior,you need to repent and you need to get baptized.Remember all of Gods words are true(Psalms119:160).If the bible is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth don't you think you need to follow all of it?Try baking a cake by only following half the instructions.That would not be a very good cake.Especially if you left out important ingredients like sugar or eggs.So instead of trying to fight Gods word be like the Bereans(Acts17:10-11)and study everything that you are taught.Remember Christianity is not a lazy persons religion!

Answer 5

read the bible more carefully,you do need to be baptised, any verses you find to say different are taken out of context and are adverse to the plan of salvation god has for us as taught to us through the bible and especially the gospels and jesus' teaching. for your own benefit check out

fisheaters.com
ewtn.com
salvationhistory.com
scripturecatholic.com

i know this isn't the answer you want but atleast check out the sites,research the importance of baptism,in the end if you agree or not is up to you. god bless. i saw some use the thief on the cross, the thief was promised to be entered into paradise,but if you look at the punctuation and wording etc......you can argue that it was not on the same day as jesus,especially as jesus was resurrected on the third day, the thief on the cross shows more the importance of repentance,faith and belief.

Answer 6

Even Christ was baptized (Mark 1:9-11; Matt 3:13-17). That should tell you something right there. There is also the story of Nicodemus, who asked Christ what a man has to do to enter the kingdom of heaven. His answer was John 3:3-5: 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

If Christ wasn't above baptism, then how can we think we are?

Christ taught his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He told them to go and baptize all nations (Matt 29:18).

Yes, there have been some that have went to heaven that weren't baptized. The theif on the cross was one, but to be truly saved, you must be baptized.

Answer 7

What do you do with the verses that tell you to be baptized and that say that if we love him we will keep his commandments? Does anyone believe that all you need to do is make the statement that you believe in Jesus and then go out and tell the world to do the same thing? Yup, plenty! I think the problem arises when people are first faced with the fact that being a Christian means being separate from the world and human nature tries to step in and even out the playing field with it's own opinion about what it means to be a Christian.

edit:

Baptism is the answer of a clean conscience. Jesus said that he himself must be baptized so that everything was in order. Matthew 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Answer 8

This is what I believe to be true: Cursing the Holy Spirit is denying Christ. It's the Spirit that brings you to belief, if you ignore it or deny it, you are cursing the Holy Spirit and therefore renouncing belief. By truly accepting Christ as the Son of God and your Savior, you are accepting the Holy Spirit. At that point, all of your sins are forgiven and nothing can change it. If you mean "cursing" as in saying something bad about the Holy Spirit after you've become a believer, it doesn't mean you aren't forgiven, it just means you've said something stupid. The actual cursing of the Spirit is refusal to believe. Not everyone sees it that way, but it makes sense to me.

Answer 9

Well you can first point on the theif on the cross in the Gospel of Luke wasn't baptized, and is now in heaven. Also explain this to them:

While we should preach that all men are commanded to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), adding any other requirement to salvation by grace becomes "works" in disguise. Even though numerous Scriptures speak of the importance of water baptism, adding anything to the work of the cross demeans the sacrifice of the Savior. It implies that His finished work wasn’t enough. But the Bible makes clear that we are saved by grace, and grace alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). Baptism is simply a step of obedience to the Lord following our repentance and confession of sin. Our obedience— water baptism, prayer, good works, fellowship, witnessing, etc.—issues from our faith in Christ. Salvation is not what we do, but Who we have: "He that has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12).

Answer 10

Maybe the reason that those who believe in baptism have a better understanding of the Gospel as Jesus taught it...

I agree with you... sort of. Yes, faith is vital to gaining salvation, but its only the first step. If I wanted to drive from New York City to San Francisco, Chicago would only be part of the way... same thing with faith- it's only part of the journey. Salvation is about shaping our character to be more like God, and there's more to that change than just words.

"Faith without works is dead".... We must show through our works (actions) that we faith, or the faith we claim to have is dead, non-functional, not enough alone to save us.

Jesus repeatedly said, "Come follow me"... If we have true (proven) faith, then we actually do follow him, follow his example in everything, which (to me) includes being baptized. No, baptism isn't the only thing needed. There are commandments, covenants (sacred promises we make to God), etc that must be done- They are the "works" we need to strengthen our faith, to prove to others and ourselves that we really have a living faith in Jesus.