Why would you think baptism is a requirement for salvation?

Question

Baptism is the outward sign of repentance. We are saved by grace through faith and nothing else.......Jesus did it as a sign of submission to the Father while in human form. But nowhere in scripture is it etched in stone saying that you will miss out on heaven if you are not baptised.

Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 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.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Don't add doctrines to scripture that aren't there.

Sorry Rob......I was sort of directing this at a certain group of people.....

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith...and that not of yourselves....it is the gift of God...NOT BY WORKS...so that no man can boast

Amen Craig...
I forgot about the thief on the cross....thank you for that.

If a person gived their life to Christ and then dies the very next day without being baptised....guess what? He's going to heaven by the blood of Jesus......baptism is NOT a requirement for salvation.

Answer 1

To me it's confusing. Some places in the bible it says believe and some places it says be baptized to wash away your sins.
Pray about this, I did. Whenever someone believed in Jesus they first repented then immediatly got baptized-why?

. What I did was I looked up baptism in the NT and wrote it down. It doesn't say an outward expression of anything it says:
Acts2:38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "
Peter then told them to "repent." If they already had remission, why did they need to repent? The command to repent proves these people were not already saved, but were still sinners needing to receive remission.

After v38, Peter told them to "be saved" from the wicked generation (v40). If they were already saved, why tell them to be saved?Matthew 26:28 says Jesus blood would be shed for many "for remission of sins."

Bible also says: "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." You might say see it says believes but why would someone be baptized if they don't believe?

Men say: He who believes is saved and may then be baptized.

The gospel says: He who believes and is baptized will be saved.

Galatians 3:27 - We Are Baptized into Jesus
Romans 6:3 - We Are Baptized into Jesus' Death
Always, as soon as the sinner believed the gospel and repented, he was baptized immediately:

Acts 2:41 - "That day" 3000 were baptized.

Acts 8:36 - "What hinders me from being baptized?"

Acts 9:18 - "Immediately … he arose and was baptized"

Acts 16:33 - "…the same hour of the night … immediately he and all his family were baptized"

Acts 22:16 - "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins…."

Think about this, does one need to repent of their sins before salvation or just believe? Demons believe and tremble.
Just do a search on baptism and write down what the bible says, you may change your mind.
God bless you,
†

Answer 2

Hey rock star, slow down before you insult reformation theology.

Baptism as an outward sign you say? Could you quote me scripture where the Bible tells us that Christian Baptism is in no uncertain terms just an outward sign?

Check out some of these verses and then email me with your answer.

Matt. 28:18-20; Act. 2:38; John 3:5-7; Act. 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5-6; Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 6:1-4; Col. 2:11-12; 1 Cor. 12:13


EDIT:

Also it is immensely important that to understand the doctrine of baptism you must first understand the doctrine of justification and to some extent law and gospel, so you might want to read up a bit on those as well before you email me.

Answer 3

It seems that after repenting, Baptism is a sign to the world, and to the enemies of Christianity, including Satan, that one has decided to leave the family of Adam and Eve, under Satan's rulership, (Luke 4:6), and belong to God and Jesus, by obeying them.

I have heard of many having allot of problems when they decided to get baptized as they become a target for Satan.

It is obvious that some may not have time to get baptized after repenting like the man on the other cross/tree. No doubt he will get baptized quickly when he is resurrected, as God knows if a deathbed repentance is genuine.

Answer 4

What about this text in Mark 16:15,16 " And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Isn't that very clear that believing only is not enough. The devil believe more than any of us about God and Christ, but his belief does not save him. Believe is the prerequisite, but after believing and confessing Him, we must witness it and determine to follow Him all the way, and to be born again as a new creature. Baptism is a symbol or Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. A person who is baptized declare to the world that he not only believe Christ but that he is determined to die in his sins and be resurrected with the power of the Holy Spirit to live a new life in Him.

Answer 5

It is not a requirement for salvation. Adding baptism as a requirement "waters" down the blood of Christ and the gospel.

Here is a website that answers, from a scriptural perspective, the key arguments put forward by those who promote this false gospel of baptism.

http://www.geocities.com/smithtj.geo/baptism/baptism.html

Answer 6

All these quotes are true, but how many really believe these and act on it. Faith without works is dead. You could call, you could believe and you could confess; now show the world that you want to do God's will, get baptized as Jesus did when you're ready to do it, not when you're born. The Jews got baptized showing that they were sinners. We all know that we're sinners, since we all die; right? So obviously we get baptized to show the world that we want to dedicate our lives to doing God's will.

Answer 7

Because God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, said that you cannot enter the kingdom without baptism (new birth through water and the spirit). Pretty straightforward.
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Answer 8

How in the world can you quote Romans and leave out the most important part - re: baptism. Typical Protestant out-of-context "proof texting".

Here: Romans 6:3-5 3 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,"

Answer 9

I was going to say it's just your testimony of salvation, not salvation itself, but you did already. Jesus commanded the disciples to baptize people though, so it's obviously an important part. It symbolizes the new birth we have in Christ

Answer 10

Your correct, baptism is not required. The thief on the cross was not baptized but went to Heaven. Baptism is only honoring to God and for us puny humans.