I use to think no but then i saw these verses, and now I don't know. Don't just say it's the outward sign of belief unless you can explain these verses.
Acts 2:38
38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
"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." (John 3:5)
"And he said unto them (His Apostles), Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:15-16)
Colossians 2:12
12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Galatians 3:27
27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
and there are many more then that.
2007-12-02 04:56:29 · 21 answers · asked by Joshua L 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i agree that there's merit for both sides and verses, but how do you inteprt these ones? to come to that conclusion, because they must mean something
2007-12-02 05:02:45 · update #1
Salvation happens when one is born again, born of His Spirit, cleansed by His blood, joint heirs with King Jesus & made part of the family of God.
At the moment of spiritual birth, you are born of God by Gods will & not by the will of man.
Sometimes people are saved when they are water baptized & some people are saved before they are water baptized. I know even in the NT people were saved & baptized in the Holy Spirit (with signs of this) before they were water baptized. How can anyone deny these water baptism also, since they were clearly filled with the Holy Spirit? So? They were baptized after they were saved.
Some people are saved & don't get the opportunity to be water baptized. Like the Thief on the cross. What did he do? He confessed he was guilty of sin & this condemnation. He confessed Jesus Christ was without sin & not worthy of this condemnation. He looked at Jesus honestly from his heart & said, "Lord? (Confessed Jesus Lord) Will you remember me when you enter into your Kingdom? (Confessed Jesus King)." Jesus told them that today he would be with Him in Paradise. (That is Abrahams bosom that is down across from hell (Paradise raised to the 3rd heaven when Jesus raised from the dead.).) So? This thief didn't have the opportunity to be water baptized. But he was saved by confessing with his mouth Jesus Christ his Lord, Righteous Savior & King. And he believed in his heart in Jesus Spiritual Kingdom (life after death).
(So we are also to confess Jesus Christ our Lord & Savior and believe in our heart He raised from the dead and we will be saved (receive eternal life).
Repent & be baptized (It is Jesus shed blood for the remission of our sins). Water baptism represents this & washing in the Word. The Holy spirit renews us in His Word & His Spirit.
John3:5,6 need to be read together. The first person is born of water (born flesh from mothers water bag) and the 2nd person is born of the Spirit (spiritual eyes opened, spiritual birth).
In Mrk. You are damned if you believe not. If you don't believe In God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. That Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many. The trick is to be water baptized in obedience to God. Not to be saved. A person can be water baptized & not believe in their heart. Then it is just a dunk in the water.
But water baptism saves people because they believe in their heart the message of water baptism. The person goes down, dies to old sin man. Jesus shed blood washes away ones sins, & the new man in Christ alive forever more.
Your are baptized into Christ when you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. And many times this happens in water baptism because this is an act of faith & a confession of faith in Jesus Christ the Lord & Resurrection. And also in God the Father, Son & Holy Ghost.
2007-12-02 05:15:56 · answer #1 · answered by t a m i l 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
This is the last paragraph from the article from "gotquestions.org" below... I cut/paste the end of it only, but it makes clear what the stance on Baptism is... and the full article is very informative.....
Baptismal regeneration is not a Biblical concept. Baptism does not save from sin, but from a bad conscience. Peter clearly taught that baptism was not a ceremonial act of physical purification, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior (cf. Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12). To make the source of salvation perfectly clear, Peter added, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Peter 1:3). Baptism is an important step of obedience that every Christian should take. Baptism cannot be a requirement for salvation. To make it such is an attack on the sufficiency of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
=== I hope this helps.. and if it doesn't, you can submit your question directly to "gotquestions.org" to obtain a specific answer, especially with regard to the passages you cite.
Have a blessed day.
2007-12-02 06:07:45 · answer #2 · answered by wyomugs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Though not everyone believes it, the scriptures tell us that it is.
The New Testament uses synecdoche frequently in describing the PROCESS which results in our entering a saving relationship with Jesus, that is, a part standing for the whole.
The NT NEVER mentions "accepting Jesus" or the "sinner's prayer," but repeatedly tells us of people who wish to be Christians being IMMEDIATELY baptized. In no example is it delayed.
1Pe 3:21 "The water of the flood is a picture of the BAPTISM THAT NOW SAVES YOU also. The baptism I’m talking about has nothing to do with removing dirt from your body. Instead, it promises God that you will keep a clear sense of what is right and wrong. Jesus Christ has saved you by rising from the dead."
To say that one is saved WITHOUT baptism robs Peter's teaching here of all meaning. Paul writes several times that baptism is our "point of entry" to Jesus:
Galatians 3:27 All of you who were BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST have put on Christ as if he were your clothes.
Romans 6:3 All of us were BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST JESUS. Don’t you know that we were baptized into his death?
When Paul writes that we are saved "without regard for works," as in 2Timothy 1:9 or Ephesians 2:9, he does NOT mean that there is no action required of the believer... obvious since belief itself is a "work," but that is is not like the Jews' "works of the law" were thought to make them righteous. There is only one thing that makes the believer righteous, and that is the blood of Jesus. The contexts of the passages make this clear... The noun and verb forms related to "faith" or "believe" in the Greek New Testament both occur a little over 200 times in almost exactly the same number of passages.
2007-12-02 05:03:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Baptism is an ordinance, such as feet washing and communion, that we are instructed to keep; it also is a symbolic practice. Sometimes in the Bible, baptism is referring the water baptism, other occasions, not (just as circumcise doesn't alway refer to a medical procedure).
Water baptism is not necessary to make it to heaven and does not produce salvations. Once someone confesses of and forsakes their sins and accepts Jesus as their savior they are saved. They are to be baptized as a symbol of the dying out of man.
True baptism isn't not sprinkling, etc., but being completely submerged, which represents the death of the old, sinful man (submersion=death of the old (sinful) man=burial) and the arising with Christ (coming up=new sin free life).
Babies/children need not be baptized as they have yet to come to the age of accountability, in which they are of mind to sin or not.
2007-12-03 16:40:44 · answer #4 · answered by Tiffany M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If we could be saved by water baptism them Jesus could have lived to be an old man then reserected. No forgiveness of sin, all the way through the Bible requires blood. Many times the word baptism is used as to mean immersed in Christ. You passages in John 3 have to do with birth. There is not one reference to baptism in that passage. The Apostle John wasn't afraid to use the word because in the next passage Jesus and His apostles were in a place in Judah where John was and they were also baptizing.. The word baptism is actually used in that passage.. Same chapter, Different context.. If you want to insist that baptism is required for salvation please use scripture context that is about baptism... IHS Jim
2007-12-02 05:09:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes and no.
I know that sounds confusing but please bear with me.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 12:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
1. The word baptize was a common word in Jesus' day. It was used especially when dying fabrics. Say you wanted to make a piece of white fabric red. You would then baptize it into the red water. i.e. you would completely immerse the cloth into the water and afterwards the red would be in the cloth forever. They have become ONE. You cannot separate them.
2. In the Greek, the word translated as "in" in the phrase "baptize in the name..." actually means INTO. So, you have to be completely immersed INTO the Name of Jesus, never to be the same again afterwards - for you will be ONE in covenant union, bearing His Name - just like in a marriage - from that time forth.
ok ... now switch gears and think of Noah.
The Ark was baptised (immersed) into the water. The wicked people of that generation were baptised (immersed) into the water. But Noah and his family were not baptised (immersed) into the water at all. They were baptised (immersed) into the Ark.
Everyone who was immersed into the water died. They drowned because they were not immersed into the Ark.
The Ark represents Jesus. Baptism for the believer is not about the WATER. It is about believing INTO Christ, becoming immersed / hidden in Him. Baptism is about the covenant union - you becoming one with God.
Soooooooo ... For Christians Is Baptism necessary for salvation?
The answer would be: Yes and no.... YES - Baptism into Christ Jesus is and NO - baptism into water is not.
2007-12-02 05:37:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
truly the thief on the circulate died below the previous testomony that Jesus nailed to the circulate, for this reason he did not could desire to be baptized. After Christ rose from the lifeless and taught the GOSPEL ( good information) of the recent testomony is as quickly as we've been commanded to be baptized with a view to bathe away our sins. confident, God says we could desire to be immersed in baptism to be stored yet previously all and sundry could be baptized they could desire to believe and that perception or faith comes from listening to the be attentive to God. Romans 10:17; Mark sixteen:15,sixteen; Hebrews 11:6 Repentance and confession are commanded too Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9,10; Acts 8:35-39 Baptism by immersion : Romans 6:a million,2,3,4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:35-39; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:sixteen; Galatians 3:26,27; a million Peter 3:21; Mark sixteen:15,sixteen Christian in PA ( see profile)
2016-10-10 02:03:11 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As Jesus was nailed to the cross, one of the thiefs on the cross asked Him to remember me and Jesus said, today thou shall be with me in paradise. He was not baptised. The baptizem was a shadow of things to come, it's also a type of the washing away of the sins. If you are not baptized to be saved, Heaven is going to be very small.
2007-12-02 06:01:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, baptism is not necessary. Jesus often spoke a few words and sent people away with nothing more than "go and sin no more". He also said sometimes "salvation has come to this house today", such as when Zaccheous promised to return everything he had stolen.
Repentance is necessary for salvation, not baptism.
2007-12-02 04:59:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
dont ask others for what you are to believe. You have some pretty strong scripture basis for beleiving baptism is demanded by Jesus, In mark, and preached by his apostles. why would they preach the unnecessary? beleive what the bible says, not what other people try to "make it say" by their intrepretations and forcing it to agree with their slant on religion beliefs. who will go to heaven? Jesus said "those who DO his will" , obviously baptism IS his will.
2007-12-02 10:45:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I don't think so, but I think that everyone should be given the chance in their lives to accept Christ into their heart and wash away their sins, which is Baptizism, which I believe is a personal choice that you can choose when you are ready to do so.
2007-12-02 05:02:48 · answer #11 · answered by Sweet <3 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋