Deep Dive Into Baptism

-

I came across a YouTube video of a prominent theologian claiming baptism isn’t essential for salvation. The topic is so important as it pertains to whether or not you’re saved that I made this post in note form so you can use it as a reference later on. 

Argument: There are several verses, like Acts 16:31 for instance, that state salvation is through faith.


Counterpoint: As any good biblical student knows, you have to look at all the verses about a subject to get the complete picture. Obviously, the road to salvation is paved with faith. First and foremost you must have faith to be saved. However, when it comes to salvation, faith and baptism are inseparable (Mark 16:15).


Argument: Baptism doesn’t do anything. It only symbolizes you’re a Christian.


Counterpoint: The mere act of being submersed in water is not the saving mechanism; otherwise, you could be saved by diving into a pool. God is the one who saves but baptism is one of God’s requirements to receive salvation. A similar situation can be found in the conquering of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27). The act of the soldiers marching around the city didn’t cause the wall to fall. God caused it to happen but marching was God’s requirement to get the wall to topple down.


WHY BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL 


  1. Baptism is essential for salvation because God made it one of the prerequisites for the forgiveness of sin. “…Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” (Acts 2:36). Clearly, you can’t be saved without repenting. Likewise, you can’t be saved without baptism as the two are inextricably linked. 
  2. Mark 16:15 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” The verse shows faith is required and without it baptism is useless, but it also added an additional piece (baptism) to salvation. The third piece is repentance which we already covered. 
  3. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life,”(Rom 6:3-4). Simply put, you’re not made anew if you aren’t baptized!
  4. Acts 22:16 “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”

 

NOTE: In Acts 22:16 baptism is to “Wash away your sins.” It’s the same as being forgiven for your sins which is in Acts 2:36. 


ADDITIONAL BAPTISM VERSES


  1. 1 Pet 3:21 “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
  2. Titus 3:5 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”


NOTE: Peter 3:21 shows baptism is one of the ways we’re regenerated and it ties in perfectly with the “washing of regeneration” in Titus 3:5. Baptism regenerates us by making a request to God for a good conscience. We’re also renewed by the Holy Spirit. When you’re baptized you receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36).    


     3. You become Christ like through    

          baptism. Gal 3:27 “for in Christ Jesus 

          you are all sons of God, through faith. 

          For as many of you as were baptized 

          into Christ have put on Christ.”.

      


Argument: We aren’t saved by works (acts).


Counterpoint: I agree. No amount of good deeds will get you into heaven but there’s a difference between good deeds and doing what God requires for salvation. I want to remind the naysayers of something. Romans 10:14 says you have to hear the gospel (an action) in order to believe it but you can’t hear the gospel unless someone preaches it (another action). Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way we can continue making “…disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (‭‭Matt ‭28‬:‭19‬). 


Think about it. 

————————

More Bible verses about baptism:

John 3:5, Acts 18:8, Acts 2:41, Col 2:12


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do Your Prayers Tell on You?

-
Do you remember the story Jesus told about two men who went to the temple to pray? One was a Pharisee who thanked God that he wasn’t like other people and proudly listed the things he did right. The other was a tax collector who simply acknowledged his sin and asked God for mercy (Luke 18:9-14). It’s easy to see the problem in the Pharisee’s prayer, but what if we turned the microscope on ourselves? If we took an honest look at our own prayers, what would they reveal about us? So let’s have a little fun and see if we’re more like the Pharisee or the tax collector. The Prayer Life Test For each question give yourself: 2 points  — Often/Yes 1 point  — Sometimes 0 points  — Rarely/No 1) When you pray, how often do you spend time thanking God before asking Him for something? 2) How often do your prayers focus on other people’s needs rather than primarily your own? 3) When you face a difficult situation, do you primarily pray for God to change the situation, or do you ask Him ...
Read more

Passenger Seat Faith & The Trinity

-
It was such a beautiful Saturday morning I just had to lean my head out the window and soak in the sun. My wife was driving and I could sense a little envy for what she calls being a passenger prince. I call it no stress driving because for me  there’s no traffic, no red lights   and no pretending I know where we’re going. My attention was on the sun, a good breeze and good vibes. The only thing disturbing my peace was a podcast playing in the background but as I reached to change the station one of the hosts said, “The Trinity just doesn’t make sense.”  That got my attention. One God and three persons can sound confusing at first and if we’re being real, it can feel like something you’re not supposed to question. But the more I thought about it the more I realized this isn’t about figuring God out on our terms. It’s about understanding what He has already revealed. The Bible is clear that there’s only one God. Deut 6:4 says “…The Lord our God the Lord is one.” That truth...
Read more

Tick Tock. Tick Tock

-
“Another one,” I said to myself while staring at my newest gray hair. “Now I’m matching on all levels,” I sighed as I realized my eyebrows were starting to join the party. The only thing keeping me from looking like a box of Uncle Ben’s Rice was the hair dye sitting on the counter. That was 25 years ago and Father Time loves to remind me his steady march continues. Nowadays it takes a good 5 minute stretch just to work my kinks out and thoughts of beating my grandsons in sports are quickly fading. If you’re like me, you wish you could keep the looks and vitality of youth but I’ve come to realize the aging of our bodies is a daily alarm for us to get right.   We all know people who live the same sinful lifestyle they did when you first met them. Hugh Hefner was 91 years old when he died. Supposedly, he lived exactly how he did when he was in his twenties until the very end. To see someone reject the gift of enteral life because they’re too caught up in this one is disheartening. How...
Read more