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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Acts 2:38 Repentance and Baptism? | Acts 2:38 | Hank | 110638 | ||
Rowdy, I join Tim Moran in my appreciation of the gentle spirit that shows through in your posts. And I join Tim in my disagreement with a couple of theological conclusions to which your "better safe than sorry" motto apparently has led you. I disagree with the view that salvation is in any way contingent upon the life-long maintenance of good works, even though there is a clear relational connection between salvation and good works, i.e., "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph. 8:10). But salvation is "the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:8b,9) The second theological conclusion with which I disagree is baptismal regeneration, which really is a spin-off of the "maintenance of salvation by works" theology that leads to the denial of the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. Baptismal regeneration puts works into the salvation equation and adds something to Ephesians 2:8 which says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." ..... Thus, baptismal regeration and "falling from grace" are actually two peas of the same pod, in that both views add a man-generated, works-based element to God's free gift of grace, and that is not the message of the finished work of Christ on the cross. ....... The Jewish leaders of Jesus' day taught the Law, not as it was given to Moses, but as it was interpreted, refined, rehashed, added to and perverted down through the centuries. Jesus, of course, soundly condemned what was being taught. But perhaps the Jews too thought that they were merely following the maxim: Better to be safe than sorry. --Hank | ||||||
2 | Acts 2:38 Repentance and Baptism? | Acts 2:38 | Mr and Mrs Rowdy | 110742 | ||
I remembered a couple more illustrations or points that "shore up" my conclusions. Hopefully all would agree, almost all the examples of salvation involving actual specific persons include baptism AND there seems to be some urgency involved. The Phillipian jailer and his family were baptized that very same night and it appears obvious the time of day was late at night. The Ethiopian enuch saw water and wanted to be baptized right away. No ceremony, none needed. No family, friends but he's obviously on his way back home, anxious to get back to his people like most of us would be, but he's just been handed the most wonderful gift from his God and wants to obey Him instantly. The second illustration, although a little bit of a stretch, I think it's valid and have heard it preached in several sermons. That is the pattern we received from Noah. You remember the circumstances, the world is filled with sin, far worse than it is now but sometimes I worry, we seem to be in a rush to catch up. God tells Noah to build a giant boat on dry land and wait for rain, something he's never seen before. The day comes and Noah escorts his family and cargo on board and please notice the Lord Himself CLOSES the single door to that life giving vessel. A large number of people compare this single door to the single point of entry into the Lord's body. I'm not saying it's only baptism that is that point of entry. I'm saying we have to obey the WHOLE of God's plan of salvation. I guess everyone agrees we have to hear/understand the gospel, repent of our sins and turn from them, confess the name of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour but then so many hesitate to believe in God's simple pattern to complete the process. I'd be the last person in the world to foster the idea of being able to earn our way to Heaven by doing any amount of good works or anything at all. Instead we need to re-read the book of James and understand that the works of good deeds are merely the fruit of our faith. It's faith and works that go hand-in-hand with christianity, proving our dedication to our Lord, so He will keep our names in the Book of Life for Judgment Day. Remember that picture of baptism in Romans 6 is a depiction of Christ's death where we contact the blood of our Saviour. That contact is based on faith. We are most definitely "His workmanship." Without His help, we'd never make it out of this world of temptations and distractions with a hope of anything but torture and Hell for all eternity. Yes, we do need to see our salvation as a gift from God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. But we also need to remember how important blood is to our Father, and we need to make absolutely certain we've got Jesus' blood covering us in our sins. I hope this helps in clarifying my position and God bless. |
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3 | Acts 2:38 Repentance and Baptism? | Acts 2:38 | kalos | 110751 | ||
Is baptism needed for salvation? Part One Is baptism necessary for salvation? "No. Let's examine what the Scriptures teach on this issue: "First, it is quite clear from such passages as Acts 15 and Romans 4 that no external act is necessary for salvation. Salvation is by divine grace through faith alone (Romans 3:22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9, etc.). "If baptism were necessary for salvation, we would expect to find it stressed whenever the gospel is presented in Scripture. That is not the case, however. Peter mentioned baptism in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38). However, in his sermon from Solomon's portico in the Temple (Acts 3:12-26), Peter makes no reference to baptism, but links forgiveness of sin to repentance (3:19). If baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sin, why didn't Peter say so in Acts 3? "Paul never made baptism any part of his gospel presentations. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul gives a concise summary of the gospel message he preached. There is no mention of baptism. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul states that "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel," thus clearly differentiating the gospel from baptism. That is difficult to understand if baptism is necessary for salvation. If baptism were part of the gospel itself, necessary for salvation, what good would it have done Paul to preach the gospel, but not baptize? No one would have been saved. Paul clearly understood baptism to be separate from the gospel, and hence in no way efficacious for salvation. "Perhaps the most convincing refutation of the view that baptism is necessary for salvation are those who were saved apart from baptism. We have no record of the apostles' being baptized, yet Jesus pronounced them clean of their sins (John 15:3--note that the Word of God, not baptism, is what cleansed them). The penitent woman (Luke 7:37-50), the paralytic man (Matthew 9:2), and the publican (Luke 18:13-14) also experienced forgiveness of sins apart from baptism. "The Bible also gives us an example of people who were saved before being baptized. In Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius and those with him were converted through Peter's message. That they were saved before being baptized is evident from their reception of the Holy Spirit (v. 44) and the gifts of the Spirit (v. 46) before their baptism. Indeed, it is the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit (and hence were saved) that led Peter to baptize them (cf. v. 47). "One of the basic principles of biblical interpretation is the analogia scriptura, the analogy of Scripture. In other words, we must compare Scripture with Scripture in order to understand its full and proper sense. And since the Bible doesn't contradict itself, any interpretation of a specific passage that contradicts the general teaching of the Bible is to be rejected. Since the general teaching of the Bible is, as we have seen, that baptism and other forms of ritual are not necessary for salvation, no individual passage could teach otherwise. Thus we must look for interpretations of those passages that will be in harmony with the general teaching of Scripture. With that in mind, let's look briefly at some passages that appear to teach that baptism is required for salvation." (to be continued) (http://www.gty.org/IssuesandAnswers/archive/baptism.htm) (ID# 26724) |
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