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NASB | Mark 16:16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 16:16 "He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God's wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned. |
Subject: Is BAPTISM a SYMBOL? |
Bible Note: Curt, although I respect your views on the baptism of children I do not necessarily agree. I believe that a person should be baptised under "free will" and if we choose (as parents) to have our children baptised, then they themselves are not making that decision under their own free will. God's promises are not dependent on our understanding as you stated; however, I think it should be added that although we may not understand His promises, we must have faith to partake in them. He promised us eternal life - if we have faith in His Son. He promised us blessings - if we have faith in Him. Look back at to all of Jesus' miracles... each one was accomplished among those who had faith. These miracles are the same as all God's promises - first we must have faith. Now, if a child does not have faith and is baptised, then does that not make that child's baptism worthless? I am sure some can argue that an early baptism of a child is a covenant between God and the parent to raise the child in a Godly home. However, if we are already Christians then we should not have to make "another" covenant with God to do the correct things and raise our children in Godly ways because we should have already made that covenant with Him when we chose to be Christians. Bottomline, I feel that a person should be baptised under their own free will, which personally symbolizes their dying with Christ on the cross and being resurrected into a newness of life to walk with Christ the best they can while on this earth. If a person doesn't come to the baptism by their own will then they themselves haven't really made a covenant with God, have they? v/r Bill |