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NASB | Luke 23:43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 23:43 Jesus said to him, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." [2 Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7] |
Subject: why was the thief saved without baptism? |
Bible Note: I’m slow in saying thanks for all the input to my note about the salvation of the thief on the cross. I’ve read and pondered your comments and the scriptures you referenced. Acknowledging that the basic topic here is whether or not baptism has been necessary for salvation since the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, I speak in humility and love (Eph 4:15, reference Jude 3, I Pet 4:11) All preconceptions, prejudices, guesswork, and speculation aside, my Bible still says salvation is in Christ, and that we are baptized into Christ, and that baptism saves us, and that baptism washes away sins, and that he who believes and is baptized will be saved, that obedience is key, that the devils also believe and tremble, and so forth. (II Tim 2:10, Rom 6:3 and Gal 3:27, I Pet 3:21, Acts 22:6, Mark 16:16, I Pet 1:22, Jas 2.). Maybe you can see why I feel the teaching that we are saved by faith alone without baptism, and thus outside of Christ, has a bit of a disconnect. God has always required obedience, both in the old and new testaments. Quoting from Heb 5:9 “…He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…” There is nothing in the waters of baptism that saves except an obedient sinner. The requirement of baptism for remission of sins hardly makes the new Law of Liberty more stringent and difficult than the old law of Moses. And, while we’re talking difficult, I remember that Jesus said “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way…” so, shouldn’t we expect some amount of difficulty? I read recently on the Forum a reference to the story of Nahum. His leprosy wasn’t cured until he had done what God told him to do, dip 7 times in the Jordan River. Maybe not logical and reasonable according to man’s (Nahum’s) thinking, but certainly not more difficult than he was able to do You are defending your position (and I have no quarrel with the thief being saved through faith and confession while Jesus was alive), but you aren’t telling me specifically what part of my reasoning is false. Which of the scriptures I have referenced are not true? What part of my note is not based solely on scripture? J. Elkins |