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NASB | John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 4:14 "But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life." |
Subject: AO, was His John 3 not in effect? |
Bible Note: Greetings Deejhermit! You asked: "How can you say christians needn't be baptized when Jesus says they should???" The answer is that no one on the forum has said this. We all believe that Christians should be baptized in obedience to the command of Christ. Where we differ is in the role that baptism plays in relation to salvation. Those who believe in baptismal regeneration propose the following: Faith plus baptism are necessary for salvation. We believe that the Biblical position is the following: Faith is all that is necessary for salvation. Baptism is done as a result of salvation, not to obtain it. Now, allow me to touch upon your individual questions and points: 1) Phillip and the Ethiopian: Certainly baptism is mentioned in Acts 8. However, nothing in the passage teaches that baptism is necessary to obtain salvation. It is reasonable to assume that the Ethiopian wanted to be baptized because he had already accepted Christ. 2) Paul and Stephanous: Paul expressly states that he did not baptize any except for Stephanous' household, and Cripus and Gaius. But, the number of people he actually baptized is not important. His statement in 1 Cor. 1:17 is very important though. He said: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." Now, if baptism is necessary for salvation and is an essential part of the gospel, how can Paul say that Christ did not send him to baptize? Clearly, baptism is something which is done after one responds to the gospel and is not essential for salvation. 3) Why was Paul baptized? Because, all Christians are commanded to be baptized. Just as all Christians are commanded to give, go to church, be witnesses, love one another, ect. Yet, none of these 'commands' are necessary for salvation. They are things that a Christian is to do because he is saved, not to get saved. 4) Rom. 6: Paul is using 'burial' as an example of how foolish it is too continue to sin when a person has 'died' with Christ. Nothing in this passage says that one must be baptized to be saved. 5) 1 Cor. 12:13: I don't believe that this verse has anything to do with water baptism at all. 6) Gal. 3:26-27: Same here! Both of these passage refer to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in making us part of the one body, neither refer to water baptism at all. 7) 1 Pet. 3:21: This point has been discussed many times. Note what Peter says that baptism does not do. He says: "...not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God" Now, Peter put this appositional statement immediately into the verse for a reason. He did not want anyone to think that by saying 'baptism saves' he meant that baptism actually cleanses us from sin. So, he immediately qualifies his statement by noting that baptism does not remove the dirt from the body. Salvation cleanses us from sin. So, why the qualification about baptism? If it were necessary for salvation (i.e. - necessary for cleaning for sin), then Peter's appositional statement would make no sense. However, Peter also goes on to stress what baptism is: "...but the pledge of a good conscience toward God" or, some translations say: "but the response of a good conscience toward God" This is fully in accord with what most on the forum believe about baptism. It is something we are all commanded to due in response to salvation. The most important thing my friend is all of the clear statements of Scripture which explicitly state that our works play no role whatsoever in salvation. Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 4, Gal. 2, ect.... All of these state over and over again that if we have to 'earn' salvation, then it would be by 'works', not by 'grace'. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |