Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 10:9 because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. |
Subject: Isn't Baptism neccessary for salvation?? |
Bible Note: In an effort to keep in harmony with the logic and common sense that one frequently sees displayed so clearly on this forum, I would like to present my unauthorized version of a perfectly plausible answer to the question concerning the thief on the cross and his baptism. Here's the proposition: That the thief was indeed baptized. And here's the scenario: The thief, upon being told by Jesus that "today you shall be with Me in Paradise" [Luke 23:43], somehow knew that in order for Jesus' words to have any effect, he had to figure out a way to get himself baptized. So he called down from his cross to the Roman soldiers, "Hey, guys, I've got to get myself baptized." The Roman soldiers, lacking the authority to unhang the criminal, consulted with their captain. The captain, also lacking the power to authorize such a move, spoke with Pontius Pilate, and Pilate decided to send an emergency fax to the Emperor of Rome. The Emperor, always gracious and willing to cooperate, sent back a fax saying, "Sure, why not, Ponty, if you think you can pull the criminal down from the cross and get him to a pool of water before he conks out." So they brought in some heavy equipment, probably a "cherry picker" much like they use today to clear away tree limbs from electrical wires, got up there and pulled the guy loose from his cross and brought him down. Meanwhile, another crew on the ground had been busy setting up a large portable swimming pool and had called out the Jerusalem Fire Department to hook up their hoses and fill the pool with water. The worked quickly and efficiently and now all was set in place. They found a preacher roaming around among the crowd and brought him over to the pool where he baptized the criminal. Then back in the bucket of the cherry picker went the criminal, and he was hoisted to his cross once again and re-nailed to it. This was done so he could continue his process of dying. So, for anyone to assume that the thief went to glory without being baptized shows that he has simply not taken time to think the issue through. But now you know the rest of the story. --Hank |