Bible Question:
is baptism by imersion the requirement to fullfill salvation, or is baptism not required at all |
Bible Answer: I refer you to Romans 3:21-24 and Romans 5:9. Justification and salvation comes only as a gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism, whether by imersion or splashing (the gentiles in Acts 10:47 were probably splashed since they seemed to be inside Cornelius' house) is just an outward sign of an inward decision. Baptism in the NT can be compared to circumcision in the OT in that it was an outward sign or seal of being the people that God would reveal Himself through. For this I refer to Romans 4:11. Abraham was justified because he believed God (Gen 15:6). At the time he was justified he was uncircumcised. Likewise the believer is justified, saved and redeamed by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of decision. If the believer should die before getting baptised their everlasting life in Heaven with Jesus is assured. Jesus commissioned His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit(Matthew 28:19)as an outward seal to the union and commitment of the believer to God before the world (Matthew 10:33). True baptism, like true worship, is a baptism of the heart in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) Because any true believer is going to have a strong desire to obey our Lord, he or she would want to partake in the two rituals that our Lord Jesus gave us of baptism and communion to show their commitment and love for Him to others. |