Subject: Is baptism a work? |
Bible Note: Greetings Charis! I pray that you had a greet Lord's Day! My question would be this: Is the baptism mentioned in Col. 2:11-12 water baptism, or the work of the Holy Spirit of baptizing us into the body of Christ? If we simply take the position that water baptism is the replacement for circumcision, then aren't we opening ourselves up to Paul's rebuke of the Judaizers in Galatians? For all we have done is replace one 'requirement' for salvation with another. Not believing that water baptism saves us does not make it an 'unnecessary religious ritual'. It is an act of obedience and faith. Christ commanded us to be baptized, so we are obeying Him when we do so. It is also an act of faith in that we stand before the world and boldly proclaim what Christ has done for us. My case is a good example. I was saved when I was six years old. But, I was not raised in a Christian home and did not really receive any instruction about or encouragement about what I should do. So, I was not baptized until I was 14 years old. Was I not a Christian until then? Was I not full of the Holy Spirit? In fact, I experienced the second work of the baptism of the Holy Spirit prior to when I was baptized in water - with speaking in tongues. My concern in these threads is not to tell people that they should not be baptized - they should be! However, we must be careful that we don't add 'requirements' or 'works' to a salvation which is based totally upon grace, through faith. Well, I've got to run to work my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |