I believe that it is very much part of salvation....and that when we OBEY Christ and are baptized....our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ....and until we are baptized we are STILL IN our sins.
Absolutely false.
CAN we be save and DISOBEY Christ?
We are saved the moment that we believe in Christ/place faith in Christ for salvation (John 3:18; Acts 26:18; Romans 3:24-26) and obedience which FOLLOWS is WORKS and we are saved through faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8,9). Can we be saved without obeying the gospel by choosing to believe the gospel? (Romans 1:16; 10:16) NO.
Mk. 16:16 JESUS said: He that believes….. AND (meaning: PLUS/in ADDITON TO)… IS BAPTIZED shall be saved; he that believeth NOT shall be damned.
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved
(general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who
does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely essential to salvation. Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on a lack of baptism. So salvation rests on belief. *NOWHERE does the Bible say "baptized or condemned."
If water baptism is absolutely required for salvation, then why did Jesus
not mention it in the following verses? (3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). What is the
ONE requirement that Jesus mentions
9 different times in each of these complete statements?
BELIEVES. *What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
John 3:18 - He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who (is not water baptized? - NO)
does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (been water baptized? - NO)
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Would someone who does NOT believe be baptized? I think not because to a NON-believer baptism would make NO sense.
Many unbelievers have been water baptized in various false religions and cults. I'm not talking about atheists, but those who merely believe "mental assent" in the existence and historical facts about Christ, YET
do not truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31)
and are not saved. In other words, they
do not believe in Christ/place faith in Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation. Such people then go on to get water baptized as a means to their salvation.
I believe that the Eunuch and Philip backs up my belief.
Not at all.
Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain… WATER:…. and the eunuch said, See, here is WATER;… what doth hinder me to be BAPTIZED. [v. 38]And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down ….both INTO the WATER,…… both PHILIP and the eunuch; and he BAPTIZED him.[V.39] And when they were come…. up OUT OF the WATER….The eunuch REJOICES AFTER his WATER baptism.
What hindered him from being baptized? 37 Then Philip said,
“If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said,
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." John 20:31 - but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. The eunuch was saved when he believed before receiving water baptism.
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, {1}Repent,… {2} AND....{3} BE BAPTIZED….every one of you in the name of Jesus ... {4} FOR.... the {5} remission of sins, {6} AND....... ye shall {7} RECEIVE....the gift of the Holy Ghost.
In Acts 2:38, "for the remission of sins" does not refer back to both clauses, "you all repent" and "each one of you be baptized," but refers only to the first. Peter is saying "repent unto the remission of your sins," the same as in Acts 3:19. The clause "each one of you be baptized" is parenthetical. This is exactly what Acts 3:19 teaches except that Peter omits the parenthesis.
*Also compare the fact that these Gentiles in Acts 10:45 received
the gift of the Holy Spirit (compare with Acts 2:38 -
the gift of the Holy Spirit) and this was BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:47).
*In Acts 10:43 we read .
.whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins. Again, these Gentiles received
the gift of the Holy Spirit - Acts 10:45 - (compare with Acts 2:38 -
the gift of the Holy Spirit)
when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ - Acts 11:17 - (compare with Acts 16:31 -
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved) BEFORE water baptism - Acts 10:47 - this is referred to as
repentance unto life - Acts 11:18.
*So the only logical conclusion
when properly harmonizing Scripture with Scripture is that faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9; 16:31; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*
Regarding and infant being baptized.....it is not necessary.....THEY have committed NO sin....they do not commit sins until much later in their growing years.
Baptism is for BELIEVERS and infants are incapable of choosing to repent and believe the gospel, so they are not candidates for water baptism.