One baptism #309
“In Acts 16:30, the question was asked, "what must I do to be saved?" The answer is Acts 16:31 was notget water baptized and you will be saved or accomplish a list of works and you will be saved. The answer was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.." They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit in Acts 11:17 and were saved (as we see in Acts 16:31) BEFORE water baptism (as we see in Acts 10:43-47).”
Amen and again I say, AMEN! These verses are crystal clear, for those who have eyes to see.
Response:
Jesus said. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16: 16) Was He wrong?
No. He was not wrong, yet if he who
believes will be saved (John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,16) then he who believes and is baptized will be saved as well. *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. Did Jesus say, "whoever is not baptized will be condemned?" NO. It's flawed hermeneutics to build doctrine on one half of one verse while ignoring the second half of the verse and these other 9 verses. Also, baptism is not included in BELIEVES, hence the AND that separates believes AND is baptized in Mark 16:16. "Believes in Him" is established
before water baptism.
John 3:15 - so that whoever
believes will in Him have eternal life. Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 3:18 - He who
believes in Him is not condemned.. Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 5:24 - Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 6:29 - Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you
believe in Him whom He sent." Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 6:47 - Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
believes in Me has everlasting life. Was he wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." Was He wrong? *What happened to baptism?
John 11:26 - And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? Was He wrong? *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.
In Acts 16: 30 the question is asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Does the answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household,” contradict what Jesus said?
No, because he who believes and is baptized is
general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized and Jesus made it clear that
it's the lack of belief that causes condemnation and not the lack of baptism (Mark 16:16(b); John 3:18). Forcing baptism to be absolutely necessary for salvation contradicts Paul's statement in Acts 16:31. He said,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" *and
did not include baptism* (which is in perfect harmony with what Jesus said in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26 and what Peter said in Acts 10:43.
(1) They heard the word of the Lord (v. 32) The passage does not say they were saved immediately, that is your assumption.
They were
saved immediately upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ before they were water baptized, just as Cornelius and his household were
saved immediately upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as well, as we see in Acts 11:17,18
before they were water baptized (Acts 10:43-47). Neither passage says they were not saved until after they were water baptized.
(2) The jailer washed their wounds that very hour. Was that an act of repentance? Does it show some urgency?
Repentance/faith/salvation precedes water baptism. I see no urgency, just availability to get baptized that hour.
(3) Immediately, he and his household were baptized. Urgency? Yes!
No urgency, just availability to get baptized immediately within that very hour.
(4) He gave them something to eat and rejoiced greatly. Why did they rejoice after baptism and not after hearing the word? Obviously they were saved when they believed and were baptized.
Rejoicing before or after baptism proves nothing of the necessity of baptism for salvation. When you are busy washing stripes and baptizing converts, why not wait until afterwards? Obviously, they were saved when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as Paul said in Acts 16:31. Paul
did not say believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and get baptized and you will be saved. We also see in Acts 11:17 (also see Acts 10:45) that Cornelius and his household
received the gift of the Holy Spirit when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (compare with Acts 2:38 -
the gift of the Holy Spirit) which means they were saved at that very moment according to the promise of what Paul said in Acts 16:31 and this all happened
BEFORE they received water baptism (Acts 10:43-47).
(5) The record concludes (v. 34) “Having believed in God.” It would appear that “believing in the Lord Jesus” comprehends belief, repentance and baptism.
You are reading your own preconceived ideas into these passages of scripture. "Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ"
includes repentance because it already took place when they changed their minds and chose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and become saved. Just as we see in Acts 11:17-18
(received the Holy Spirit when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ/repentance unto life) yet they were
not yet water baptized (Acts 10:43-47) so believing in the Lord Jesus Christ precedes and does not include water baptism. *Also, those who
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit are not still lost in their sins.
The order of events you give contradicts the statement of our Lord in Mark 16: 16 and is not only incorrect but misleading to those who might read it.
Actually, just the opposite is true, as you continue to isolate the first half of Mark 16:16 and ignore the rest of the verse, thus forcing Jesus to say that
whoever is not water baptized will be condemned, (which He never said) and your biased interpretation is also in contradiction to the words of Jesus in Mark 16:16(b); John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26. *You fail to properly harmonize scripture with scripture before reaching your biased conclusion.
Those that receive the word are baptized (Acts 2: 41) and they are saved by a perfected faith, an obedient faith.
That's not what Peter said in Acts 2:41. That is your "added" commentary, based on your confusion from James 2:22. Then those who gladly received his word (through repentance/faith/all who believed - vs. 44) were "afterwards" baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. Acts 4:4 - However, many of those who heard the word
believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. Acts 5:14 - And
believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
Nothing is said about receiving the Spirit but we can be assured that they did because God promised that those who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2: 38, 39)
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).
*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*
Salvation is in Christ Jesus, (2 Tim. 2: 10), and we are baptized into Christ. (Gal. 3: 26, 27) The message is clear and consistent for those who have eyes to see. God bless
Paul clearly said that we are
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (.) PERIOD End of sentence and thought on how we
become children of God. Next sentence, next thought - For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have
put on/clothed yourselves with Christ. The Greek word for
"put on" is
"enduo" and means to enclose oneself in, as when one "puts on" clothes or armor or some other item. Involved in this is the idea of "imitation" and "identification."
Now for the word
"enduo" (put on). This word also appears in Romans 13:14 where we read, "But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill it's lusts." This exhortation is not to a sinner, telling him to be baptized to "put on" Christ, but it is written to Christians. Evidently then, baptism is not the only way to "put on" Christ. To "put on" Christ is to conform to Him, imitate Him. So it is in baptism; we "put on" Christ, conforming to Him in the ordinance that declares Him to be our Savior. So if we must "put on" Christ to be saved through water baptism, apparently we are not saved yet. We must also
"put on" Christ by making no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:14). Right? Let's be consistent.
Just as 1 Corinthians 10:2 says that all (the Israelites) were "baptized into Moses" in the cloud and in the sea, but this
does not mean they were literally water baptized into the body of Moses. Believers are not water baptized into the body of Christ either, but we are
Spirit baptized into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), which you confuse with water baptism. *You need to learn how to rightly divide the word of truth. *But first you need to repent and believe the gospel.