Plain ordinary H20 has no power to cleanse us on the inside, so the WASHING of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) is not water baptism. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done" but according to His mercy He saved us. Right after we read about water baptism in verses John 3:22-24, in verse 25, we read - An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of
ceremonial washing. Baptism is the emblem of the washing away of sins by the death of Christ. So baptism does not wash away sins literally, but ceremonially.
The Bible states otherwise. Acts 10:43 - To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever
believes in Him will receive remission of sins. *What happened to baptism?These Gentiles
believed in Him, received the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (compare with Acts 2:38 -
the gift of the Holy Spirit)
BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:43-47). In Acts 11:17, looking back to the event that took place in Acts 10, we read - If therefore God gave them the
same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us
when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, (compare with Acts 16:31 -
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved) who was I that I could withstand God?" 18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles
repentance unto life." Also see Acts 3:19; 15:8,9.
It sure sounded like you were going in that direction with your reasoning.Here are some interesting statements from the LCMS website about water baptism: - Frequently Asked Questions | Doctrine - The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Q: Can you please clarify the Lutheran view of Baptism and its purpose? Does the child become a Christian when baptized?
A: Lutherans believe that the Bible teaches that a person is
saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The Bible tells us that such “faith comes by hearing” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus Himself commands Baptism and tells us that Baptism is water used together with the Word of God (Matt. 28:19-20). Because of this, we believe that Baptism is one of the miraculous means of grace (another is God’s Word as it is written or spoken), through which God creates and/or strengthens the gift of faith in a person’s heart (see Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 6:1-4; Col. 2:11-12; 1 Cor. 12.13). Terms the Bible uses to talk about the beginning of faith include “conversion” and “regeneration.” Although we do not claim to understand fully how this happens, we believe that when an infant is baptized God creates faith in the heart of that infant. We believe this because the Bible says that infants can believe (Matt. 18:6) and that new birth (regeneration) happens in Baptism (John 3:5-7; Titus 3:5-6). The infant’s faith cannot yet, of course, be verbally expressed or articulated by the child, yet it is real and present all the same (see e.g., Acts 2:38-39; Luke 1:15; 2 Tim. 3:15). The faith of the infant, like the faith of adults, also needs to be fed and nurtured by God’s Word (Matt. 28:18-20), or it will die.
Lutherans do not believe that only those baptized as infants receive faith. Faith can also be created in a person's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God's (written or spoken) Word.
Baptism should then soon follow conversion (cf. Acts 8:37) for the purpose of confirming and strengthening faith in accordance with God's command and promise. Depending on the situation, therefore,
Lutherans baptize people of all ages from infancy to adulthood.
The LCMS does not believe that Baptism is ABSOLUTELY necessary for salvation. All true believers in the Old Testament era were saved without baptism. Mark 16:16 implies that it is not the absence of Baptism that condemns a person but the absence of faith, and there are clearly other ways of coming to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit (reading or hearing the Word of God). Still, Baptism dare not be despised or willfully neglected, since it is explicitly commanded by God and has His precious promises attached to it. It is not a mere “ritual” or “symbol,” but a powerful means of grace by which God grants faith and the forgiveness of sins.
It sounds like the LCMS believes in baptizing infants, which is unscriptural. An infant is not old enough to repent and believe the gospel. One minute the LCMS church says that we are "saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone" and that we do not believe that "baptism is ABSOLUTELY necessary for salvation" but then turns around and says that "baptism is a powerful means of grace by which God grants faith and the forgiveness of sins." Sounds like a mixed message to me.
Yes, as Greek scholar Daniel Wallace said -Water baptism is not a cause of salvation, but a
PICTURE; and as such it serves both as a public acknowledgment (by those present) and a public confession (by the convert) that one has been Spirit baptized. As Greek scholar AT Robertson said -
a symbol is not the reality, but the
PICTURE of the reality. Baptism is the
PICTURE, pointing to the death of Christ by which sins are actually washed away.
John 3:14 - And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who
does not believe is condemned already, because he (he has not been water baptized? NO)
has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. *What happened to baptism?
So you connect LIVING WATER (John 4:10,14; 7:38) with the Holy Spirit and not water baptism? That's a start.
The multiple passages of scripture that I have shared with you have not been cherry picked, but the verses on baptism have.
This is what people do when they set out to prove that salvation is by "water and works." They isolate passages TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT and do not harmonize Scripture with Scripture in order to reach the proper conclusion from the whole council of God on the subject.
I never said that baptism was just a nothing. It is a work of righteousness, but we are not saved by works of righteousness which we have done, but by faith in Christ. Baptism is an important act of obedience that God expects us to obey, however, it's not that act of obedience that saves us but our faith in Christ (Acts 10:43-47).