This thread is still going, and people are now repeating themselves over and over and over and over...
Elizabeth I just want to make sure the op gets the answer OK.....
Does water baptism save us.... NO!
This thread is still going, and people are now repeating themselves over and over and over and over...
Well Dan, maybe we can pick up where we left off. If as you say one is saved by faith alone, how does one know they are saved?
How many of you understand the WHY we are to be baptized in water? How many actually understand why the apostles could say what they said about baptism? The water symbolizes something. John points to it.
It is the WHY they could say these things
Acts 2
Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 6
3-4 Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
1 Peter 3:21
The like figure whereunto even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Galatians 3
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Do we ever get what the WATER symbolizes?
John 19
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[c]37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[d]
Jesus did NOT just shed blood but He also shed WATER. Both are part of His death. The water in baptism is symbolic of His shed water. It is His shed WATER that washes us clean. It is the why they can say all those things about baptism,because it is far more then just getting wet.
Good insight, Sarah! You gave me an idea for a new thread: Jesus Christ- the fountain of life.
YOu have that conditional present tense, continuous active verb (believes). Receiving the END OF OUR FAITH, not the beginning, the salvation of our souls.
If on is no longer being sanctified, then one no longer is justified either. They work in tandem, not separately. How can you be justified by faith if you have no faith, or lose faith, become faithless.
I'll admit that you should not be confused with whatever it is that you believe, but you are not aligned with scripture as all Christians have always believed from the beginning.
If that is NOT in your understanding of scripture, you have missed the Gospel completely.
Yes, saved (past tense) from death and sin, present tense (to eternal life) future, the culmination of ones faith, eternity with Christ.
Yes, that is exactly what you are doing. That is the meaning of the phrase, working out one's salvation with fear and trembling. That is the goal and purpose of our existence, to become Christlike, to be conformed into His Image.
You are NOT saved just because you once believed.
Well, Satan believes the same thing.
But now what are you going to do with that Gift.
He gave it to all men so that you could accept His offer of union, eternal life with Him.
But it requires a lot more than faith only and definitely not upon one moment of affirmation. Your faith will be tested for a lifetime, remaining faithful.
Did you notice all the conditions in the above paragraph.
Nothing in that whole statement says you have eternal life absolutely from the past.
You have ONLY in the present tense now. It is NOT addressing your future. That is an open book for you and for anyone else. You cannot guarantee your faith. That is why all the warnings which you dismiss as pertaining to some newly defined form of faith as fake, or counterfeit.
If you lose faith, you lose eternal life with Christ.
That can ONLY be a work of the Holy Spirit. I can't wash away my sins in baptism,that is a working of the Holy Spirit. How then can one really say that it is JUST an outward sign of an inward change? That doesn't make any sense to me at all.
Really, how exactly did that take place?
John wasn't baptizing under the Old Covenant.
KJV
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; [SUP]2[/SUP] As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [SUP]3[/SUP] The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. [SUP]4[/SUP] John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. {for: or, unto} [SUP]5[/SUP] And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mar 1:1 KJV)
That's New Covenant.
Verse 27 also doesn't say spirit, you're simply assuming that. However, we do know that the common method of baptism was water.
Paul was writing to the Corinthians who had been baptized in the Spirit which is evidenced by the miraculous gifts they received. However, he was writing to the Corinthians, what justification do you have for applying that statement universally to all Christians?
To be justified by faith only means that excludes repentance.
Faith is also a work if you think about it.
I think a few people here don't really understand what "works" are.
It is truly amazing that the two things Jesus told us to do in baptism and the Lord's supper BOTH point to His death. And the sad part is that many want to take out any working of the Holy Spirit in baptism. For sure I can't bury myself with Christ in baptism. That can ONLY be a work of the Holy Spirit. I can't wash away my sins in baptism,that is a working of the Holy Spirit. How then can one really say that it is JUST an outward sign of an inward change? That doesn't make any sense to me at all.
I wholeheartedly agree with you!
Unfortunately, baptism has fallen into a sort of formality, a religious ceremony, another "bureaucratical" thing that a christian must do, when in reality, baptism is the real and mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, like you said.
Because they are two different events.
Baptism of the HS is a spiritual baptism which occures at the moment of salvation. Water does not need to be involved.
Water baptism and the Lords supper are teaching tools, and acts of obedience. Which remind us of what CHrist DID for us the moment we are saved.
A true statement except that there are no guarantees that every believer at the beginning remains. That is the point of 2/3 of the NT. There have been more beginning believers than those that ended as believers. Eternal life is all about what happens from the beginning to the end.Yes, believing unto salvation is continuous and is not some shallow temporary belief that has no root and does not continue. From beginning (have been saved through faith - Ephesians 2:8) to end (receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls - 1 Peter 1:9) salvation is through faith and is not by works. We are not merely lost unbelievers on probation at the beginning of our faith. We really HAVE BEEN saved through faith at the beginning and continue to remain saved in the present through faith and are still saved at the end through faith.
Paul is not addressing kinds of faith, nor even that one can fall away. This is a context of encourangement because they felt that God had forsaken them due to the severe persecution at that time. This is a promise from God to them, and not the other way around.Romans 8:30 - Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. How many who are justified will not be glorified? What kind of faith withers away? Faith that is firmly rooted and established in Christ or shallow temporary faith that has no root?
Well you are on the right road, it is faith that saves, but faith cannot exist without works. No works, no faith, thus no eternal life.I'm not confused. Prior to my conversion years ago I was confused because I trusted in my works to save me.
but there is that conditional word again, "believes". It never says believed, nor does it even hint at future guarantee. You have eternal life ONLY in the present, NOW, time. That could change tomorrow, it could change 5 years from now, but you have eternal life ONLY if one believes.The Gospel is the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that BELIEVES (Romans 1:16). If that is NOT in your understanding of scripture, you have missed the Gospel completely. Don't confuse ongoing Sanctification with the Gospel.
but it also depends on "believing" "believes" not believed.2 Corinthians 1:10 - who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.
Whatever you call it, it is the journey to eternal life. Sanctification stops, eternal life is precluded.It's called ongoing Sanctification.
True, but most believers,as scripture clearly points out, do not continue, do not grow, do not endure to the end. Therein lies the fallacy of OSAS. It is a myth. And it also refutes the notion of instanteous salvation upon the one moment of affirmation.I never claimed to be saved because I once believed but don't anymore. What kind of superficial belief is that? Saving belief is firmly rooted and established in Christ, produces fruit and continues, and is not some shallow, temporary belief that has no root, produces no fruit, and does not continue.
this part of the gift has obligations, is conditional. If the conditions are not met, then the covenant is broken and the inheritance forfeited.I have accepted His offer. You don't work for and earn a free gift. You accept it.
Which is why again, OSAS is a myth. One is saved through faith. If that faith lacks works, it no longer IS a living faith. God does not maintain your faith. He gives grace for YOU to do it. It is YOUR faith, and YOU have no gurantees that YOU can remain faithful. There is nothing in scripture that says God continues to grant grace to one who has lost faith, rejected him. If that was so, then faith becomes meaningless and God could just as well bypass it and declare every human being eligible for heaven, since that is what He desires.When James says faith only, he is talking about an empty profession of faith that demonstrates by the lack of works that it's a dead faith (James 2:14-24). Not to be confused with salvation that is through faith in Christ alone and is not by works (Ephesians 2:8,9). A living faith is substantiated and confirmed by good works. 1 Corinthians 1:8 - He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Works salvationists are usually obsessed with the doctrine of losing salvation and refer to remaining faithful as maintaining your salvation by works.
Believes is present tense, active, continuing. If faith does not continue then obviously eternal life in the present has also discontinued. How can one say they have been saved through faith, when you still have time ahead. That through must continue to the end. Believers become lost, they become unbelievers, as the 5 foolish Virgins, the Prodigal son, only he repented before death. The parable on the talents, the Sower, unfaithful servant. The text even tells you the became "unfaithful", and was cast out with the unbelievers.I saw the word BELIEVE. What other conditions are you trying to add to BELIEVE in 1 John 5:13; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4? So you don't believe that we have been saved through faith in the past with ongoing present results? Believers remain lost and on probation until they are finally saved in the future? Absolutely not.
OSAS along with its attending tenets, Instant absolute eternal life, and faith only is a categorical denial of the warnings believers have from scripture.Ephesians 1:13 - In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. If it were not for the Lord, I never would have believed in the first place and would not continue to believe either. I don't dismiss warnings and I don't dismiss the power of God either.
defining faith or the definition of faith is not the discussion. It is the "through" part. The continuous part, ongoing, enduring, being faithful, NOT LOSING THAT FAITH.How do you define faith in the first place? You need to worry more about what it means to be saved through faith in the first place than can we lose faith in the future.
Ask God. He has the power. Or do you deny he has the power to immerse you into his death burial and Christ?
Who else has the power to do this? Your priest?
Do we ever get what the WATER symbolizes?
John 19
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[c]37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[d]
Jesus did NOT just shed blood but He also shed WATER. Both are part of His death. The water in baptism is symbolic of His shed water. It is His shed WATER that washes us clean. It is the why they can say all those things about baptism,because it is far more then just getting wet.
Wow! Talk about twisting the Word of God. Sarah where do you get these things? What is so difficult to understand? JKohn stands in the water and mentions TWO baptisms... One of water, and one of Spirit and fire... Come on how can you say they are ONE baptism or that we need two when God says in Eph 4... there is ONE BAPTISM. So which one of the two does God refer to here in Eph 4? I say the baptism of CHRIST...
Christ is NOT FOUND in water. Every baptism the apostles mentioned is NOT WATER baptism. The Apostles did NOT baptize with water after they were BAPTIZED with teh HOLY GHOST... In acts 8 it is clear they baptized with Spirit. When they prayed and laid hands on people.
This WATER that came from Jesus was shown how deep they punchered his side and they still did not break any bones. And the WATER here is not for baptism but for WITNESS on earth.... Wow! how can you know not this,,,,, look at 1 Joh 5...For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
So if you look at teh three in heafven and the three on earth what do you see is the WATER Jesus shed? Spirit is Spirit... Blood is what? God or Word? Blood is God, same soul as God. Soul is in the blood.... Then what is the WATER Jesus shed? ... the WORD.... The Truth... The LIVING WATER!!!!!
If you want to use that WATER of Jesus do not think it is h2O. it is NOT! It is Truth. It is the Word of God. it is the ONE NAME we should be baptized in... it is the Spirit of Truth, it is the Spirit baptism... And you twisted it to make it h2O Water like from a tap.. WOW! Why is this so hard to understand...
What is the LIVING WATER that jesus has to give that we will never thirst again? Wht is the LIVING WATER that will flow form the bowels of the righteous?
Please Sarah tell me what is this water in these two verses....He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
This is the WATER Jesus gave on the cross... The TRUTH/WORD of God. ONE NAME...
It is absolutely true that scripture teaches us that water and blood came from the Saviors side. It is also true that water was part of the cleansing rituals in the worship of the Jews. It was and still is the blood and the blood alone that atones for sin. The water was and is symbolic, showing on the outside what the blood has done on the inside.You make no sense at all Cobus. The water that came out of Jesus side was H2O. Go back and look at the Mosaic law and you can see that in order for the people to be cleansed it was by BOTH blood and WATER. That was a picture of Christ's death in which Christ shed BOTH blood and water. We are now cleansed by BOTH Christ's shed blood and shed water.
It's my understanding? Its' what the passage says. If Christians would simply accept the Scriptures and let go of the teachings of men they would have a much better understanding of the Scriptures. Instead they take the doctrines of men and try to defend them with passages of Scripture taken out of context.
And I'll say again, I didn't say works saved anyone, God saves. However, if He requires works then one must do works in order to be saved. Obedience is required.