Faith alone? # 28
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (Rom. 6: 3) See Galatians 3: 26, 27 and 1 Cor. 12: 13. The Scriptures seem to indicate that we are baptized into Christ.
You continue to confuse water baptism with Spirit baptism. 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." 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 just as we are not literally water baptized into the body of Christ. We are
Spirit baptized into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). *You need to rightly divide the word of truth.
So how does one "put on" Christ in baptism? Is it because one becomes a "child of God" through water baptism? NO. Is Paul saying that we become children of God by water baptism as much as children of God by faith in Christ? NO.
"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light...
put on (endue) the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:12,14). This exhortation is written to Christians (those already saved). 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 "put on" Christ means 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 in order to be saved as well (Romans 13:14). Right? NO. *This exhortation is to those ALREADY SAVED.
"Put off," wrote Paul, "the old man," and
"put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness"(Ephesians 4:22,24); And,
"put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). *Written to those ALREADY SAVED.
The allusion is to putting off old clothes and putting on new ones, to enclosing oneself in armor, etc. When a soldier puts on a uniform, he is revealing himself to be a soldier and putting on what he has previously been qualified to wear. One does not put on a uniform in order to become a soldier. Simply putting on a soldier's uniform does not make one become a soldier. Once one is made a soldier he is then able to put on and wear the uniform that distinguishes or marks them as a soldier.
Putting on a judge's robe does not, in itself, make anyone a "judge." But, one who has been made a judge is qualified to put on "judicial robes" and thus declare their qualifications.
So too with being water baptized, the Christian puts on robes for which they have previously been qualified to wear. The putting on of Christ is not what makes one become a Christian, but one which becomes a token of it, as in Romans 13:14.
*If one puts on the clothes of a Christian, in water baptism, without first becoming a Christian (child of God through faith), then one becomes an imposter, and is declaring, in baptism, to be what they are not.
Jesus said, "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Like 13; 3) God bless.
We will perish if we don't repent because if we don't repent "change our mind" we will not believe the gospel and become saved. Acts 20:21 - testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of
repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. *Notice the order.
