The Gospel continues to be misunderstood

Out of faith, hope, and charity, love in action, works, charity is the greatest.

And faith works by love.

We are saved by grace through faith.

Everything stems from love, which can only be done in action, works, which is why it is called charity, which John said love not in word, and in tongue, but love in deed, and in truth.

And Paul said without charity, they are nothing, and erred from the faith.

And James said without charity their faith is dead.

Without love, then there is no faith, then their is no grace.

Jesus told the first Church in Revelation that they left their first love, and to repent and do the first works, or He would remove their candlestick out of it's place.

And told the fifth Church that He did not find their works perfect before God, and to repent, or He would come upon them as a thief, and they would not know the hour.

Paul said we are saved by faith, and not by works, which this is when we first confessed Christ for we were in the flesh, and have not received the Spirit yet, so all we can do is have faith, and none of our works of the flesh can save us.

But then Paul speaks according to the Spirit, that without works of love then we are nothing, and have erred from the faith.

Love is greater than faith, so we have to have works of love to have faith applied in our life.

Jesus said we must be born of the water, and the Spirit.

The Bible tells of the flood how 8 people were saved, and then says that baptism does now save us, not the washing away of the filth of the flesh, but a good conscience towards God.

And if we are buried with Christ in baptism, planted together with Him, we shall also rise to newness of life with Him.

I know people believe that works does not save them, but water baptism is part of the salvation plan of God.

For Jesus is a human, and we must identify with the man Christ Jesus, who died, we repent and die out to sin, and was buried, which we are buried with Him, water baptism, and rose from the dead, which we receive the Spirit, and rise to newness of life.

And I know that some mention the thief on the cross, but Jesus had not died yet, and baptism in Jesus' name was not preached yet, until Peter spoke the first message to be baptized in Jesus' name, and also people that died believing in Jesus was saved without being water baptized, for Old Testament saints are saved, so surely they are saved too without water baptism, and the thief could do nothing about water baptism anyway for he was on a cross.

We for sure have to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and repent of our sins, but water baptism can be bypassed in certain circumstances.

Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans were all water baptized in Jesus' name, for it is the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for Jesus said He came in His Father's name, and the Son inherited the name from the Father, and the Holy Spirit comes in the name of Jesus, and those that were baptized unto John's baptism had to be baptized again in Jesus' name.

Repent, water baptism, and receiving the Spirit are all part of the Gospel, and the plan of salvation.

It could be that the people who were not water baptized with no fault of their own, cannot dwell with Jesus until the dead are resurrected to be judged, then they can be with Jesus, for it was not their fault for not being water baptized.

For not everybody has Christ preached to them, and accepts, that is at a Church that water baptizes, or on the street, or elsewhere not at a Church, and they may have been at a Church that says it is not necessary, and did not come to the truth and died, but if it is no fault of their own, God knows, then they should still be saved.

As I see it-----------
Most of the misrepresenting is the result of greed. Ain't a lot of money in preaching the truth.
Most of the misunderstanding is the result on improper study and even more so, the lack of any study.
What I have noticed is that most people simply repeat what they have been taught. And most teachers are ignorant of the Gospel truth.

Paul said we are saved by faith, and not by works, which this is when we first confessed Christ for we were in the flesh, and have not received the Spirit yet, so all we can do is have faith, and none of our works of the flesh can save us.

But then Paul speaks according to the Spirit, that without works of love then we are nothing, and have erred from the faith.

6. Repentance is necessary for the remission of sins and for salvation: And [Christ] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem... Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost... Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord... And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent (Lk 24:46,47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30)

Technically, that passage you quoted requires water baptism for the remission of sins. Yet, you dropped that term in your title.

So, in your view, is water baptism also necessary for salvation? If one is not water baptized, he cannot be considered saved?

Correct. I did not include water baptism, even though on the surface it appears that water baptism is necessary for the remission of sins and receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost. But this tells us that we cannot focus on just once passage to arrive at the truth.

So we then see that Peter is involved in another scenario where the gift of the Holy Spirit is given FIRST, the evidence of that is presented to all, and then Peter commands water baptism. Naturally, without the remission of sins through repentance and faith, the Holy Spirit would not be given.

ACTS 10
42 And he [Christ] commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

The above passage should teach us that (a) water baptism is not necessary for salvation and (b) water baptism is necessary for the one who has been saved by grace, because it is a commandment of Christ (Mt 18:18-20). Water baptism is external evidence of an inner reality.

The problem with this view is that more than one passage established that water baptism seems to be necessary to be saved. Other than Acts 2, the passage that Christians from denominations that hold that view, such as the baptist churches as well as Church of Christ, is the version of the Great commission found in Mark. It explicitly stated that you need to believe AND be baptized to be saved.

I am aware that people have tried to overcome that difficulty by changing what Mark really meant to write, by rephrasing it as you have attempted, that those who believe in Christ SHOULD then be baptized AFTER they are saved.

But that, to a normal reader, is distorting what Mark actually wrote.

And interestingly you quoted Acts 10, when there was a shift after Stephen was stoned, but that is another topic that I will not bring up for now.

The problem with this view is that more than one passage established that water baptism seems to be necessary to be saved. Other than Acts 2, the passage that Christians from denominations that hold that view, such as the baptist churches as well as Church of Christ, is the version of the Great commission found in Mark. It explicitly stated that you need to believe AND be baptized to be saved.

I am aware that people have tried to overcome that difficulty by changing what Mark really meant to write, by rephrasing it as you have attempted, that those who believe in Christ SHOULD then be baptized AFTER they are saved.

But that, to a normal reader, is distorting what Mark actually wrote.

And interestingly you quoted Acts 10, when there was a shift after Stephen was stoned, but that is another topic that I will not bring up for now.

The problem with this view is that more than one passage established that water baptism seems to be necessary to be saved. Other than Acts 2, the passage that Christians from denominations that hold that view, such as the baptist churches as well as Church of Christ, is the version of the Great commission found in Mark. It explicitly stated that you need to believe AND be baptized to be saved.

I am aware that people have tried to overcome that difficulty by changing what Mark really meant to write, by rephrasing it as you have attempted, that those who believe in Christ SHOULD then be baptized AFTER they are saved.

But that, to a normal reader, is distorting what Mark actually wrote.

And interestingly you quoted Acts 10, when there was a shift after Stephen was stoned, but that is another topic that I will not bring up for now.

Baptism is essential of course. Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Ritual water baptism is utterly ineffective for Salvation. It is merely a public symbolic act of witness and obedience. And no believing Christian willingly refuses water baptism then or now.

Personally, I have the view that water baptism was essential for salvation, since the ministry of John the Baptist.

But once the age of Grace came thru Paul, he tells us, "Christ did not send me to baptize", this practice is no longer required for anything,

Of course Christians from churches such as the Church of Christ and other denominations will certainly disagree but then again, that is to be expected.

Quite impossible. By that standard, Salvation could be lost on a technicality. And the thief on the cross was lost due to incapacity.

Personally, I have the view that water baptism was essential for salvation, since the ministry of John the Baptist.

But once the age of Grace came thru Paul, he tells us, "Christ did not send me to baptize", this practice is no longer required for anything,

Of course Christians from churches such as the Church of Christ and other denominations will certainly disagree but then again, that is to be expected.