These are two short essay i wrote on baptism, i know not all will agree, but this is what i believe.
Just believe or believe and be baptized
Every generation has the thoughts that prevail in it and studies that conform with it and its ministers should not live in a different generation unaware of the wars faced by their children and even them selfs so some wars even affect many generations.This is why it is important to know the scriptures and to interpret them correctly, in this article we will have a look at what what the Holy Bible speaks about baptism and how the apostles and first and second century church interpreted them. So let us start with this verse’s from the Bible,
Jesus said
3:5 Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.( John 3:5)
and
Jesus said
16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.(Mark 16:16)
From these two verces that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke it obvious that baptism is linked with entering the kingdom of heaven and being saved even to the point that He said if you do not believe and are not baptized you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what The Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples and this teaching has been passed down from one generation to the next up until today, but these are only two verces what does the rest of the bible say about baptism let us see
pentacost
2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
2:38 Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And
pauls conversion
22:14 Then he said, `The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.
22:15 `For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.
22:16 `And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'
These verces show that on the day of pentocost after hearing peter preach many where cut to the heart(they believed in Jesus Christ) and asked the apostles what they should do to be saved from the wrath of God and peter replied that they should repent and be baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins and that the apostle paul also had to be baptized to wash away his sins it is obviously not enough to have faith alone for if faith only was sufficient peter would not have instrucked all to be baptized nor would paul have had to be baptized for if faith only was enough then the holy apostles would not have added baptism as a must for salvation and neither would have our Lord Jesus Blessed be His Name. Now the epistle that were written by the apostles also testify that baptism is nessasary for salvation e.g.
paul on baptism
6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,(Romans 6:4-5)
and
peter on baptism
3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,(1 Peter 3:21)
these verces state that baptism is death and burial with Christ and raising again to newness of life and in Peters epistle it is stated clearly that baptism is what now saves us .I will end with some quotes from the leaders of the church in the first and second century including some that where taught directly by the apostles and probably seen the Lord Jesus Christ during his three and a half year ministery.
DO I BELIEVE ALL THE BIBLE OR JUST PARTS
This article as you probably have gathered from the title is about asking your self this question; Do I believe all the bible or just parts. To this question I’d think most believers would affirm that they believe in all the bible and not just parts of it accepting what is pleasing to them and easy to follow and rejecting what is not even if it is, out of ignorance not knowing any better. So let us examin just one subject that of baptism.
1.Salvation is through baptism and Faith, not Faith alone. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16)
2.Through baptism we receive the second birth which is of water and the spirit. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he can not enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5)
3.Baptism washes away sins. "And now why are you waiting?Arise and be baptised, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16)
4.In baptism there is forgiveness of sins. "Men and breathren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:37,38)
5.Baptism is dying with the Lord Jesus Christ and rising with Him. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3,4)
"Now if we died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him" (Romans 6: 8)
6.Another result of baptism is newness of life. "therefore we were buried with Him through baptism in to death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4)
7.In baptism we put on Christ. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3;27)
8.Baptism is becoming a member of the church and the church is the body of Christ.there is no salvation apart from the body of Christ. "I now rejoice in my suffering for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the affliction of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (colossians 1:24)
This simple table shows just some of the teachings in the Holy Bible about baptism and from it we see that baptism is nessaccery for salvation if we study the book of Acts in the new testament we will see that on every occasion that salvation occurred the apostles baptized those that believed, which leads me to ask you to ask your self DO I BELIEVE IN ALL THE BIBLE OR JUST PARTS OF IT
Augustine Bishop of Hippo: If the forgiveness of sins were not to be had in the church, there would be no hope of a future life and eternal liberation. We thank God, who gave his church such a gift. Here you are; you are going to come to the holy font, you will be washed in saving baptism, you will be renewed in ・the bath of rebirth.・ You will be without any sin at all as you come up from that bath. All the things that were plaguing you in the past will be blotted out.
God Bless
d2m
