Baptism salvation?
Is Baptism required for salvation?
No. It is not part of salvation process. It simply publicly something you do AFTER you are saved to shows you have been saved. Baptism is public testimony of a believer and 1st act of obedience after repentance of sin [once & for all]. Showing the world you align with Christ.
Baptism is simply symbolically showing you died to self and were raised to new life in Christ thru his death burial and resurrection. You are submerged in water, as if buried in the grave, and raised up.
The thief on the cross wasn't baptized, nor were the OT believers who had faith in the coming Messiah. It is not required for salvation.
*There's a lot of false teaching happening in churches and cults on the things of God. Make sure you study Scripture on your own and really get into what God has actually said, on Any & Every subject.
Let's be clearer:
When Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them,” when He said that He gave a command to the church to baptize. Clearly, that is connected to the great commission. When Peter said, “Repent and be baptized,” Acts 2:38, He gave a command to the individual believer to be baptized. Christ commands the individual believer to be baptized, and when all 3,000 who believed on the day of Pentecost they THEN were baptized; they set the example for the church. So we are under the commanding words of Christ as a church to baptize.
BUT it simply shows publicly that the believer had already been converted; professing they're being united with Christ in His death and raised to new life by the resurrection.
The old life is dead, the old life apart from God, apart to the promises of God, apart to the knowledge of God, apart to the truth of God, declaring "I am dead to sin"... and he comes forth a new person with a new life in Christ, and gains a new family and a new relationship to the true God, and eternity with Christ.
So when Scripture says, “Go out into all the world, make disciples, baptizing,” what does it mean? He when they come to Jesus for salvation, THEN demonstrate in a public your aligning identification with Jesus Christ publicly. This new believer is now telling the world he aligns with Christ. He has surrendered to Christ. He is showing his submission by obeying God's call to also be baptised to declare what is already true, to the world, "I Am Saved And Serve Jesus."
That’s exactly what Romans 10 means when it says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God had raised Him from the dead, you’ll be saved.” The believing is what saves, the confessing is what affirms the reality of that believing. It is simply publicly showing the world you belong to Jesus. And so when we talk about, for example, Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins,” you say, “Well, does that mean your baptism, the water, washes your sin?” No. When he says repent and be baptized for the remission of sin, he means that baptism is demonstrating that your sins have already been remitted or forgiven. Aligning as a convert.
Baptism is simply the demonstrator of what you already have -- real faith and real transformation (by God) which presents your obedience to your King. To your Savior. To your New Master. To your Lord.
Baptism does not make you holy. Baptism does not save you. Baptism does not secure you. Baptism does not provide some ongoing power. All baptism does is visually demonstrate you have declared allegiance with Christ; through His death burial and resurrection.
Still have questions or objections about this
Why babies should not be baptized
Hope this helps.
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