Contendah, my Friend,
You tell me, "As I have stated many times, baptism is not a work. You distort the scriptural concept of baptism when you try to characterize it as a work of merit. It is no more a work of merit than is repentance, or confession of Christ before men, both of which you would agree are necessary elements of God's plan of salvation. Baptism is the place and event decreed by God where the lost sinner comes into contact with the blood of Christ and receives cleansing from sin. This is clearly taught in Romans 6:1-10, notwithstanding the shallow, impotent efforts by some to explain away what those versed so forcefully teach."
You say, "As I have stated many times, baptism is not a work." And, you compare it with repentance, " It is no more a work of merit than is repentance, or confession of Christ before men, both of which you would agree are necessary elements of God's plan of salvation."
Yet, baptism is a physical action one must do -- that IS a work. Nowhere is Scripture are we told that we have to be baptized to be saved. Even the thief on the cross was not baptized -- yet Christ Himself tells us he was saved.
Repentance is not a work -- it is a change in attitude which takes place within a person. Confessing Christ is what we are told to do in the Great Commission -- AFTER we have become believers.
You tell me, "Baptism is the place and event decreed by God where the lost sinner comes into contact with the blood of Christ and receives cleansing from sin. This is clearly taught in Romans 6:1-10."
Let's take a look at that Scripture passage:
Romans 6:1-4, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (2) May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (3) Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (4) Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5-10, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, (6) knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; (7) for he who has died is freed from sin. (8) Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, (9) knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. (10) For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God."
First, Paul asks a rhetorical question: Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Then, Paul gives us an answer to that rhetorical question: Romans 6:3-4, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."
Did you physically die when you were baptized? No? Then, obviously Paul is using a symbolic death, i.e., we die to the old man -- that a new regenerated Christian might walk in newness of life.
In the rest of this Scripture passage Paul is encouraging us by assuring us that, because Jesus Christ was resurrected -- we who have believed, shall also be resurrected into eternal life.
Baptism is a symbolic manifestation our our new life in Christ. By going under the water, that symbolizes our dying with Him. And, when we come up out of the water -- that is symbolic of our resurrection into a new life in Christ.
Nowhere in Scripture are we told that salvation comes through baptism. The following excerpts in this article clearly show that "baptismal regeneration" -- i.e., salvation through baptism -- is not Biblical:
Question: "What is baptismal regeneration?"
http://www.gotquestions.org/ba...al-regeneration.html
Answer: Baptismal regeneration is the belief that baptism is necessary for salvation, or, more precisely, that regeneration does not occur until a person is water baptized. Baptismal regeneration is a tenant of numerous Christian denominations, but is most strenuously promoted by churches in the Restoration Movement, specifically the Church of Christ and the International Church of Christ.
The problem with this viewpoint is that there are biblical passages that clearly and explicitly declare faith to be the only requirement for salvation. John 3:16, one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
In Acts 16:30, the Philippian jailer asks the apostle Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” If there was ever an opportunity for Paul to present a four-part formula, this was it. Paul’s response was simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). No baptism, no confession, just faith.
There are literally dozens of verses in the New Testament that attribute salvation to faith/belief with no other requirement mentioned in the context. If baptism, or anything else, is necessary for salvation, all of these verses are wrong, and the Bible contains errors and is therefore no longer worthy of our trust.
But, my Friend, if YOU believe that you were saved through baptism -- I will not argue with you. The only thing that is really important is that you do have a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ. And, if you prefer to believe you attained that relationship through legalism, okay, not a problem -- as long as you have it.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
