Does Belief Save Us Or Water Baptism Save Us?
Question : This is what I believe, that you must understand regarding water baptism. The blood washes our sins, gives us remission of sins (Matthew 26:28), His blood and his Name (Acts 4:12), is all in the water baptism, that's why Baptism saves us (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:20, 21). If you believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15), all of this salvation Actions and Works are found in one Scripture Acts 2:38. Water Baptism in Jesus name washes away sins (Acts 22:16), so get ready for Jesus will return for his Church without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27)!
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! WHY Apostle Paul was not a BAPTIZER but rather a PREACHER?
Paul the apostle said, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." (1 Cor 1:17) and also he further said in his letter to the Romans, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom 10:14). So we know from the above verses that unless a preacher is sent to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to make the unsaved believe the message of the cross to get saved (1 Tim 2:3-4), there is no use of speaking about water baptism, which is only a sign of willing obedience on the part of believers to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and not just a believer who will go to heaven. The willing water baptized disciples who make a commitment to learn the commandments of the Lord and agree to keep them will not only go to heaven, but will also receive great reward for their godly life lived on earth, they will rule with Jesus Christ for a thousand years and in to eternity for the Glory of God (Matt 28:18-20; Rev 22:12; 21:22-27; 3:21). In other words, if baptism is emphasized to a unbeliever, it nullifies the power of the cross of Christ to make it to no effect and further it makes baptism as a empty ritual that will deceive the unbeliever to go straight to hell without the real salvation faith that saves him from sin. The gospel message of the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God that saves people from sin (1 Cor 15:1, 3-4).
You must understand that the blood washes our sins, gives us remission of sins through hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and not through baptism we take in water. Baptism is symbolic testimony for a new believer to declare to the world and the Church that they have already received the life of Christ and want to follow him wholeheartedly in their day to day life, by obeying His teaching in their life as a devoted disciple of Him. One should not take baptism, unless they know that they are saved through the evidence given by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:5-6; 1 John 3:24; 4:13).
Only a believer who is saved by belief should ever be encouraged to take part in the communion cup of the Lord (Matt 26:28; 1 Cor 11:26, 27-29). The Blood of Jesus and His Name are spoken words of the Gospel that saves a person when it is believed, it is above all not a ritual to do [i.e. like water baptism] that saves a unbeliever from sin (Acts 4:12; 1 John 1:7; 3:23). Having know already that Baptism in water and the Lord’s Supper are the only sacraments of the church, baptism in water is indeed a declaration to the world that a believer has died with Christ, and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4). The celebration of the Lord’s Supper by eating of the bread and drinking of the cup is a remembrance of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:24-30). Thus we should make a strong conclusion, belief saves us, baptism helps us do effective service for the Lord Jesus as His disciple. In other words, belief and baptism together serves to fulfill the full salvation of our spirit, soul and body (Mark 16:16). Otherwise even though a person gets saved in their spirit by belief, yet the full salvation of the Lord in their soul and body will not be revealed and realized except through water baptism and further living a life of obedience to His commandments (Heb 6:9; John 12:37, 38-41; 13:17; 15:7-8; Acts 5:32).
Acts 3:20-21 conveys the message that, like the waters of Noah's time that separated the obedient eight souls of his family to save them from physical destruction and killed the rest of the disobedient believer who were saved in the spirit but not in the flesh, the same happens to believers of our New Testament times, that even though many get saved in their spirit through their belief, yet only those obedient believers gets saved in their soul and body which is the complete package of salvation. The rest of the fullness of salvation was received only later thousands of years after their death through the flood, Jesus Christ saved these disobedient people by going in to the prison where they were kept by God until then and preached the gospel to them after his death on the cross. In fact Jesus saved them all and released them from prison to take them to heaven along with Him. The baptism we take by our belief in to Christ by the Holy Spirit (Col 2:12; Rom 6:3-4; 1 Cor 12:13), and in water represents symbolically that our conscience is good now towards God because Christ rose from the dead to make us alive to God through forgiving all our past, present and future sins, and that now we are in Christ floating above the waters of the destruction of the world around us even though the flesh of filth of the sin nature still acts now and then within us like it acted upon the family members of Noah after they were saved to live in the new world under the control of God. Likewise the believers who disobey the Lord will face the discipline of the Lord now in their lives and may face even physical death if they continue in their disobedience, but as they are saved by their belief, but they will not be denied heaven as Jesus has saved them by His Works (Acts 5:9-11; 1 Cor 11:29-30, 32; 3:15; 5:5; 1 Tim 1:19-20; Rom 5:10). So I would say, not to take the above passages with so much meaning lightly as a novice, and make a statement assuming it to mean 'Water baptism saves us', when in fact it speaks about the baptism of belief and water which must lead to obedience and commitment to God that saves us from the world and chastisement of God to keep them blessed physically on earth under the direct control of God.
Think about it, if Paul the apostle was saying that God did not send him to baptize, but rather to preach and get people saved, what more evidence you need to know that belief saved and not baptism. That does not mean that Paul the apostle never baptized, rather we see him baptize the Ephesian believers and ground them in the truth of the Word of God which brought them in to innumerable blessings of heaven as we see the book of Ephesians written to them which was the most mature letter written to mature believers later in his life (Acts 19:1-7; Eph 1:3). He also pronounced clearly to the same Ephesian believers with apostolic authority that they were saved when they heard the gospel and trusted in the Lord Jesus, for which as a evidence of salvation God has sealed them with the Holy Spirit until the day of Rapture as a guarantee of their already received salvation within (Eph 1:13-140).
So from the above expound we know that belief comes before baptism, Salvation comes before service.
What does Acts 2:38, 39 say, 1) Repent and believe 2) Take baptism in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins which you have already received through belief 3) Then expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit because the promise of God to give the Holy Spirit is for you, your children and all those who get saved.
In fact the Gospel of Mark 1:15 says the same to emphasize that all must repent first and believe in the message of the gospel to get saved and receive the Kingdom of God in to their heart and lives, which is nothing but coming under the direct sovereign control of God's hand in their day to day lives as the child of God (Luke 17:21). So don't read in to the Scripture to assume what you think it says, but rather read the Scripture as it really says what it is.
Thus, we don't get dipped in water to get saved, rather we get dipped in water to show to all that we are already saved.
Washing of the Water is by and through the Word of God, and not just through water baptism, though it is only a part of the whole (Eph 5:26; John 15:3; 1 Peter 1:23). Waters of baptism shows our inward faith externally. Our faith saves us and not the water baptism as the Scripture thunders that "the just shall live by faith [and not through water baptism]" (Rom 1:17), though water baptism is given to make a believer to be led in to the commitment of a disciple where he/she starts to obey the Lord's command which brings deliverance to a believer in a lot of areas of life (Matt 28:19-20). To be ready for Rapture and Jesus' coming, we must keep ourselves without spot or wrinkle by purifying ourselves through daily confession and confessing our sins to one another (Jam 5:16; 1 John 1:7, 9; Psa 32:3-6), submitting ourselves to God, drawing near to God, being contrite for sins committed through lamenting, mourning and weeping which brings gloom of repentance towards life, and above all we need to humble ourselves before God to allow Him to work the good works through us (1 John 3:2-3; Jam 4:8-10; Tit 2:13-14; 2 Cor 7:1, 10; Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4). So just being dipped in baptism water alone does not make us pure, though it is part of the whole but rather all of the above makes us pure and ready for Christ's second coming and Rapture.
Much Blessings....
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! WHY Apostle Paul was not a BAPTIZER but rather a PREACHER?
Paul the apostle said, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." (1 Cor 1:17) and also he further said in his letter to the Romans, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom 10:14). So we know from the above verses that unless a preacher is sent to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to make the unsaved believe the message of the cross to get saved (1 Tim 2:3-4), there is no use of speaking about water baptism, which is only a sign of willing obedience on the part of believers to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and not just a believer who will go to heaven. The willing water baptized disciples who make a commitment to learn the commandments of the Lord and agree to keep them will not only go to heaven, but will also receive great reward for their godly life lived on earth, they will rule with Jesus Christ for a thousand years and in to eternity for the Glory of God (Matt 28:18-20; Rev 22:12; 21:22-27; 3:21). In other words, if baptism is emphasized to a unbeliever, it nullifies the power of the cross of Christ to make it to no effect and further it makes baptism as a empty ritual that will deceive the unbeliever to go straight to hell without the real salvation faith that saves him from sin. The gospel message of the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God that saves people from sin (1 Cor 15:1, 3-4).
You must understand that the blood washes our sins, gives us remission of sins through hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and not through baptism we take in water. Baptism is symbolic testimony for a new believer to declare to the world and the Church that they have already received the life of Christ and want to follow him wholeheartedly in their day to day life, by obeying His teaching in their life as a devoted disciple of Him. One should not take baptism, unless they know that they are saved through the evidence given by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:5-6; 1 John 3:24; 4:13).
Only a believer who is saved by belief should ever be encouraged to take part in the communion cup of the Lord (Matt 26:28; 1 Cor 11:26, 27-29). The Blood of Jesus and His Name are spoken words of the Gospel that saves a person when it is believed, it is above all not a ritual to do [i.e. like water baptism] that saves a unbeliever from sin (Acts 4:12; 1 John 1:7; 3:23). Having know already that Baptism in water and the Lord’s Supper are the only sacraments of the church, baptism in water is indeed a declaration to the world that a believer has died with Christ, and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4). The celebration of the Lord’s Supper by eating of the bread and drinking of the cup is a remembrance of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:24-30). Thus we should make a strong conclusion, belief saves us, baptism helps us do effective service for the Lord Jesus as His disciple. In other words, belief and baptism together serves to fulfill the full salvation of our spirit, soul and body (Mark 16:16). Otherwise even though a person gets saved in their spirit by belief, yet the full salvation of the Lord in their soul and body will not be revealed and realized except through water baptism and further living a life of obedience to His commandments (Heb 6:9; John 12:37, 38-41; 13:17; 15:7-8; Acts 5:32).
Acts 3:20-21 conveys the message that, like the waters of Noah's time that separated the obedient eight souls of his family to save them from physical destruction and killed the rest of the disobedient believer who were saved in the spirit but not in the flesh, the same happens to believers of our New Testament times, that even though many get saved in their spirit through their belief, yet only those obedient believers gets saved in their soul and body which is the complete package of salvation. The rest of the fullness of salvation was received only later thousands of years after their death through the flood, Jesus Christ saved these disobedient people by going in to the prison where they were kept by God until then and preached the gospel to them after his death on the cross. In fact Jesus saved them all and released them from prison to take them to heaven along with Him. The baptism we take by our belief in to Christ by the Holy Spirit (Col 2:12; Rom 6:3-4; 1 Cor 12:13), and in water represents symbolically that our conscience is good now towards God because Christ rose from the dead to make us alive to God through forgiving all our past, present and future sins, and that now we are in Christ floating above the waters of the destruction of the world around us even though the flesh of filth of the sin nature still acts now and then within us like it acted upon the family members of Noah after they were saved to live in the new world under the control of God. Likewise the believers who disobey the Lord will face the discipline of the Lord now in their lives and may face even physical death if they continue in their disobedience, but as they are saved by their belief, but they will not be denied heaven as Jesus has saved them by His Works (Acts 5:9-11; 1 Cor 11:29-30, 32; 3:15; 5:5; 1 Tim 1:19-20; Rom 5:10). So I would say, not to take the above passages with so much meaning lightly as a novice, and make a statement assuming it to mean 'Water baptism saves us', when in fact it speaks about the baptism of belief and water which must lead to obedience and commitment to God that saves us from the world and chastisement of God to keep them blessed physically on earth under the direct control of God.
Think about it, if Paul the apostle was saying that God did not send him to baptize, but rather to preach and get people saved, what more evidence you need to know that belief saved and not baptism. That does not mean that Paul the apostle never baptized, rather we see him baptize the Ephesian believers and ground them in the truth of the Word of God which brought them in to innumerable blessings of heaven as we see the book of Ephesians written to them which was the most mature letter written to mature believers later in his life (Acts 19:1-7; Eph 1:3). He also pronounced clearly to the same Ephesian believers with apostolic authority that they were saved when they heard the gospel and trusted in the Lord Jesus, for which as a evidence of salvation God has sealed them with the Holy Spirit until the day of Rapture as a guarantee of their already received salvation within (Eph 1:13-140).
So from the above expound we know that belief comes before baptism, Salvation comes before service.
What does Acts 2:38, 39 say, 1) Repent and believe 2) Take baptism in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins which you have already received through belief 3) Then expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit because the promise of God to give the Holy Spirit is for you, your children and all those who get saved.
In fact the Gospel of Mark 1:15 says the same to emphasize that all must repent first and believe in the message of the gospel to get saved and receive the Kingdom of God in to their heart and lives, which is nothing but coming under the direct sovereign control of God's hand in their day to day lives as the child of God (Luke 17:21). So don't read in to the Scripture to assume what you think it says, but rather read the Scripture as it really says what it is.
Thus, we don't get dipped in water to get saved, rather we get dipped in water to show to all that we are already saved.
Washing of the Water is by and through the Word of God, and not just through water baptism, though it is only a part of the whole (Eph 5:26; John 15:3; 1 Peter 1:23). Waters of baptism shows our inward faith externally. Our faith saves us and not the water baptism as the Scripture thunders that "the just shall live by faith [and not through water baptism]" (Rom 1:17), though water baptism is given to make a believer to be led in to the commitment of a disciple where he/she starts to obey the Lord's command which brings deliverance to a believer in a lot of areas of life (Matt 28:19-20). To be ready for Rapture and Jesus' coming, we must keep ourselves without spot or wrinkle by purifying ourselves through daily confession and confessing our sins to one another (Jam 5:16; 1 John 1:7, 9; Psa 32:3-6), submitting ourselves to God, drawing near to God, being contrite for sins committed through lamenting, mourning and weeping which brings gloom of repentance towards life, and above all we need to humble ourselves before God to allow Him to work the good works through us (1 John 3:2-3; Jam 4:8-10; Tit 2:13-14; 2 Cor 7:1, 10; Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4). So just being dipped in baptism water alone does not make us pure, though it is part of the whole but rather all of the above makes us pure and ready for Christ's second coming and Rapture.
Much Blessings....
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