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Do you have to be baptized to achieve salvation?

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Have to be? No... there are many Christians who die very soon after coming to belief and never have the opportunity to be baptized.

But... those are exceptions... Any reason for a born again believer not to be baptized?

No... none whatsoever
 
Do you have to be baptized to achieve salvation?

Yes.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
 
Have to be? No... there are many Christians who die very soon after coming to belief and never have the opportunity to be baptized.

But... those are exceptions...

Like the Thief on the Cross...Water baptism is the norm.
 
Simply put, yes. Babies get baptized. Do they know why? Nope, it is the parents or guardians faith in action. But it is faith in action for the child and blessed in the name of Jesus Christ nonetheless.
However if someone coverts to another faith as an adult then yes a 2nd baptism is required.
 
No, because there are numerous examples in Acts, the Gospels, and other New Testament books where people asked what must I do to be saved say that it is belief and repentance is necessary for salvation.

Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?â€

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.â€

Romans 10:13 or, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.â€

Matthew 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
 
Do you have to be baptized to achieve salvation?


Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, but is an act of obedience to Christ. If a born-again believer refuses to get baptized for whatever reason, then his salvation is highly questionable. On the other hand, if a baptized believer goes about living life in wilful and persistent sins, his salvation is also highly questionable. Salvation depends on the condition of the heart and has nothing to do with works such as baptism.
 
I agree with Tina and Dora. Baptism is a response like any other kind of thing we are Called to do. We do it because we are instructed to in a natural response after we've confessed and repented. Like refusing to help the poor, orphans and widows, it is an act of disobedience to refuse this Call.

Acts 2 tells us to be baptized FOR the forgiveness of our sins, and I side with those who would exchange "for" with "because of". So you have, "Be baptized because of the forgiveness of your sins. It's a response to, not a means of, salvation.

EPH 2, "8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast."

I don't mean to devalue the importance or significance of baptism. As it says in Eph 2, believe and have faith. Everything else is an indication of the heart; not a prerequisite for the Life He Gives.
 
I agree with the "No" answer but I think there is confusion when Mark 16:16 is encountered. As I search for the word Baptized in NKJV and see it in all the context, I don't see how it is a requirement for salvation so much as a gesture of faith and committment.
 
I think the question is flawed. It's like saying, "Do I have to go to church?"

No, you don't have to go to church. But what if you said, "I get to go to church" Sounds a little different does't it? That's because each carries a different view, and your looking at baptism as something you have to do. When you look at Baptism that way, I'm sorry to say but you've simply missed the mark...

Baptism is a response to the gospel and you don't have to get baptized, but you get to be baptized ;) Likewise, I think that God is as much into the transformation business as he is the salvation business. Baptism serving as a means to the end.

Mike,
You forgot verse 10...

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.

It is Christ who transforms our lives. In conclusion to Baptism, Paul says Romans 6:11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.

Truly, this is the work of God through his Son on the Cross, and we are his workmanship, created in Christ upon baptism.
 
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Its so wonderful and comforting to read from all these wise and inspired folk who know so much better than the apostles Paul and Peter, to say nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Its so wonderful and comforting to read from all these wise and inspired folk who know so much better than the apostles Paul and Peter, to say nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So you didn't read Ephesians 2:10 and Romans 6:11? :study
 
No, because there are numerous examples in Acts, the Gospels, and other New Testament books where people asked what must I do to be saved say that it is belief and repentance is necessary for salvation.

Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?â€

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.â€

This is a good text to bring up! Let's look at the fuller context:

And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?†31 They said, “ Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.†32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household. Acts 16:29-34


So there's this earthquake and all the prisoners chains had been released and this poor jailer is going to kill himself rather than face the consequences of having all his prisoners escape on his watch.. when Paul assures him that they are all there.


He asks, "What must I do to be saved?" and Paul answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and all your household."


Then... (because that's not the end of the story)... Then Paul further shared the gospel, "spoke the word of the Lord", not just to the jailer but to all who were in his house (I've always imagined that the jailer lived right there in the jail).



After speaking the word of the Lord to them, their response... and this is important, their response was to be baptized. All of them, the whole household. Luke uses the word "immediately". No waiting around, no taking classes... The jailer and his household had the full gospel shared to them, they believed and their first response was to be baptized.. right then and there.


This is not unlike the episode with the Ethiopian official:


But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.†(This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.†30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?†31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?†And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“ He was led as a sheep to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33 “ In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will relate His generation?
For His life is removed from the earth.â€

34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?†35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?†37 [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.†And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.â€] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-39


"What prevents me from being baptized?"



Well, nothing, nothing at all.... there was a supply of water, so Philip took him down into the water and baptized him.


What prevents anyone from being baptized? Probably because the Church has muddied the baptismal waters with way too much theology and not enough just getting it done.


The question, "Do you have to be baptized to achieve salvation?" must technically have the answer "no" because we all know the thief on the cross was saved and yet wasn't baptized.


I've said this before... unless you're planning on spending your entire walk with Christ on this earth dying on a cross, you need to be baptized.


Refusing to be baptized is a problem. As Tina says, if a believer is refusing to be baptized, his salvation is questionable.
 
I have reread the thread title. It's a loaded question isn't it? Does anyone "acheive" salvation or is it a gift by the grace of God?
 
WIP--Good point! How about "Did Jesus tell the truth when He said 'he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved'"?
 
I think this is yet another thread where attempts are made to teach baptismal regeneration in the face of plenty of Scripture, already cited above.
 
7Ruth,

I know you seem to struggle with this issue..... this isn't the first thread you've created regarding baptism.


I wonder why this seems to remain an unresolved issue for you? Have you been baptized? Are you questioning the method by which you were baptized?

Have you not been baptized but think maybe you should?

:biggrin Do you like to throw this bone into the "apologetics" pit and watch the adults battle over it...:lol

Looking back over your threads on this, I thought I'd bring this up again....

You can ask, "Do you have to be baptized to achieve salvation" and wind up with 28 pages of posts of people wrestling back and forth about whether or not 1 Peter 3:21 trumps Ephesians 2:8-9 and never get any kind of resolution about anything ...

But, if you are to ask, "Is baptism necessary?"

Then I think you will be much more likely to get a solid, emphatic YES...

Baptism is necessary in the life of the believer. Jesus commanded the disciples to go forth and baptize people... the apostles all baptized people... Peter baptized many, Paul just a few, but baptism was and is the norm for Christians.

Baptism is one of the gifts of God's grace to us. We can wrangle all we want as to exactly how this gift works in the life of a believer, but there can (or at least should) be no doubt as to it's importance.

Both Peter and Paul teaches us that baptism is tied to the death and burial we have in Christ:

3Or 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

9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Colossians 2


21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you— not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. 1 Peter 3



Frankly, I don't think anyone truly understands exactly what getting wet achieves for the Christian anymore than I think anyone understands what cutting off the foreskin of a baby boy did for the Jews... But, it is something God commands and it is intrinsically tied to being His people... so it is necessary that we do it.
 
Salvation is by grace, though faith, not of works (Ephesians 2.8,9). Nothing about baptism there. It IS a symbol for believers, who thereby identify themselves publicly as Christians.
 
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