If you believe everyone must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, yes we are on the same page. 99.9% of the modern church world does not believe that. Therefore, 99.9% of the modern church world is wrong.
We don't believe that because the Bible doesn't not say that
Baptism is absolutely not required for salvation. ONLY faith in Christ is required for salvation.. everything else is false teaching. What must be repented of is unbelief in Christ. That is the pattern or righteousness throughout the Bible. That is what fits the context of the whole Bible.
"It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourselves it is the gift of God and NOT THE RESULT OF WORKS so that no man may boast."
"Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness."
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."
"21But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness is given through faith in h Jesus Christ to all who believe."
"25God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, i through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
"10Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."
"1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? a 4Have you experienced b so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
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We are saved by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.
If you confess your sins He is faithful and JUST to forgive our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness.
1 John was written to believers. Believers are to confess their sins and when they do they are forgiven, not only that but it is Justice when God does it.. so complete was Jesus's work on the cross that it would be unjust of God not to forgive us when we confess. This has nothing to do with our goodness but rather the completeness of Jesus's sacrifice and victory over sin.. We don't defeat sin, Jesus did.
How much sin does God forgive? ALL OF IT.. sin as an issue is done.. dealt with, finished, gone. Avoiding sin is not our primary focus. Drawing close to God is our focus and always has been. The idea that the way God interacts with us had changed from old testament to new is false.
The only thing that has changed is that we are under grace not under the law, which Paul was so adamant about throughout his works.
We are under the promise God made to Abraham. Righteousness not through our behavior but through faith.. faith of course should lead to right behavior. However we are still sinners and we still need confession repentance and forgiveness.
John writing to believers tells us that we are sinners and that anyone claiming not to be is a liar who has no truth.
That's simply what the Bible says when you take the whole thing in context..
Paul says it is through the law we become conscious of sin. If one comes to faith in Christ but doesn't know the law they cannot be conscious of sin and therefore cannot repent of sin. This was exactly the case in Paul's epistles. He was writing to people who did not know the law, Gentiles he had to train them not to be like heathens, yet these were saved believers in Christ. They learned over time what they needed to repent of to become more Christ like. They were already saved on account of believing God and having it accounted to them as righteousness.
Dear God, after all these years I am still just a sinner saved by Your grace through the work of Your Son Jesus.
I am in desperate need of your constant intervention in my life through Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for saving me. I did not deserve it and still don't. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. They are the only way I make it through each day. Lord may we all be humble when we think of You and bring us all into obedience to your word through Your work as our work is filthy rags. Lord I am nothing on my own. Everything good in or from my life is from You.
Lord please forgive my sin so that I may be righteousness. I believe Jesus is the Son of God, slain for my iniquity, raised from the dead by Your power and sitting at Your right hand according to your Glory. Thank you for giving me this faith, make me a better steward of it. In the name above every other Jesus.. amen.
