Freak,
Have you read 1 Cor. 15? If you had you will admit that baptism is not part of the Gospel, it is merely a response to the message of the Gospel.
Sorry Freak, but I will admit to no such thing. Let's look at the 1 Cor. 15, verses 1 and 2:
1) Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you recieved and in which you stand,
2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain.
Freak, the first thing I would like to point out is that this is a letter to the
brethren of Corinth,
not to a group of people who had not been converted/saved. The importance of this fact cannot be overstated. Notice that Paul says in verse 2 " by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I
preached to you". "Preached", being past-tense, means that the gospel message had
already been preached to them. If somebody has already been converted (in which baptism is a
part of that process), then of course there would be no mention of that. Baptism is a one time deal, and it allows us as sinful humans to put away our bodies of sin and be reborn in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3-6).
What I'm getting at is that these
brethren at Corinth
had already been baptized. How do I know that? Because there is a clear example in the Bible of sinners being converted and becoming brethren, it's in Acts chapter 2, the first recorded
gospel message (good news) to some jews. Let's examine it.
In Acts chapter 2, Peter is preaching to the Jews and going over a brief history with them, leading up to the point of letting them know that they were responsible for crucifying the Son of God. It says that the Jews were "cut to the heart" and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they had to do be saved. The very clear response is in verse 38:
Acts 2:38
38) Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Two conditions had to be met before people could recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit, thus being saved:
1) Repentance
2) Baptism
This is a command that is given in the imperative mood and was to be obeyed at once. Both repentance and baptism carry equal authority, and must be obeyed in order for the result to happen; the recieving of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Notice also verse 41:
41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
This shows that the Jews indeed obeyed the command to be baptized, and as a result, "about three thousand souls were added to them."
Notice that this verse does
NOT say something like "Then those who glady recieved his word had their souls added to them, and then they were baptized". No, it was talking about people who
heard the word and
obeyed it, which included the
command to be baptized. ONLY then were their souls added to them.
Just as the Jews obeyed the command to be baptized (verse 41), so should we. If we don't, then we are not obeying Christ (Matthew 28:19,20), and that WILL cost you your soul. We are only saved
if we
obey Christ (Hebrews 5:9).
Acts chapter 2 is a clear example of how a person who is dead in sin can become saved and join other brethren around the world,
just like the brethren of Corinth. The Corinth brethren were baptized because Jesus Christ
commanded it in the great commission, which you failed to address, so I'll post it again:
Matthew 28:19,20
19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Jesus
commanded His disciples to go out into world and baptize people and for those people to observe ALL things that Jesus commanded the disciples to do, which INCLUDED baptism. What did Paul go out and preach?
THE GOSPEL. And when Paul obeyed Jesus and went out to Corinth "making disciples and baptizing them", those people who believed were baptized (or your telling me that Paul disobeyed Jesus's
DIRECT order to do that very thing), and they were saved... because they heard the gospel and they
obeyed it!
So I ask you again, knowing that baptism is
commanded by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, how can you say that baptism isn't necessary?? If we don't obey Jesus, then He is NOT the author of eternal salvation to that person, because Heberws 5:9 states:
9) And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
It clearly states that He is the author of salvation to who? All who
obey Him. Where do you think that leaves the people that
don't obey Him? I'll spell it out just so there's no confusion:
HELL.
Is baptism necessary for salvation? You bet it is. Obey the word!!