Originally posted by rene
What I have been seeing within this thread are comments that go directly against the words spoken by Jesus and instead follow their own personal views.
Which words bring eternal life, relationship with God the words of Jesus? or what you and those like you want to teach?
What does the bible teach about those that add/take away from the teachings as given? What sort of relationship does God have with such - as found within the bible?
What type of theology picks certain verses only if they support what they want to teach and ignore the verses that state what they don't want to follow? What kind of person is it that does such?
Rene
People like these RENE.
Church of Christ WATER BAPTISM AND SALVATION:
A Response to the Teaching of the Church of Christ
By Keith Johnson
What must one do in order to be saved? This is an essential question. Some churches known as the Churches of Christ (particularly those associated with the Chicago and Boston Churches of Christ) aggressively teach that unless one believes in Christ and is baptized in their church for the forgiveness of sins, then he or she can not be saved. This paper is a response to the assertion that water baptism is a condition for salvation. First, I will present four arguments the Church of Christ commonly uses to teach that Baptism is a necessary condition for salvation. The material I will present in the first section comes from three sources: a book called "What's Baptism All About?" by Herbert Mjord (who is a Church of Christ minister), an evangelistic tract by the Sycamore Church of Christ, and my personal experience from talking with members of the Church of Christ.
To fairly represent the viewpoint held to by the Church of Christ I will present their arguments as they would without initially critiquing them. This will necessitate me making assertions that I may not agree with. However, I will respond to these arguments in the second section of the paper. In addition I am using endnotes, not to cite references, but to aid the reader by expanding or clarifying points I will make. The purpose of this paper is to answer one question: Is water baptism a necessary condition for salvation?
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF WATER BAPTISM AS A CONDITION FOR SALVATION (AS PRESENTED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST)
I. First, one advocating this view would argue as follows: The consistent pattern recorded in the book of Acts with regard to baptism was this: Unbelievers heard the gospel and were immediately baptized when they responded with faith. Peter told a group of people who responded to his sermon (Acts 2:38), "Repent and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus..." In Acts 2:41 it records, "So then, those who had received his word were baptized..." Another example of this is Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike." Later in Acts 8 Philip preached the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch. In response to the gospel message the eunuch said (v. 36b), "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" Acts 10 recorded Peter's first ministry to Gentiles. After sharing the gospel message with a Gentile named Cornelius and seeing him receive the Holy Spirit, Peter said (v. 47), "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"
Paul also continued this practice in his ministry. His first convert in Europe was a woman named Lydia who lived in Philippi. Acts 16:14b records, "...the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Verse 15 records that she was "immediately baptized." The same is true for the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30-33). He, "immediately was baptized, he and all his household." Other examples include Acts 19:3-5 and Acts 22:16. The thrust of these verses is best stated by Mjord: "No one is counted a Christian in the book of Acts until he is baptized." (pg. 24) Next, one holding this view would probably argue the following.
II. The Apostles included the necessity of water baptism in their gospel presentation, making it a necessary condition for salvation. One believing baptism is necessary for salvation would argue that people were not baptized because they were already Christians but to become Christians. Consider the application of Peter's first evangelistic message in Acts 2:38. He said, "Repent and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins...." Peter didn't say be baptized because you are a Christian, but be baptized so that your sins may be forgiven making water baptism necessary for salvation. Other examples of this include Acts 10:48; 19:1-7; and 22:16.
III. Next a Church of Christ representative might argue that Jesus himself made water baptism a necessary condition for salvation. In his commission to his disciples in Mark 16:15-16 Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved..." Here Jesus himself said that one must be baptized in order to be saved. Jesus didn't say that belief alone results in salvation but that faith accompanied by baptism brings salvation.1 Jesus also alluded to the need for baptism in John 3:5 in his evangelistic message to Nicodemus. he states: "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." One who believes this would argue that the phrase "of water" was a reference to water baptism and making baptism a condition for being born again.
IV. Finally, one holding this view would argue that the Bible describes baptism as conferring the benefits of salvation. They would assert that writers like Paul described baptism as conferring the benefits of salvation (Rom 6:4,5; Col 2:12-13; Gal 3:27). Mjord states exactly this (pg. 25): "Because baptism is a means of grace, it confers the sure mercies of Jesus Christ to those who have faith. Then all that is associated with baptism belongs to the believer." Mjord argues that I Peter 3:21 is an example of this: "And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Mjord states (pg. 18), "Peter is saying that baptism saves you when you have a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus. One can have a clear conscience through Christ only when one believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord."
Paul also connected the necessity of water baptism with salvation in Romans 6. In verses 3 and 4 he wrote, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead...so we too might walk in newness of life." Paul's readers would have understood this to be a reference to water baptism. They would think about the day they were baptized (and came to know Christ) and were given new life from their baptism in water. They wouldn't think that being immersed in water alone brought salvation but that being baptized accompanied by faith brought them into new life in Christ.
In summary a representative of the Church of Christ would argue that the New Testament writers and Jesus taught that water baptism was a necessary condition for one to be saved. What follows is my response to this position. Before I will respond to these four arguments I will present three preliminary arguments that form an essential context for evaluating water baptism and salvation.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF FAITH ALONE, APART FROM WATER BAPTISM, AS A NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT CONDITION FOR SALVATION
I. The Greek word bapt i zw, that we often translate "baptize," is used in a variety of ways in the New Testament. According to BAGD bapt i zw means to "dip, immerse, or wash."2 bapt i zw is used of Jewish ritual washings (Mark 7:4), the baptizing done by John the Baptist (Mat. 3:6-17), and Christian baptism (Matt. 28:18-20' Acts 2:38,41). In addition bapt i zw also has a number of figurative uses. In Luke 12:50 Jesus said, "but I have a baptism to be baptized with..." referring to the suffering he would experience. In Matt. 3:11 John contrasted his baptism (with water) and the "baptism by fire" (figurative use) that Jesus would bring. Acts 1:5 and 2:1-13 records that this "baptism" took place at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given. I Cor. 12:13 also used baptism (figuratively pointing to the work of the Holy Spirit).
This all demonstrates that language is flexible. The fact that bapt i zw had a variety of meanings is an essential starting point in our discussion. It implies that the meaning of bapt i zw must be determined by the context. Yet this is where the Church of Christ often errs--assuming that every reference to bapt i zw must have been a reference to water baptism.3 For sake of clarity, when I use the word baptism I will be referring to water baptism by immersion, unless otherwise noted.4
II. The question at hand is not, "Does baptism accompanied by faith in Christ result in salvation?" Both sides agree that it does. The question rather is this: Is water baptism a necessary condition for salvation such that faith, without water baptism, means that one can not be saved? The Church of Christ would also agree that faith is a necessary condition for salvation but not a sufficient condition.5
III. To determine whether water baptism is a necessary condition for salvation one must study salvation not baptism. The importance of this can be illustrated as follows. Imagine that one was studying Luke 18:18-23. A rich young ruler said to Jesus, "'Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'You know the commandments...'" Jesus then listed five of the ten commandments and told the ruler to sell all his possessions. This appears to teach salvation by works. Imagine that someone concludes then that he or she must study all the passages in the Bible on good works. Consider James 2:14-26. James said (v. 14), "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" In verse 24 James continued, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. " After studying these and related passages on good works one might conclude that salvation results from faith plus good works.
http://www.acns.com/~mm9n/Baptism/D6.htm
