The will of the Father also includes our being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we can be saved and go to heaven. In Mark 16:16 Jesus says, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned." This is such a simple command to obey in the way the Lord says to do it. Notice the divine order: 1) Believe + 2) Baptism = 3) Saved. Jesus says that both belief and baptism are required to be saved. But men, at the prompting of Satan, are trying to tell us many other different things that are contrary to what Jesus says. Men have taken what the Lord said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved," and have changed it in every way possible to suit themselves. The following is what Jesus says and also ways in which man has tried to change what the Lord has said.
1) As we have just seen Jesus says in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."
2) There are those who in reality say that, "He that does not believe and is not baptized will be saved," because they say God is going to save everyone. This is the Universalist who says that everyone is going to be saved and no one is going to be lost. We know this is not true because of what our Lord said in Matthew 7:13-14, that many are going to be lost and only few are going to be saved.
3) Then there are others who essentially say that, "He who believes and is baptized will not be saved." They say that no one is going to be saved. This is the Atheist who says that there is not going to be an eternity and that when you are dead, you are like the dog Rover, you are dead all over. But again we know that this is false. We have already seen that few will be saved, but the majority will be lost.
4) Still others imply that, "He who does not believe but is baptized will be saved." These are those who practice infant baptism, but an infant certainly cannot believe. Of course an infant is not accountable but is innocent and is not lost.
5) Then there are also those who essentially say that, "He who believes and is not baptized will be saved." They are trying to tell us that we are saved by faith only and that baptism is not necessary to be saved, but all that you have to do is believe. Again, like the other three, this is contrary to what the Lord has said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." On the day of judgment we are only going to be judged by what the Lord says and not by what we think.
Who are you following? Are you following 1) Jesus, 2) the Universalist, 3) the Atheist, 4) those promoting infant baptism, or 5) those promoting faith only? We can go to heaven only by following what Jesus says and not what man says. The following chart shows what the Lord has said and also the many ways that men have tried to change it. They have changed it every way possible to suit themselves.
1) Jesus in Mark 16:16 says: Believe + Baptized = Saved
2) Universalist says: Not Believe + Not Baptized = Saved
3) Atheist says: Believe + Baptized = Not Saved
4) Infant Baptism says: Not Believe + Baptized = Saved
5) Faith Only says: Believe + Not Baptized = Saved
Our Lord said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." But there are those who want to ignore what Jesus said in the first half of the verse and only look at the latter half. They do this in an attempt to try to manufacture a loophole in what the Lord has said. They are not willing to accept that Jesus says we must believe and be baptized to be saved. Jesus could not make it any clearer what one has to do to be saved.
In the later half of the verse Jesus says "but he who does not believe will be condemned." But there are those who say that Jesus did not say you would be condemned if you were not baptized. People who say this are grasping at straws in trying to avoid what the Lord who is our only Saviour requires. But people are doing this to their own eternal destruction. One who does not believe will certainly not be baptized. One who does not believe could go through the motions and get dunked under the water, but he would not be scripturally baptized. He would only get wet. Since one who does not believe could not be scripturally baptized, it would have been useless for the Lord to have mentioned baptism in the latter half of the verse. People may argue against the Lord's requirement of being baptized in order to be saved, but they will not be able to argue with the Lord when they stand before Him on the Day of Judgment. It will be too late then.
When we stand before the Lord on the day of judgment to be judged by Him, there are going to be many who have chosen not to do what the Lord has said. Rather they have chosen to do what man has said to do. Romans 10:3 tells us that people are "Seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God." The choice is ours. Either we have tried to establish our own righteousness or we have submitted to the righteousness of God. Unless we are forgiven the way that Jesus Christ has specified in the Bible then we will die in our sins and be forever lost and forever separated from God in eternal punishment. We make the decision; but we will reap the eternal consequences. Are you ready for those consequences?
The Lord says in John 12:48, "The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." We are not going to be judged by what man says or by what we think, but by what our Lord says. This is going to be the standard for judgment.
For the majority of people, the judgment will be a horrible day, and a day of many terrible surprises. Obedience to our Lord will save any lost person, no matter how evil his past has been, but obedience to a mere human doctrine will not save anyone, no matter how good they have been. Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 5:9 says, "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him." Yes, we must obey our Lord, if we expect Him to save us.
Baptism is not a work of merit that man does. We do nothing for God when we are baptized, except obey Him; but God does something for us. Baptism is God’s chosen way of imparting His saving grace. Baptism is the submission to the command of God that saves. As we read in Acts 10:48, "And He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." God offers salvation to all men, but He conditions that offer with obeying the requirements which He has set out in His word. The Lord has commanded us to be baptized. The Lord has no nonessential commands. In Hebrews 5:9 we saw that no man can be saved by the grace of God without being obedient to the will of God.
Believing and being baptized to be saved, as Mark 16:16 says, does not nullify the grace of God, but it activates it. The fact that baptism is essential to our salvation in no way reflects upon the wonderful grace offered to all; but rather it honors Christ who commanded it. Baptism is a very serious matter. According to the Bible, baptism is for the purpose of salvation.
In the Garden of Eden God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said in Genesis 2:17, "For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." But later in Genesis 3:4 Satan told Eve, "You will not surely die." Satan just added the one word "not" and perverted what God had said. This is what men are doing today. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." Men today erroneously teach "He that believes and is not baptized shall be saved." By adding the word "not" men today are perverting the word of God just as Satan did.
Satan does not want anyone to be baptized for the purpose of being saved. Satan tells people that after you think you are saved and your sins are forgiven then you can be baptized. But this is a lie of Satan which will cause many people to be lost. But Jesus promised salvation only to those who believe and are baptized. We cannot afford to be wrong on this vital point. Our eternal destiny depends on our being right with God.
n the second chapter of Acts, Peter had convicted the people there of having killed the Son of God. In verse 37 their question was, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" In verse 38 (KJV), "Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins." Here people were told to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. Only when we submit to baptism as the Lord has commanded, that is for the remission of sins to be saved, do we show our faith in the Lord. Only then will He save us.
Man today has a sin problem. It is our sins that separate us from God. We are to repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins. This is God's instruction on how we solve our sin problem. In the above verse, when Peter told them to "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins," whatever repentance is for in that verse, baptism is for the same reason. Repent and be baptized are joined by the coordinating conjunction and, which joins words of equal grammatical importance. Certainly Acts 2:38 does not teach that lost people are to repent because they have already received forgiveness of their sins. Neither does it teach that lost people are to be baptized because their sins are already forgiven. Satan would like you to believe that baptism has nothing to do with the forgiveness of your sins. Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? Again, the choice is yours; either believe what God has said and be saved, or believe what men say and you will continue to be lost. We only have two choices, and the choice that we make will have eternal consequences. But please make the right choice.
In the book of Acts we have the account of the conversion of the Apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 9, Paul is traveling on the road up to Damascus to persecute Christians. The Lord appears to Paul on the road and strikes him blind. In verse 5 he tells Paul, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." In verse 6 Paul asks, "Lord what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him (Paul), Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The Lord did not tell Paul what he must do, but that someone in the city would tell him what he must do. In Acts 9:9, after Paul went into the city, "And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank." Paul was worried sick and very upset. He had just found out that all the years in his zeal, while persecuting the Lord's church, he had actually been persecuting the Lord. Paul was devastated and broken-hearted in finding out that he had been wrong all these years.
Let's see now what Paul was told what he must do. In Acts chapter 22, a man named Ananias, who was sent by the Lord, came to Paul and miraculously restored Paul's eyesight. Notice what Paul was told by Ananias what he must do. Acts 22:16, "And now why are you waiting? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Paul was not saved three days earlier while on the road to Damascus, as some people would like for us to believe. Paul up to this point was still lost, because he still had all his sins that needed to be washed away. Paul still had a sin problem. Obedience to the Lord's command to be baptized was necessary to wash away Paul's sins. At the point of baptism every sin that we have ever committed will be taken away, if it is done for that purpose. Have you been baptized for the purpose of having your sins washed away? If you have not, then you still have a sin problem. You are still lost.
Paul was not told "to pray the sinners prayer and ask Jesus to come into his heart in order to be saved." This is foreign to the scripture. You cannot find anywhere in the Bible where anyone was ever told to do this. Since God in the Bible has never told anyone "To pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart in order to be saved", who else but men could have come up with such an idea? Forgiveness occurs in the mind of God and not on the basis of man's feeling in his heart. Only when we have done what God has said that we must do, will God forgive our sins. We cannot devise our own plan as to how our sins are to be forgiven.
Do not misunderstand. We do not "earn" our salvation by being baptized. Salvation is a gift from God. Even though salvation is a free gift from God, he has laid down certain conditions upon which he will give it. One condition to receive his gift is faith: Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him." Another condition of his free gift is repentance: Luke 13:3, "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish." Another condition is baptism: Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." Still another condition is living a faithful Christian life: Revelation 2:10, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." The conditions include doing all "the will of the Father," Matthew 7:21. These are God's conditions. Believing in God and Christ with all our heart, repenting of all our sins, confessing Christ and being baptized are all equally important to our salvation. If any of these are lacking, then we will not be saved. You can't have one without the others.
There is nothing that we can do to merit salvation. Whether it be believing in Jesus or being baptized, we can never "earn our salvation". The only way we can show our faith in Christ is if we are willing to accept and obey what He says. But it is in baptism that God has chosen to impart his wonderful grace of salvation to us as a willing believer.
According to the Bible, it is at the point of baptism, that we pass from an unsaved state into a saved state. In other words, at the time of baptism, we go from being unsaved to being saved. We read in I Peter 3:21 (KJV), "The like figure whereunto even baptism does also now save us." The Bible says that "baptism does now also save us," but men say that "baptism does not save us." This is very similar to the situation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God in Genesis 2:17 told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, "For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." But Satan told Eve in Genesis 3:4, "Then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die." Satan only added the one word "not" to what God had said and completely changed the meaning. That is what men are doing to God's commands today. Who are you going to accept, the word of men or the Word of God? We are told in Acts 5:29, "We ought to obey God rather than men." On the Day of Judgment, the Bible will still say that "baptism does also now save us." Again the choice is yours, but it is very serious. We dare not make the wrong choice.
Also, notice that it is baptism that puts us into Christ so that we can be saved. Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." This is the only way a person can get into Christ. The preposition into indicates a change of relationship. You can search from the front to the back of your Bible, and you will find no other way to get into Christ except by being baptized into Christ. Also Romans 6:3 says the same thing, "Or do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" So the only way we can get into Christ is to be baptized into Christ. Either a person has been baptized into Christ, or he is still outside of Christ. We are either in or we are out. Have you been baptized into Christ in order to be saved and have your sins forgiven? If you haven’t been, let us notice some of the things that you are missing.
1) Ephesians 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ." This verse tells us that every spiritual blessing is located in Christ. Only those who are in Christ can enjoy these spiritual blessings. Since this verse says that every spiritual blessing is in Christ, then there can be no spiritual blessings for those who are outside of Christ. If you have not been baptized into Christ, you are still outside of Christ, and you are not entitled to any spiritual blessings. The Lord arranged it that way and no man has the right to change it.
2) Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." On the day of judgment those who are in Christ will not be condemned; but those who are outside of Christ will be condemned. We go from being condemned to being forgiven when we are baptized into Christ. If you have not been baptized into Christ, then you will suffer eternal condemnation.
3 & 4) Only those who are in Christ have been redeemed and forgiven of their sins. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." since redemption and forgiveness of sins are located in Christ, those who have not been baptized into Christ have not been redeemed and still have every sin they have ever committed. The scriptures are so clear that a person needs help to misunderstand it. Are you still outside of Christ? You do not have to stay outside of Christ.
5) Next we read II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." If one is in Christ, he has become a new creation. He has a new beginning in life, and his "slate has been wiped clean" since he has been forgiven of all his sins and has become a new saved person. Although, if you are outside of Christ, you are still an old sinful creature. You still have all of your sins and are without hope. When is it that one becomes a new creation? Romans 6:3-4 says, "Or do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death: that just as Christ Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When is one raised to walk in newness of life? This scripture says that it is when we are raised out of the waters of baptism. At that point we begin our walk in newness of life. Newness of life does not begin until after baptism.
In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Then two verses later in John 3:5, Jesus tells how being born again takes place: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Our Lord is very emphatic in what he says. No man has the power or authority to repeal what our Lord has said. Nor does anyone have the authority to rationalize it away and teach otherwise. Jesus said that we must be born of water and the Spirit. Jesus said that being born again must not only include the Spirit, but it must include water. Here we see that when one is baptized in water, he is raised to walk in newness of life, becoming a new creature, and thus he has been born again. Are you still an old sinful creature or have you become a new creature by being baptized into Christ?
6) The Apostle Paul says in II Timothy 2:10, "Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." Here we see that salvation is located in Christ, and for one to be eligible for salvation, he must be in Christ. If you are not in Christ, by being baptized into Christ, you have no hope or promise of salvation. It will be a horrible thing for a person, who thinks he is saved, when he stands before the Lord on the day of judgment, if he is still outside of Christ. He will have no salvation. He will be lost eternally in Hell.
7) In I John 5:11 we read, "And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." So according to the inspired word of God, eternal life is located in His Son, Jesus Christ. Only those in Christ have been promised eternal life. Those who are outside of Christ have no promise of eternal life. So what does that leave them? It leaves them only eternal punishment, which is a sad condition. My heart bleeds for them, because I don’t want to see anyone lost. But how can you get people to wake up to the truth of God’s word?
The following chart sums up what we have been discussing concerning the advantages of being in Christ. As we have seen, it is baptism that puts us into Christ (Rm 6:3, Gal 3:27) so that we can enjoy all of these spiritual blessings which are in Christ.
Where on the chart are you actually located? Outside of Christ or inside of Christ? Not where you would like to be located, but where are you actually located at this time, depending on whether you have been baptized into Christ or not. If you were baptized for the remission of sins in order to be saved then you were baptized into Christ. But if your baptism was not for the remission of sins and not to be saved, then you are still outside of Christ. If you are outside of Christ, you have no spiritual blessings, no redemption, no forgiveness of sins; you will be condemned on the day of judgment; you are still an old sinful creature; you have no hope of salvation and no hope of eternal life.
As Ephesians 2:12 says, "That at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Could a situation get any more desperate than having no hope and being without God? This is the situation of those who are outside of Christ.
If you thought you were saved when you accepted Christ as you personal savior, and then later you were baptized, then your baptism was not to save you. You thought you were already saved before baptism, but you are still lost because the baptism that puts us into Christ also saves us. If you thought that your sins were taken away before baptism, when you accepted Christ as your personal savior, then your baptism was not for the purpose of forgiveness of sins. You still have every sin you have ever committed and are still separated from God.
I hope that my explanation above explains everything. And here, is the explanation for the thief on the cross:
Those who teach the doctrine of salvation by faith only frequently point to the thief on the cross that appealed to Jesus in his last moments. They claim that the thief was saved by faith without the need of being baptized or of any other work of righteousness. They go on to contend that since the thief was never baptized and that since he was promised a place in paradise that New Testament Christians likewise can be saved by faith alone.
Those who claim this fail to realize that there is not one verse of scripture that supports the assumption that the thief was not baptized. The thief knew who Jesus was and that He was innocent, (Luke 23:41). The thief appealed to Jesus calling Him “Lord” and the thief knew Jesus was coming into a kingdom that belonged to Him, (Luke 23:42). This man knew that even though he and Jesus were going to die, there was something beyond the cross for both of them. That is a lot of information for someone who has not been baptized to possess. Great multitudes of people had been taught and baptized prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, (Mark 1:4-5; Luke 3:21). It is entirely possible this man had been baptized prior this event.
Scripture teaches that when Jesus died on the cross His new covenant or testament came into force, (Hebrews 9:15-17). Jesus had not yet died on the cross when the thief made his appeal. This was not the first time Jesus forgave the sins of others before He died. In Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10 and Luke 5:24 we read of Jesus demonstrating His power on earth to forgive sins. This was the account of the man with the palsy who had been let down through a hole in the roof into the presence of Jesus. Jesus not only healed this man but He forgave his sins as well. Hanging on the cross, moments from death, Jesus still had the same power to save a lost individual who had appealed to Him. The thief on the cross, having been saved before Jesus died, was saved under the old covenant, not the new. It is not possible for anybody today to be saved before Jesus died on the cross.
Was the thief really saved by faith only? One must ask, would he have been saved if he had never made his appeal to Jesus? Would faith alone in his heart have been enough without anything else? In Luke 23:40 the thief openly rebuked his counterpart saying “Dost not thou fear God”? This man knew who God was and knew he was to be feared more than dying on that cross. That is a demonstration of faith in God. In verse 41 the thief acknowledged that they were receiving their just rewards for their deeds and he further proclaimed that Jesus was innocent. Repentance is contrition of heart that manifests itself in a change of action. The thief knew he was condemned, knew he was at fault and he knew there were consequences beyond the death that awaited him. This man regretted his former actions and this regret compelled him to change the way he was acting towards Jesus. Matthew 27:44 records that, at first, both of them were reviling Jesus. This man repented and Jesus accepted this mans repentance after having earlier been publicly reviled by him. The significance of this cannot be overstated. One of the terms of salvation today is repentance. Luke recorded the words of Jesus in chapter 13:3 (Luke 13:3) saying “unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Would the thief have been saved without his repentance?
In Luke 23:42 the thief made an appeal directly to Jesus addressing him as “Lord.” In Luke 12:8 we see Jesus saying “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God”. This man knew who Jesus was and addressed him as Lord before everyone present including the other thief. The thief also asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. This man was appealing to Jesus, a condemned man, hanging naked on a cross, gasping out his last breaths on this earth, for help. He recognized the hopeless lost state he was in and he turned to the only source of help alive on earth and found it. He found mercy just like the publican who begged for it in Luke 18:3. Can you imagine how comforting those words Jesus spoke to him at that time must have been? “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
The thief on the cross repented, he acknowledged Jesus as Lord and asked for mercy. Was he really saved by faith only? Jesus taught in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”. Jesus further taught that those who do His will are building their houses on a foundation of rock which can not be shaken, (Luke 6:47-48). The thief on the cross knew who Jesus was while he was hanging with him at Calvary. But he wasn’t saved until after he gave the proper response to his faith.
Unless you people continue to stubbornly hold on to your beliefs despite hard evidence here, you guys have no hope. To those of you who say you people will never change your heart, you people are fools. I have so many verses to explain that my gospel is the only gospel, yet, you people foolishly cling onto your old beliefs with poorly used verses. GIVE UP!
How do you expect me to humble myself and allow the spirit to take work in me? The spirit is taking work in me, that's why I'm here!
Instead of being rebellious idiots, read and accept, instead of vainly assuring yourselves with verses that contradict only a little of the verses I show.
