Originally posted by biblicalanser4u
Salvation and Babtism!
This is a article that I found but I concur with. If you disagree, you diagree. You can find it here.
Biblicalanswers
You are at a gathering of friends. The topic of religion comes up. One of your friends, Mary, says you have to be baptized to be saved. She quotes Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16.
Acts 2:38 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.”
Mk 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Another friend, John, says you don’t have to be baptized to be saved, but if you became a believer, you would follow the Lord in baptism as an outward sign of an inner work. He quotes Acts 16:31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then he says “This shows that the only thing a person must do to be saved is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Mary disagrees. She shows that water baptism was even necessary in the epistles. She shows you 1 Peter 3:20,21 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But John shows you Ephesians 2:8,9. “It is not of works”. He says “Baptism would be a work. Baptism should come after you’re saved, but it doesn’t save you!”
Well, what should you believe? Who is right? Both are right, and both are wrong. Let’s look at the scriptures and see why this is true. The gospel is first proclaimed when John the Baptist begins his ministry. His message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 3:2)! He preached “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:3). What? He preached that a person had to be water baptized to be saved? Yes! But let’s look at some important methods of Bible study before we continue:
1. Find out who is speaking.
2. Find out to whom they are speaking.
3. Find out what dispensation it is being said under.
4. Find out where the passage you are considering belongs in the whole picture presented in the Bible.
To whom was John the Baptist sent? It says in John 1:31 that John was sent to Israel, the Jews: “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” Well, that’s pretty clear. John came to Israel to show them that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. It was at a time when God was only dealing with the Jews. The method of salvation was repent and be baptized for your sins. This was the message of the kingdom gospel. A dynasty had been promised to King David a thousand years before, in 2 Samuel 7:12, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Luke 16:16 shows when the kingdom gospel, the good news about the kingdom, was first proclaimed. “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
Did Christ and the apostles proclaim the same gospel that John preached? Yes, for it says that they did in Matthew 10:5-10 and Mark 1:14,15.
Mat 10:5-10 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
Mk 1:14,15 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Now, notice that baptism was linked with this proclamation of the kingdom. The message they proclaimed was the good news of the circumcision (Gal 2:7-9).
How many different kinds of baptism were there when John started his ministry? Only one. Was it necessary for salvation? Yes. We even find Jesus saying to Nicodemus in John 3:5 that if a man wanted to enter into the kingdom of God, he must be born of water and of the Spirit. This requirement of water baptism was in accord with the message John began and the apostles continued after Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and the day of Pentecost. Christ commanded the Eleven in Mark 16:15,16, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Peter insisted on the same requirement ten days later in Acts 2:38. “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.”
We see that it was necessary for them to be water baptized before they would receive the Holy Spirit. So now after Pentecost, with the addition of Holy Spirit baptism, for the first time there were two baptisms. Water baptism was necessary for salvation. Then, Holy Spirit baptism took place. From the context of verses 22 and 39 we see that this happened while God was still dealing with Israel. Peter was only speaking to Israel in 22, and he was referring to God’s promise to Israel in 39.
Next, something very important happened. The Apostle Paul was saved. We will not go into the differences in Paul’s salvation, although it appears that Paul was saved under the same message Peter preached in Acts 2. Acts 22:16 says, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Because God had started a new dispensation with Paul (Gal 1:11-2:9; Eph 3:1-9), all kinds of different things began to happen. Many dramatic changes took place to show that God had changed dispensations.
1. Peter got a vision in Acts 10 which showed that Israel had been set aside. They were no longer God’s special people because the vision showed the law of clean and unclean animals was set aside (Acts 10:9-16; Lev 20:24-26).
2. Peter was sent to a Gentile and told by the Holy Spirit to doubt nothing (Acts 10:20).
3. The most significant event was a dispensational sign from God that something had changed when Peter went to the Gentiles. When they believed, the Holy Spirit interrupted Peter’s message before Peter could tell them to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. In fact, the Holy Spirit fell on all the Gentiles while Peter was still preaching. The Jews who accompanied Peter were amazed.
What had changed? God had started a new program when He saved Paul. However, since God would only reveal the new message to the Apostle Paul, Peter was still preaching the same message he had always preached (Acts 10:34-43). Let’s review the situation at this point of our investigation.
1. At first there was only one baptism, John’s. It was necessary for salvation.
2. Then things started changing when Paul was saved.
3. The Holy Spirit fell on Gentiles before they were water baptized. Remember, water baptism was a sign to Jews to show Christ to them.
Sometime during his second missionary journey after he had visited Corinth, the Apostle Paul told the body of Christ about the baptisms which they knew of in this manner: “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius . . . . For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor 1:14,17 Read in context.). In the same epistle, he wrote, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks” (1 Cor 12:13). So, water baptism had changed from being the only baptism, and necessary for salvation, to a ritual which had faded away.
Next, another very important incident happened. God finished showing Israel that they had been set aside. He had done this in a progressive manner which reached its conclusion in the end of Acts. It started in Acts 13:46, continued in Acts 18:6, and was concluded in Acts 28:28.
After Israel had been shown that they had been set aside, Paul was inspired by God to write Ephesians. In Ephesians 4:3-6, Paul wrote about the unity of the Spirit. He was writing about God’s dealings with Christians today. He wrote, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” It doesn’t say two baptisms! It says there “is one baptism”? Yes, that’s right. Which one is it then? It must be Spirit baptism since the Holy Spirit is still baptizing and sealing members into the body of Christ (1 Co 12:13).
Well then, we can see that the gospel message started out with one baptism, water. This was necessary for salvation. It progressed to two: water baptism first, then, Holy Spirit baptism. The water baptism was still necessary for salvation. Finally, in this dispensation, it returned to one, Holy Spirit, which is now necessary for salvation. After the rapture of the body of Christ before the tribulation, the circumcision gospel will be in place again, and water baptism will become necessary for salvation again (1 Pet 3:18-22). So, both Mary and John would be right and wrong. Therefore, we must always search the Scriptures to see what is right dispensationally. With this in mind, please answer the following questions:
1. Did John the Baptist preach that a person had to be baptized to be saved?
2. If so, was water baptism ever necessary for salvation?
3. Over what period of time was baptism necessary for salvation?
4. Who preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins?
5. What biblical methods of study are especially important to solve apparent contradictions in the Bible?
6. With whom was God dealing when baptism was required for salvation in the New Testament?
7. To whom was John sent with his message?
8. To whom did Christ send the twelve in Matthew 10? Were they supposed to go to the Gentiles?
9. Did Christ ever say that a man had to be baptized? If so, where?
10. After Christ went to heaven, was water baptism still necessary?
11. Did God start a new dispensation with Paul?
12. To whom was Paul sent?
13. Did Peter preach to the Gentiles that they could be saved by believing in Jesus Christ as their savior?
14. What did Paul say about water baptism?
15. Did he ever baptize anyone?
16. When did things start to change dispensationally?
17. How many baptisms are in order for today?
18. Which baptism passed away? Why?
