Is baptism neccessary for salavation

[YoungandUnashame101]

I'm going through a hard time this moment. the devil has been attacking me lately saying im hopeless and that I should live in sin because I never was baptize. I was saved a year ago but never baptize and I felt the Lords presence in my life after I had a talk with a minister and he told me i wasn't saved. soo all this time i was serving the lord and it was pointless...what should I do

 

[Chaplain_MArk]

I'm going through a hard time this moment. the devil has been attacking me lately saying im hopeless and that I should live in sin because I never was baptize. I was saved a year ago but never baptize and I felt the Lords presence in my life after I had a talk with a minister and he told me i wasn't saved. soo all this time i was serving the lord and it was pointless...what should I do
__________________

One answer NO Baptism is not required for Salvation - The reason we do get baptised is because Christ did it. It is an outward sign of an inward washing or change. You are saying to the world I am no longer the old creation but a new creation with Christ.

 

[DreamsAreFree]

Baptism is NOT required for salvation. What is required for salvation is to repent and believe. Baptism is a work that comes out of our faith and works cant save us. Baptism is done because Jesus set the example for us and is an outward sign of our faith. God may be speaking to you about taking the step of baptism but, as with biblical examples, we are saved and THEN baptised.

 

[bluelime2]

Actually it is essential. All the early church believers were baptized. That was AFTER christs death.

John 3:3-5 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.....
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 2:38
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Rom 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Col 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:12 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,


(but your serving of God was not 'pointless' by any stretch of the imagination. Every drop was seen and counted (and valued appropriately) don't worry. Most people take some time after they first get to know God before they get baptized. I was in my early twenties and yet I grew up in the church and made a commitment to God very early on and followed it faithfully up to that point. Baptism in itself can't save you, (otherwise people could just get baptized and automically be right with God regardless of how they behaved afterwards) but it is an essential step when you feel ready for it. It signals a new life and a new beginning in christ and a higher phase in your walk. God knew my heart before I was baptized and he knew it afterwards, but the ceremony is signifcant in a christians life and carrys a spiritual weight and importance.

 

[JesusSavedme1]

You are saved when you believe Jesus died for your sins on the Cross.
It is good to be baptised but it won't save you. When one is baptised as a baby for example the parents basically only promise to raise the child to know God. a Lot of baptised people will not see heaven because they do not believe.
Take for example one of the men that was crucified at Calvary with Jesus. He was saved without being bapitsed..Why because he believed.
If you want the Holy Spirit to reign in your life...God is not going to ask..Have you been baptised he will open the door to whoever knocks.

 

[Abiel]

No. Look at the thief on the cross- he had no chance to be baptised, do a good work or nothing. He said no sinners prayer even. He simply believed in that moment, and was promised eternity with the Lord.

HOWEVER, I do believe that being baptised is a natural way of being identified publically with the community of faith, and that if God asks us to be baptised, not to do so would be disobediance.

You are saved by faith. Perhaps you need to take another step.

 

[jpcedotal]

Yeah the "next step" idea Abiel is a good start. Every Christian needs to always take the next step and that is kind of what baptism was to me. First, the Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul, then told me to follow him. What better way to start down that road than to do what He did by getting baptisted. If you feel that the Holy Spirit is tugging you in this direction, what is the hold up? Why do you have to analyze baptism? Anything you do that Jesus did has got to be a good thing....right?

 

[bluelime2]

There are two versions of the thief on the cross recorded in the gospels. In Matthew and Marks accounts the criminials crucified with him mocked him along with everyone else. In Lukes account we have Jesus saying that he'll be with him in paradise 'today'. Since all have to stand before judgement first and none of the apostles who wrote that were actually there at the time (the bible from what I've read only mentions John being there - who didn't mention the criminals with him at all.) I would personally go with Matthew and Marks account.

I think a lot can revolve around your defination of the word 'saved'. However the scriptures I posted show that baptism is essential for any genuine follower of christ.

 

[Aibrean]

It is necessary but not absolutely necessary.

We are commanded to do it. Why don't you want to be baptized?

 

[dodolah]

In Matthew and Marks accounts the criminials crucified with him mocked him along with everyone else. In Lukes account we have Jesus saying that he'll be with him in paradise 'today'. Since all have to stand before judgement first and none of the apostles who wrote that were actually there at the time (the bible from what I've read only mentions John being there - who didn't mention the criminals with him at all.) I would personally go with Matthew and Marks account.

I think a lot can revolve around your defination of the word 'saved'. However the scriptures I posted show that baptism is essential for any genuine follower of christ.

So, are you insinuating the gospel of Luke is not infallible? At least not as infallible as Matthew and Mark?
I am interested to know which other books you think is less credible in the bible.

as far as the OP goes, why is it so hard on you anyway? just get baptized.. You already believed in Jesus anyway.

 

[seashale76]

As someone said above, we are commanded to do it. You were even shown scriptures above which speak of the necessity of baptism.

As you are currently not in mitigating circumstances where your death is imminent and you have no time for baptism (such as happened to pagan converts to Christianity who came to faith upon seeing Christians being martyred and persecuted and who were sometimes immediately martyred for professing their own faith- called a baptism of blood) and/or Christ Himself isn't there next to you to hear your confession of faith, then you should be baptized.

 

[Zags91]

The famous verse John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. There is nothing in there that says you need to be baptized. I'm not saying you shouldn't be baptized, but it isn't a requirement.

 

[seashale76]

Faith is an action word. It isn't simply a mental assent to something. One who has faith WILL choose to be baptized for the remission of sins. Faith without works (in this case assent to submit oneself to a work of God) is dead.

 

[cinseattle]

It is by grace through faith that you are saved. Baptism is an act of faith and a personal association with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

The act of being baptized does not make you right with God, it is because you are right with God through Jesus that you should desire to be baptized.

 

[Aibrean]

The famous verse John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. There is nothing in there that says you need to be baptized. I'm not saying you shouldn't be baptized, but it isn't a requirement.

Jesus himself said "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

From the words of Peter: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

The Bible also gives the impression that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when baptized.

 

[AllTalkNoAction]

. . .

The Bible also gives the impression that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when baptized.

The bible is precise, (the word is a sharp two-edged sword).

If a person believes the correct message they will repent, get baptised and receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) but getting baptised doesn't mean they have received the Spirit (see Acts 8:12-18, 19:5-6) neither do they need to get baptised in order to receive the Spirit (Acts 10:44-48).

The two should go hand-in-hand, but they are separate things.

 

[Diven]

I'm going through a hard time this moment. the devil has been attacking me lately saying im hopeless and that I should live in sin because I never was baptize. I was saved a year ago but never baptize and I felt the Lords presence in my life after I had a talk with a minister and he told me i wasn't saved. soo all this time i was serving the lord and it was pointless...what should I do

Sounds like you have a minister who believes baptism is essential for salvation. As you can see from the responses this is not a universally held belief, yet there are those who believe it. I do not believe it is strictly essential, but it is commanded and should be followed if reasonably possible.

If you made a prayer of commitment a year ago and begun sensing the Lord's presence in your life, that leads me to believe God's at work in your life. The works you did in serving God this past year are good in their own right, and appreciated by God, so they aren't pointless. It is important to understand though that these works and good deeds, are not what saves you. Jesus dying on the cross for your sins is what saves you, and it is enough. Good works are done as a response to the love God has shown you.

The simple solution to Satan's challenge is to get baptized. What might be holding you back?

 

[Zags91]

Another thing about God's gift of salvation is that it's given by faith, not by works or ordinances (communion, baptism, etc.). It can't be given by the things we do since we all fall short anyway. It also can't be earned, which is why it's a gift. The book of Romans (Ch. 4, I believe) has some information about how Abraham was to circumcise men, but he was saved by faith even before he carried out that task as are all who have faith.

 

[Bain_Adaneth]

I'm going through a hard time this moment. the devil has been attacking me lately saying im hopeless and that I should live in sin because I never was baptize. I was saved a year ago but never baptize and I felt the Lords presence in my life after I had a talk with a minister and he told me i wasn't saved. soo all this time i was serving the lord and it was pointless...what should I do

Baptism of the Holy Spirit is required for salvation. That's simply receiving the Holy spirit when you believe. But water baptism, even though it should be done, and is a duty of the believer, is not required for salvation. Is there something keeping you from being baptized by water? If so, you should find out what it is. Maybe that sin life. Most of the time it's not the devil. It's you. It's our sinful nature. We are sinful, that is how our flesh is. That is why the spirit is always working in conflict with the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit. This is what Satan desires, because if he could he'd kill us in a heart beat.

If you are living in sin now, you should reevaluate your salvation. Because the Bible states that no one who is saved, born of God, can continue to live in a life of sin. (1 John 3:9).

Everyone has sin, but there is a difference between those who lead a life of sin, and those who don't.

Those who is in the Flesh cannot please the Lord (Romans 8:8).

 

[AllTalkNoAction]

Baptism of the Holy Spirit is required for salvation. That's simply receiving the Holy spirit when you believe.

How do you explain the fact that believers in Jesus in Acts 8:12-16 were known not to have received the Spirit?

Also the believers who Paul baptised in Acts 19:5 were knows not to have received the Spirit, that's why he laid hands on them (v6)

But water baptism, even though it should be done, and is a duty of the believer, is not required for salvation.

So why does Peter command it to unsaved seekers in Acts 2:38?
(see also 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16)