I wasn't Baptized. Am i going to Hell?

berachah said:

There is much in the Bible that says baptism is a key part of a faith. Try get to grips with the following scriptures, then decide if God is prompting you to be baptised.
Romans ch6, Gal 4:27, Col 2:11-13, Math 28:19, Mark 16:16

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Your post rather suggests that this is optional. For any Christian, baptism is an important sign of their faith, before God and before the church.

It is not optional.

Mess said:

If baptism is a requirement for salvation, how could any presentation of the gospel lack a mention of baptism?

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Baptism is not a requirement for salvation. However, it is a requirement to fulfill all righteousness. The Lord himself says so, at his own baptism.

Anyone who thinks they are better than the Lord can feel free not to get baptised.

Catherineanne said:

Baptism is not a requirement for salvation. However, it is a requirement to fulfill all righteousness. The Lord himself says so, at his own baptism.

Anyone who thinks they are better than the Lord can feel free not to get baptised.

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I'm in no way or shape saying not to get baptised, in fact I'd encourage it, I'm merely stating that for salvation, one does not need to be baptised.

Stephen Kendall said:

Originally Posted by Stephen Kendall

"Exploring Christianity A Forum for Non Christians to explore Christianity with Christians." (the heading for this forum)

What does the word explore mean if it doesn't mean to interact with Christians and others to find out about Christianity? Be open to talk and discuss things to help these non-Christians.


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Go read the FSG:

If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread.

I accept the teaching that there are three different forms that baptism can take.

1. Water baptism. This is usually performed by a minister.

2. Baptism by blood. This happened all too often in the early church. A person confessed that they were a follower of The Way (Christianity), and was immediately killed for his faith.

3. Baptism by Spirit. It is not what we do, namely, getting wet, that saves us. It is what we accept, namely, that God has earned for us our salvation, and freely gives it to all who want it.



Stay away from those people who tell you that you must be baptized in a certain manner, such as full immersion, to be saved. They are using baptism as bait. I call this tactic 'salvation on a stick'. They use the desire for salvation as a weapon with which to exert absolute control over others and their families. There is always one more deed to do, one more part of their agenda to accept, one more freedom to surrender to their control. Salvation is always something that is just out of reach.

Here is what St. Paul taught us as being necessary for salvation:

Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your heart and in your mouth," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:5-13,NIV)

Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?

Do you believe that God literally brought Jesus back from the dead?

If you can answer, "Yes," to both these questions, have confidence that you are already saved. Baptism, in whatever form it may take, is merely one of the activities that you are entitled to as a result of your having already accepted the salvation that God earned for us all.

I don't see why you would suffer because you weren't baptized, really, but it would be better to just do it. You can be baptized by any minister. Some people say you should be full immersed, others don't think it matters. Just ask God to show you guys what to do when where and how. It'll work out fine.

ebia said:

Go read the FSG:

If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread.

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Thank you. I suppose a well made machine will run best. It will need its tolerances to keep things in place. Sorry to question your comments.

(The purpose of sharing and evangelizing is to hear as well as speak. Interactions are vital towards understanding something and vital for grow and morale. )

Mess said:

Requiring anything in addition to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is a works-based salvation. To add anything to the gospel is to say that Jesus' death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation.

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Being baptized is not a work. It is an act of obedience. If the church choose to establish baptism, then it would be a work. Being baptized into Christ's death, helps us die to the OT law (a man in under the law until he dies) and come under the new covenant that is given through Christ. If any man things he can enter the Kingdom while under the old covenant, good luck to him

Mess said:

To say we must be baptized in order to be saved is to say we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ's death in order to make it sufficient for salvation. Jesus' death alone paid for our sins (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus' payment for our sins is appropriated to our “account” by faith alone (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, baptism is an important step of obedience after salvation but cannot be a requirement for salvation.

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How is the work of Christ imparted into the believers life? Perhaps read Galations 3:27. Otherwise what important step is baptism exactly? what does it achieve?

Mess said:

Yes, there are some verses that seem to indicate baptism as a necessary requirement for salvation. However, since the Bible so clearly tells us that salvation is received by faith alone (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), there must be a different interpretation of those verses.

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If you believe a tightrope will hold you weight..that is one thing...but to walk across, it is another. Believing Jesus is the son of God and died for our sins is the first step, but one must actually confess sin and be baptized...as Jesus said. (Its hard to believe this is a contentious issue in Christianity as it was Jesus' final comandment believe he rose to heaven.)

Mess said:

Scripture does not contradict Scripture. In Bible times, a person who converted from one religion to another was often baptized to identify conversion. Baptism was the means of making a decision public. Those who refused to be baptized were saying they did not truly believe. So, in the minds of the apostles and early disciples, the idea of an un-baptized believer was unheard of. When a person claimed to believe in Christ, yet was ashamed to proclaim his faith in public, it indicated that he did not have true faith.

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The jailer in the book of Acts (16:33) was baptized inthe middle of the night with no witnesses, so clearly it is not a show to others...

Mess said:

If baptism is necessary for salvation, why would Paul have said, “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius” (1 Corinthians 1:14)? Why would he have said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17)? Granted, in this passage Paul is arguing against the divisions that plagued the Corinthian church. However, how could Paul possibly say, “I am thankful that I did not baptize…” or “For Christ did not send me to baptize…” if baptism were necessary for salvation? If baptism is necessary for salvation, Paul would literally be saying, “I am thankful that you were not saved…” and “For Christ did not send me to save…” That would be an unbelievably ridiculous statement for Paul to make. Further, when Paul gives a detailed outline of what he considers the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-8), why does he neglect to mention baptism? If baptism is a requirement for salvation, how could any presentation of the gospel lack a mention of baptism?

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In Acts 18, it says many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized. it seems they did baptize believers in Corin.

Baptism in the new covenant, replaces the circumcision of the old and we know what happened to those that did not get circumcised. unless one is absolutely certain that baptism is not required, I would encourage every believer to get baptized, as they did at the time of Christ.

The old covenant was not in effect until after Jesus died, so the thief on the cross is not the right scripture to build a doctrine around.

Any serious personal study will raise a lot of doubt about baptism into Christ not being necessary for salvation. I for one will stick to the command of Jesus and encourage every believer to get water baptized as soon as they accept Christ. (and being christened as a child does not count - you need to make the decision yourself)

iwannarock said:

hi, i am a christian from a christian family but none of us were baptized.we repent and all that stuff, but since we weren't baptized will we still go to hell?

if so where and how can we get baptized?

plz answer quickly because i don't want to die tomorow and going to hell because i didnt get a bath in church .

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I think God is a more just judge than that, that he'd send a family to hell because they weren't baptised, even though they repented.

generalbreadbasket said:

I think God is a more just judge than that, that he'd send a family to hell because they weren't baptised, even though they repented.

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Its not what we think that counts, its what God has told us to do...
If parents tell a kid not to play in the street and they ignore the instuction and get hurt, are the parents to blame?

If someone steals your bicycle and comes back the next day to say "Im sorry"...is that good enough? Or would you want the bike back as well? Belief and faith likewise require a response to undo what has ben done in the past. Yes we may accept Christ, but the scripture teaches we are cleansed of our sins through baptism into Christ.

Perhaps the real question should be why does any church teach against baptism.......

Berachah the question isn't weither or not one should be baptised, it is weither or not baptism is what brings salvation, and if that you would go to hell without baptism. Is baptism an important step in a Christian life? Sure as a step of obedience it has a purpose, but in the end it is not that which brings us salvation. Salvation is through faith alone.

Mess,
Perhaps....but how do you account for 1 Peter 3:19-21. "Baptism doth now also save us" (in the same way Noah and his family were separated from the sinful world and were thus "saved by water".....)?

iwannarock said:

hi, i am a christian from a christian family but none of us were baptized.we repent and all that stuff, but since we weren't baptized will we still go to hell?

if so where and how can we get baptized?

plz answer quickly because i don't want to die tomorow and going to hell because i didnt get a bath in church .

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What about dying today and going to hell rather than tomorrow iwannarock?
You are not going to get baptised because you enjoy going against the goad.
Those who do not believe that all must be baptised, all, will be included with all unbelievers who are to face the wrath of God.
Are you not worried that any blatant slander of God's determined method of being a christian can result in a death today let alone tomorrow.
The new testament scriptures are meant for baptised christians.
All others beware,

seekthelord

I could ask you the same thing about Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ or Romans 3:28 For we maintain a man is justified by faith.
Anyway I would say to the OP just get baptised, you haven't been baptised, but there is still time to get baptised so why not just go out there and do it?

Well I see Rom 5:1 as; we believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died for our sins. In faith we accept that when we receive Christ and are baptized into him, our sins are washed away, and we come into good standing before God.

Are the scriptures speaking about faith in believing, or faith in the new covenant given through Christ. And then if the latter, how is the grace of Christ imparted to our souls?

But yes, I agree with you......let us encourage all to be baptized as Jesus said.

Mess said:

I'm in no way or shape saying not to get baptised, in fact I'd encourage it, I'm merely stating that for salvation, one does not need to be baptised.

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Then we are in full agreement; we are to encourage our brothers and sisters to get baptised.

Most excellent.

Harry3142 said:

If you can answer, "Yes," to both these questions, have confidence that you are already saved. Baptism, in whatever form it may take, is merely one of the activities that you are entitled to as a result of your having already accepted the salvation that God earned for us all.

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Although in general I agree with what you say, I think baptism is rather more than, 'one of the activities that you are entitled to' as a Christian.

A sacrament - any sacrament - is the outward and visible sign of an inner and spiritual grace. God calls us first, and we respond to his call. We do not 'choose' to get baptised. God calls us to baptism, in the same way as he initially called us to faith.

As with our initial call, we can choose to respond or we can choose not to. But to fulfill all righteousness, a Christian really ought to seek to fulfill God's will in this matter.

berachah said:

Any serious personal study will raise a lot of doubt about baptism into Christ not being necessary for salvation. I for one will stick to the command of Jesus and encourage every believer to get water baptized as soon as they accept Christ. (and being christened as a child does not count - you need to make the decision yourself)

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You were doing so well until this point.

Baptism as an infant does indeed count. You are entitled to your opinion, but you do not speak for the whole of our faith, only part of it, when you decry infant baptism. As has already been said, baptism stands to the New Covenant as circumcision does to the Old, and circumcision is carried out on Jewish boys at 8 days old. There is no Scriptural justification whatever for saying that young children and babies cannot be baptised, and there is the example of circumcision to show very clearly that they can.

In the apostolic churches (and some others) the promises made by a child's parents and godparents on behalf of the child are affirmed in person when he or she is old enough to be Confirmed; and this affirmation is followed by the laying on of hands, by the Bishop.

You don't have to agree with this pov, but on a Christian forum, I think you do need to accept that there may be more than one way of seeing any particular point. From an apostolic pov, adult baptism of a person who has already been baptised as a baby does no harm, but is sacramentally redundant; see below;

we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Nicene Creed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

berachah said:

Its not what we think that counts, its what God has told us to do...
If parents tell a kid not to play in the street and they ignore the instuction and get hurt, are the parents to blame?

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I am not sure where this analogy comes from, but yes, the parents are to blame.

Parents cannot abdicate their parental responsibility, least of all onto their children. They may delegate it, to a school, for example, but even then they remain responsible for their child at all times. The idea that a child can be blamed for parental negligence is just bizarre.

If someone steals your bicycle and comes back the next day to say "Im sorry"...is that good enough? Or would you want the bike back as well?

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Christ said, 'If any one ask you for your coat, you should give him also your shirt.' Therefore, it appears that 'I'm sorry' IS good enough, and you should consider giving him a helmet and cycle clips to go with the bike.

Meanwhile, returning to the question at hand, I think it might be better to avoid the whole blame motif. Baptism is a gift offered to us freely by God's grace. The Bible tells us that we ought to be baptised, and gives various reasons for this. Therefore, it makes sense to go ahead and get baptised, if we have not already been.

To me this is an extremely serious subject due to how I personally have seen it abused. And yes, it has been abused here in the USA.

There is at least one denomination which teaches that in order to be saved one must be baptized by immersion. If a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour and truly believes in his heart that God literally raised him from the dead, but he dies prior to getting 'dunked', he is considered as a lost soul bound for hell according to their teaching.

This is a clear violation of Scripture. We are saved because we accept what God has already done for us, not because of what we ourselves have had a chance to do. Ritualism, of which baptism is one of the parts, is not salvation; it is ritualism.

What the layperson usually doesn't realize when they are accepting the teaching that they must be baptized in a certain manner in order to have the possibility (and that word is important) of being saved sometime in the future is that their mindset is being 'programmed'. They permit themselves to be baptized, not out of a desire to show their acceptance of God's salvation, but rather out of a genuine fear of being condemned by a Zeus-like God unless they perform this ritual.

What follows is not the assurance that they are now saved, but instead is a neverending list of further things that they must do, and agendas forwarded by the church heirarchy that they must accept. Their 'church life' is not one of gratitude, love, and desire to do God's will in return for what he has done for them. It is instead an atmosphere of perpetual dread, with the instilled mindset that they must accept and cooperate with all that the church heirarchy tells them. Only through their following this path do they have a chance of winning God's approval, and without it they are doomed.

Do you see the pattern that is developing? In these churches salvation is a perpetual struggle. If they obey their church heirarchy unconditionally they may have a chance of being saved, but it is far from a certainty. To them God is portrayed as a God of wrath, and the only way to appease him is to do as they're told without question or comment. They have become, for all intents and purposes, slaves.