Question From a Protestant

[Socrates4Jesus]

. . . In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance" (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16 [A.D. 395]).
catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

Was he speaking of water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Ghost?

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Under the user name for a member, you can click on “view public profile” and it often states their religion. Try it.

Thank you!

 

[jmcrae]

Interesting. Yes it is true that people of different denominations would not consider themselves members of the same local body of believers. However, Protestants of different denominations would consider themselves members of the same church. The church, according to many Protestants, is the collection of all genuine believers throughout the world from all the different denominations.

This church is not very practical, if its members cannot worship together in equality.

For example, i do not agree with many of the teachings of Reformed Theology, but i have Calvinist friends who i consider true believers because they believe the same things i do about what i consider to be the essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith.

By what criteria does one determine what is “essential?”

Who has the authority to define this?

What happens if your Calvinist friends think their belief is essential for salvation (ie: that all who are saved are those who, among other things, follow the teachings of Reformed Theology)?

One of the Roman Catholics in this forum pointed out that the Roman Catholic Catechism has a similar teaching - namely, that those who are not members of the Catholic church might still be genuine Christians and true children of God. Am i understanding this correctly?

The teaching is not that they are “genuine Christians” but rather, that, if someone is following Jesus as best he knows how, whether he is a Pagan who has never so much as heard Jesus’ name spoken, or a Protestant who loves to read the Bible, and sing and pray to Jesus, Jesus will not find him guilty of what others did not teach him.

However, we are reminded in Ezekiel 33 that the ignorance of our neighbor about Jesus and His Church is, indeed, our business, and that we have a duty to ensure that he at least has the opportunity to hear and accept the teachings of the Catholic faith.

It is his own responsibility, whether to accept these teachings or not. But it is our responsibility to make sure that the opportunity to learn about Jesus and His Church is made available to the largest possible number of people, and to invite people to “come and see.”

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

…I am just curious: to whom can you go with your disagreement with your Calvinist friends, that would have authority over both you and them?

Good question!

We would both site Scriptures that we believed supported our views. If there were disagreements about what those Scriptures mean, we would site different Scriptures that we believed more clearly stated the matter. If there was still a disagreement, we would agree to disagree. If we disagreed on what we believed to be an essential doctrine, we would not consider each other to be Christians. We would pray for one another that God would open each other’s eyes to the truth and continue to be kind and respectful to one another and to be available to answer each other’s questions. We would each hope that God would change the mind of the other and hope to see one another in heaven.

 

[jmcrae]

Thank you!

Guanophore is listed as an “Inquirer,” which means that he/she is receiving instructions in the Catholic faith from a priest and/or a group of Catholic lay catechists with a view toward eventual conversion to the Catholic faith.

 

[paramedicgirl]

Was he speaking of water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Ghost?

There is only one baptism. When we are baptized with water, we receive the Holy Spirit. Remember what St. Peter said?

“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 2:38

 

[jmcrae]

Good question!

We would both site Scriptures that we believed supported our views. If there were disagreements about what those Scriptures mean, we would site different Scriptures that we believed more clearly stated the matter. If there was still a disagreement, we would agree to disagree.

How likely is it that someone would change their interpretation of the Scriptures based on the opinion of someone they consider to be an unbeliever?

If we disagreed on what we believed to be an essential doctrine, we would not consider each other to be Christians.

By what authority would you excommunicate each other, and what actual deterrent effect would this have?

We would pray for one another that God would open each other’s eyes to the truth and continue to be kind and respectful to one another and to be available to answer each other’s questions. We would each hope that God would change the mind of the other and hope to see one another in heaven.

I like our way much better, I must say.

Our way, I have to consider actual consequences for believing and following heretical doctrines (this helps the lower side of my nature, which likes to do whatever it pleases, to choose obedience) and, as an added bonus, I don’t have to wait until the Judgement Day to find out what I was supposed to have believed in while I was here on earth (by which time it is too late, and either my beliefs were wrong and I’m going to Hell, or else by sheer luck they were right, and I get to go to Heaven).

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

There is only one baptism. When we are baptized with water, we receive the Holy Spirit. Remember what St. Peter said?

“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 2:38

I understand Peter to be saying it is “the gift of the Holy Spirit” that saves the person (that is, receiving the Holy Spirit Himself as an absolutely free gift), not the holy water that saves the person.

One reason why i understand Peter this way is St. Paul’s letter to the priest Titus:

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…

(Titus 3)

Is it possible that both Peter and Paul are speaking of a spiritual baptism and not a water baptism? This is one of the reasons i am here, to determine the truth about this. So, i’m grateful to Jesus you brought it up.

 

[jmcrae]

Was he speaking of water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Ghost?

The word “baptism” refers to being covered in water.

In the Catholic Church, we baptize either by pouring water over the person or by immersing him or her in a pool of water, and saying the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,” which is what Christ commanded the Apostles to do, in Matthew 28:16-20.

The notion of “Holy Spirit baptism” as something separate from “water baptism” (which means “water being covered in water” and makes no sense) and as something not involving water, would not have occurred to the Early Church at all - this idea only began to exist in the very early 1900s AD.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

The word “baptism” refers to being covered in water. …

What Latin or Greek word is that in the verses in either Acts and Titus, please? I’d like to look them up to see if they could not possibly mean the Holy Ghost.

 

[paramedicgirl]

I understand Peter to be saying it is “the gift of the Holy Spirit” that saves the person (that is, receiving the Holy Spirit Himself as an absolutely free gift), not the holy water that saves the person.

One reason why i understand Peter this way is St. Paul’s letter to the priest Titus:

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…

(Titus 3)

Is it possible that both Peter and Paul are speaking of a spiritual baptism and not a water baptism? This is one of the reasons i am here, to determine the truth about this. So, i’m grateful to Jesus you brought it up.

Jesus spoke of water and the Holy Spirit. Peter baptized Cornelius and his family in water, and Philip did the same with eunuch :

Acts 8:38 (New American Standard Bible)
And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

Acts 10:47 (New American Standard Bible)
Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"

So, from the gospels themselves, we can conclude that water is the matter for baptism, but it is the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit whom we receive at baptism that makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs to heaven.

 

[jmcrae]

What Latin or Greek word is that in the verses in either Acts and Titus, please? I’d like to look them up to see if they could not possibly mean the Holy Ghost.

Titus 3:4-7

4 Cum autem benignitas et humanitas apparuit salvatoris nostri Dei,
5 non ex operibus iustitiae, quae fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis Spiritus Sancti,
6 quem effudit super nos abunde per Iesum Christum salvatorem nostrum,
7 ut iustificati gratia ipsius heredes simus secundum spem vitae aeternae.

Here we see, “The regenerative washing,” referring to actual water being used in a religious ceremony. (Presumably, Baptism.)

Acts 2:37-39

37 His auditis, compuncti sunt corde et dixerunt ad Petrum et reliquos apostolos: “ Quid faciemus, viri fratres? ”.
38 Petrus vero ad illos: “ Paenitentiam, inquit, agite, et baptizetur unusquisque vestrum in nomine Iesu Christi in remissionem peccatorum vestrorum, et accipietis donum Sancti Spiritus;
39 vobis enim est repromissio et filiis vestris et omnibus, qui longe sunt, quoscumque advocaverit Dominus Deus noster ”.

Here we see a Latinization of the Greek word “Baptizo” which means “to cover in water.”

That the Greek word is used here in place of a Latin description means that the term “Baptism” was well-known to the whole Church at the time that this translation was made (late 300s AD to early 400s) and that this word goes back at least to the time when Greek was the universal language of the Church, meaning Late Apostolic and very early Post-Apostolic times. (Of course, since I am Catholic, I believe by faith that Christ Himself instituted the Sacrament of Baptism.)

 

[guanophore]

What Latin or Greek word is that in the verses in either Acts and Titus, please? I’d like to look them up to see if they could not possibly mean the Holy Ghost.

Do you not agree that baptism with water washes away sins? Do you not think that the Holy Spirit is given at baptism?

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Jesus spoke of water and the Holy Spirit. Peter baptized Cornelius and his family in water, and Philip did the same with eunuch :

Acts 8:38 (New American Standard Bible)
And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

Acts 10:47 (New American Standard Bible)
Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"

So, from the gospels themselves, we can conclude that water is the matter for baptism, but it is the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit whom we receive at baptism that makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs to heaven.

Yes, water baptism should be done for every Christian. But it is the thing that saves us or is it symbolic of the one who saves us? It seems to me the water baptism is an outward act symbolizing an inward reality.

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

– Jesus (John 14:15-17)

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Titus 3:4-7

4 Cum autem benignitas et humanitas apparuit salvatoris nostri Dei,
5 non ex operibus iustitiae, quae fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis Spiritus Sancti,
6 quem effudit super nos abunde per Iesum Christum salvatorem nostrum,
7 ut iustificati gratia ipsius heredes simus secundum spem vitae aeternae.

Here we see, “The regenerative washing,” referring to actual water being used in a religious ceremony. (Presumably, Baptism.)

Acts 2:37-39

37 His auditis, compuncti sunt corde et dixerunt ad Petrum et reliquos apostolos: “ Quid faciemus, viri fratres? ”.
38 Petrus vero ad illos: “ Paenitentiam, inquit, agite, et baptizetur unusquisque vestrum in nomine Iesu Christi in remissionem peccatorum vestrorum, et accipietis donum Sancti Spiritus;
39 vobis enim est repromissio et filiis vestris et omnibus, qui longe sunt, quoscumque advocaverit Dominus Deus noster ”.

Here we see a Latinization of the Greek word “Baptizo” which means “to cover in water.”

That the Greek word is used here in place of a Latin description means that the term “Baptism” was well-known to the whole Church at the time that this translation was made (late 300s AD to early 400s) and that this word goes back at least to the time when Greek was the universal language of the Church, meaning Late Apostolic and very early Post-Apostolic times. (Of course, since I am Catholic, I believe by faith that Christ Himself instituted the Sacrament of Baptism.)

Thank you, JM. I will look at this more closely and get back with you.

 

[jmcrae]

Yes, water baptism should be done for every Christian. But it is the thing that saves us or is it symbolic of the one who saves us? It seems to me the water baptism is an outward act symbolizing an inward reality.

Yes, but it’s the inward reality that is occurring while the water is being poured and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” are being uttered.

The water itself is symbolic of the washing from sins, but the pouring of the water and the saying of the words are what invite the Holy Spirit to come into that person and mark him with the indelible mark of Christian Baptism.

The Holy Spirit comes to us through the matter and words of the Sacraments, just as water comes to us through the kitchen taps - the kitchen taps are not, themselves, the water, but they make it possible for the water to come to us.

In the same way, the Sacraments are not the Holy Spirit, but they are the means by which He comes to us.

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

1 Peter 3:21
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,

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 22:16
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

The Bible clearly teaches us that baptism saves us. It is not merely a sign - baptism is necessary part of our salvation.

Now, this was being taught from the begging of Christianity and the “symbolic” doctrines are something completely new. Let me show you what some of the Early Church Fathers said on this topic.

Hermas

“‘I have heard, sir,’ said I [to the Shepherd], ‘from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins.’ He said to me, ‘You have heard rightly, for so it is’” (The Shepherd 4:3:1–2 [A.D. 80]).

Justin Martyr

“As many as are persuaded and believe that what we [Christians] teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly . . . are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, ‘Except you be born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:3]” (First Apology 61 [A.D. 151]).

Tertullian

“Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life. . . . [But] a viper of the [Gnostic] Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism—which is quite in accordance with nature, for vipers and asps . . . themselves generally do live in arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the example of our [Great] Fish, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water. So that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes—by taking them away from the water!” (Baptism 1 [A.D. 203]).

“Without baptism, salvation is attainable by none” (ibid., 12).

“We have, indeed, a second [baptismal] font which is one with the former [water baptism]: namely, that of blood, of which the Lord says: ‘I am to be baptized with a baptism’ [Luke 12:50], when he had already been baptized. He had come through water and blood, as John wrote [1 John 5:6], so that he might be baptized with water and glorified with blood. . . . This is the baptism which replaces that of the fountain, when it has not been received, and restores it when it has been lost” (ibid., 16).

Hippolytus

“[P]erhaps someone will ask, ‘What does it conduce unto piety to be baptized?’ In the first place, that you may do what has seemed good to God; in the next place, being born again by water unto God so that you change your first birth, which was from concupiscence, and are able to attain salvation, which would otherwise be impossible. For thus the [prophet] has sworn to us: ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you are born again with living water, into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ Therefore, fly to the water, for this alone can extinguish the fire. He who will not come to the water still carries around with him the spirit of insanity for the sake of which he will not come to the living water for his own salvation” (Homilies 11:26 [A.D. 217]).

Origen

“It is not possible to receive forgiveness of sins without baptism” (Exhortation to the Martyrs 30 [A.D. 235]).

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

Cyprian of Carthage

“[T]he baptism of public witness and of blood cannot profit a heretic unto salvation, because there is no salvation outside the Church.” (Letters 72[73]:21 [A.D. 253]).

“[Catechumens who suffer martyrdom] are not deprived of the sacrament of baptism. Rather, they are baptized with the most glorious and greatest baptism of blood, concerning which the Lord said that he had another baptism with which he himself was to be baptized [Luke 12:50]” (ibid., 72[73]:22).

Cyril of Jerusalem

“If any man does not receive baptism, he does not have salvation. The only exception is the martyrs, who even without water will receive the kingdom.
. . . For the Savior calls martyrdom a baptism, saying, ‘Can you drink the cup which I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized [Mark 10:38]?’ Indeed, the martyrs too confess, by being made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men [1 Cor. 4:9]” (Catechetical Lectures 3:10 [A.D. 350]).

Gregory Nazianz

“[Besides the baptisms associated with Moses, John, and Jesus] I know also a fourth baptism, that by martyrdom and blood, by which also Christ himself was baptized. This one is far more august than the others, since it cannot be defiled by later sins” (Oration on the Holy Lights 39:17 [A.D. 381]).

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

Pope Siricius

“It would tend to the ruin of our souls if, from our refusal of the saving font of baptism to those who seek it, any of them should depart this life and lose the kingdom and eternal life” (Letter to Himerius 3 [A.D. 385]).

John Chrysostom

“Do not be surprised that I call martyrdom a baptism, for here too the Spirit comes in great haste and there is the taking away of sins and a wonderful and marvelous cleansing of the soul, and just as those being baptized are washed in water, so too those being martyred are washed in their own blood” (Panegyric on St. Lucian 2 [A.D. 387]).

Ambrose of Milan

“But I hear you lamenting because he [the Emperor Valentinian] had not received the sacraments of baptism. Tell me, what else could we have, except the will to it, the asking for it? He too had just now this desire, and after he came into Italy it was begun, and a short time ago he signified that he wished to be baptized by me. Did he, then, not have the grace which he desired? Did he not have what he eagerly sought? Certainly, because he sought it, he received it. What else does it mean: ‘Whatever just man shall be overtaken by death, his soul shall be at rest [Wis. 4:7]’?” (Sympathy at the Death of Valentinian [A.D. 392]).

Augustine

“There are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptism, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance; yet God does not forgive sins except to the baptized” (Sermons to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15 [A.D. 395]).

“I do not hesitate to put the Catholic catechumen, burning with divine love, before a baptized heretic. Even within the Catholic Church herself we put the good catechumen ahead of the wicked baptized person. . . . For Cornelius, even before his baptism, was filled up with the Holy Spirit [Acts 10:44–48], while Simon [Magus], even after his baptism, was puffed up with an unclean spirit [Acts 8:13–19]” (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4:21:28 [A.D. 400]).

“That the place of baptism is sometimes supplied by suffering is supported by a substantial argument which the same blessed Cyprian draws from the circumstance of the thief, to whom, although not baptized, it was said, ‘Today you shall be with me in paradise’ [Luke 23:43]. Considering this over and over again, I find that not only suffering for the name of Christ can supply for that which is lacking by way of baptism, but even faith and conversion of heart * if, perhaps, because of the circumstances of the time, recourse cannot be had to the celebration of the mystery of baptism” (ibid., 4:22:29).

“When we speak of within and without in relation to the Church, it is the position of the heart that we must consider, not that of the body. . . . All who are within [the Church] in heart are saved in the unity of the ark [by baptism of desire]” (ibid., 5:28:39).

“[According to] apostolic tradition . . . the churches of Christ hold inherently that without baptism and participation at the table of the Lord it is impossible for any man to attain either to the kingdom of God or to salvation and life eternal. This is the witness of Scripture too” (Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sin, and the Baptism of Infants 1:24:34 [A.D. 412]).

“Those who, though they have not received the washing of regeneration, die for the confession of Christ—it avails them just as much for the forgiveness of their sins as if they had been washed in the sacred font of baptism. For he that said, ‘If anyone is not reborn of water and the Spirit, he will not enter the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5], made an exception for them in that other statement in which he says no less generally, ‘Whoever confesses me before men, I too will confess him before my Father, who is in heaven’ [Matt. 10:32]” (The City of God 13:7 [A.D. 419]).

Pope Leo I

“And because of the transgression of the first man, the whole stock of the human race was tainted; no one can be set free from the state of the old Adam save through Christ’s sacrament of baptism, in which there are no distinctions between the reborn, as the apostle [Paul] says, ‘For as many of you as were baptized in Christ did put on Christ; there is neither Jew nor Greek . . . ‘ [Gal. 3:27–28]” (Letters 15:10[11] [A.D. 445]).

Fulgentius of Ruspe

“From that time at which our Savior said, ‘If anyone is not reborn of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5], no one can, without the sacrament of baptism, except those who, in the Catholic Church, without baptism, pour out their blood for Christ, receive the kingdom of heaven and life eternal” (The Rule of Faith 43 [A.D. 524]).*

 

[guanophore]

Yes, water baptism should be done for every Christian. But it is the thing that saves us or is it symbolic of the one who saves us? It seems to me the water baptism is an outward act symbolizing an inward reality.

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

– Jesus (John 14:15-17)

Did not Jesus say to baptize all? Why would He do that? Is that not obeying His command? Peter is his Epistle said, “Baptism now saves you.”

John 1:32 - when Jesus was baptized, He was baptized in the water and the Spirit, which descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit and water are required for baptism.

John 3:3,5 - Jesus says, “Truly, truly, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” When Jesus said “water and the Spirit,” He was referring to baptism (which requires the use of water, and the work of the Spirit).

John 3:22 - after teaching on baptism, John says Jesus and the disciples did what? They went into Judea where the disciples baptized. Jesus’ teaching about being reborn by water and the Spirit is in the context of baptism.

John 4:1 - here is another reference to baptism which naturally flows from Jesus’ baptismal teaching in John 3:3-5.

In Acts chap. 2 after his kerygma, Peter says, Be baptized, every one of you!

Acts 22:16 – Ananias tells Saul, “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins.” The “washing away” refers to water baptism.

Titus 3:5-6 – Paul writes about the “washing of regeneration,” which is “poured out on us” in reference to water baptism. “Washing” (loutron) generally refers to a ritual washing with water.

Heb. 10:22 – the author is also writing about water baptism in this verse. “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Our bodies are washed with pure water in water baptism.

2 Kings 5:14 - Naaman dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, and his flesh was restored like that of a child. This foreshadows the regenerative function of baptism, by water and the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 44:3 - the Lord pours out His water and His Spirit. Water and the Spirit are linked to baptism. The Bible never separates them.

Ezek. 36:25-27 - the Lord promises He will sprinkle us with water to cleanse us from sin and give us a new heart and spirit. Paul refers to this verse in Heb. 10:22. The teaching of Ezekiel foreshadows the salvific nature of Christian baptism instituted by Jesus and taught in John 3:5, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21 and Acts 22:16.

II. Baptism is Salvific, Not Just Symbolic
Matt. 28:19-20 - Jesus commands the apostles to baptize all people “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Many Protestant churches are now teaching that baptism is only a symbolic ritual, and not what actually cleanses us from original sin. This belief contradicts Scripture and the 2,000 year-old teaching of the Church.

Acts 2:38 - Peter commands them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ in order to be actually forgiven of sin, not just to partake of a symbolic ritual.

Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38 - there is nothing in these passages or elsewhere in the Bible about baptism being symbolic. There is also nothing about just accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior in order to be saved.

Mark 16:16 - Jesus said “He who believes AND is baptized will be saved.” Jesus says believing is not enough. Baptism is also required. This is because baptism is salvific, not just symbolic. The Greek text also does not mandate any specific order for belief and baptism, so the verse proves nothing about a “believer’s baptism.”

John 3:3,5 - unless we are “born again” of water and Spirit in baptism, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The Greek word for the phrase “born again” is “anothen” which literally means “begotten from above.” See, for example, John 3:31 where “anothen” is so used. Baptism brings about salvation, not just a symbolism of our salvation.

Acts 8:12-13; 36; 10:47 - if belief is all one needs to be saved, why is everyone instantly baptized after learning of Jesus?

Acts 16:15; 31-33; 18:8; 19:2,5 - these texts present more examples of people learning of Jesus, and then immediately being baptized. If accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior is all one needs to do to be saved, then why does everyone in the early Church immediately seek baptism?

continued