“He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” we are told in Mark 16. (And in Peter and John and plenty of other places.)
baptism IS NOT the vessel that saves you.
Jesus holds that only. Baptism is the result of the salvation. It is an after effect of true obedience.
Neither water baptism will wash away your sins or save you from eternal torment in Hell.
There is one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
That one baptism is found in Mark 1:8: John the Baptist said “I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” Also, Acts 1:5: “For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
After trusting Jesus with a pure heart, you receive the Holy Spirit : Ephesians 1:8: “After ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
One sign of having the Holy Spirit is telling others about Jesus (Acts 1:8).
Paul implied water baptism was not part of the “Gospel” in I Corinthians 1:17 when he declared that he was not sent by Christ to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.
Paul defined the Gospel in I Cor. 15:1-8, and did not mention water baptism.
Acts 2:38: The “for” in Acts 2:38 is the Greek word “eis,” which means “referring to.” If Paul had meant to say we are baptized to be saved, he would have used the Greek word “hina,” which means “to.” This principle also applies to Romans 6:3.
Nowhere in Acts 8:12 does it say one must be water baptized for salvation.
In Romans 6:4 & Colossians 2:12 it says we are “buried with him by baptism unto death…” A “burial” is not salvation. Colossians 2:12 correctly shows that what saves us is, “risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
Acts 2:41 does not say what a Church of Christ flyer sent to me says–“They who received (Believed) the Word were added to the saved by Baptism.” That is not what the verse says. Instead, the verse declares, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized…” It does not say that baptism was essential for salvation, but merely states that they were baptized after they believed.
The Ethiopian in Acts Chapter 8. This is obviously not an example of water baptism being essential for salvation. In verse 37 Philip said “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest…” The eunuch believed. Then he was baptized. This story does not say that the water baptism was essential for his salvation.
Saul’s case in Acts Chapters 9 & 22 does not say baptism was necessary for his salvation. In Acts 22:16 Ananias told Paul to “…Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” What Ananias told Paul is not true, as the Bible sometimes uses figurative language. In this case, the Spirit of God tells us in Acts 9:17 what actually happened. Ananias put his hands on Paul so that Paul could receive his sight. Paul was then filled with the Holy Ghost. Obviously, Ananias had used figurative language in Acts 22:16.
On a related issue, the blind man in Luke 18: 35-43 was saved by faith in Jesus and there is no record he was baptized!
In Acts Chapter 10 it is recorded that Cornelious received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized. If salvation is acquired when water baptized, then the passage is saying that the Holy Spirit will enter the unsaved. Once again, it does not say that the baptism was part of the salvation process.
I Peter 3:21 says the “like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us…” This means that only in some figurative sense was Noah saved by water. Furthermore, baptism is called a “figure.” The purpose of water as used in the scriptures is to serve as a symbol of the work of God (Ephesians 5:25-26).
John 3:5. Jesus’ reference to “water” in this verse refers to our birth out of our mother’s womb in water. This is illustrated in verse 6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Romans 6:1-4. Once again the “into” in this verse is “eis,” which means “in reference to.” Furthermore, the next verse calls baptism a “burial.”
Matthew 28: 19-20 does not mention anything about water. When a person sincerely trusts Jesus then they are baptized with the Holy Ghost as mentioned above.
In Mark 16:16 it says what damned them is not believing, not not being baptized.
Galatians 3:27. The previous verse (26) says “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” When the next verse says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” it is referring to the Holy Spirit Baptism mentioned above.
I’m truly impressed. I’m also hoping that at some point you’ll simply alow God’s word to say what it says and not filter it through the pentecostal tradition any more.