I am aware that baptism is a significant step in a Christian's life. This is evidently made clear by even Christ taking Baptism.
How important is this for our salvation? The example that comes to mind is when Christ is on the cross he tells the theif that "today you will be with me in paradise". Very concise and succint.
I would like to hear from you all
Do you have the zing for Christ?
5 comments:
Its an interesting discussion but not something we need to treat the same way as we treat cult flavors of Christian doctrine.
Christ took baptism as a way for him to mark the beginning of external symbol to indicate what's inside. He was already God and knows his mission. But this was done for the benefit of people around John and for John himself. Jesus was revealed to John the Baptist thru a vision of dove descending on him.
Similarly we take baptism as an external indication of internal transformation. A mile stone to mark the beginning. The salvation is assured when we confess our sins and surrender to Christ.
This is also the grounds for assurance that people are saved even on deathbed when there is hardly time for a baptism, if they confess their sins and accept Jesus.
In Acts10:44 the holy spirit descended on Cornelius' household before they got baptized. This happened as soon as they heard and accepted the Gospel.
Baptism is important but is not basis for salvation. Christ death and resurrection is the basis for eternal life.
Jesus is our model. Even though He was not a sinner He took the baptism. When He was leaving from earth to heaven He Commanded the desciples to preach the gospel and baptize them in the name of the Father,Son and the Holy spirit.
It is not that we got the ticket to heaven it's just an obedient act in our spiritual life. When we are born again we confess and show other fellow believers and friends that I die to sin and rise to life.
Jesus knew the thief was in the last minute of his life time. When the thief told Him, remeber me and Jesus assured he will be with Him in Paradise. We got enough time to read the scripture, understand the scripture and obey the scripture. This is for our benefit in our daily walk with the Lord
Great questions. I think the other commenters have it right. Baptism is not a "requirement" for salvation. It is an external act that symbolizes the internal process of trusting Christ. Romans 6 paints a beautiful picture of this. If you haven't been baptized yet, I'd be glad to meet with you and discuss it. I'm one of the pastors at Hill Country Bible Church. You can contact us at www.hcbc.com God's peace for you this week! dt www.davetilma.com
Thanks
Thank you all. I guess I hit the send button a little too fast. Appreciate all your responses.
DT, I am sure I will flag you at HCBC :)Thanks!
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