By J. S.

We read from the book of Luke, chapter 3

John said "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire".
I stated how this baptism of John was still in the Old Testament, possibly an Old Testament tradition.
I made a case for John's baptism being different from Jesus' baptism.
I mentioned John 4:2, that Jesus himself did not baptize.
We read 1 Cor 1:17, where Paul affirms he was not sent to baptize but to preach the Gospel.
In the end, most attendees seem convicted that water Baptism is not essential to Salvation. However...

by Arthur S. DeMoss

There’s probably more uncertainty about the most important matter in the world than about any other. Let me illustrate: If you were to ask 100 people at random about the economy, politics, or pollution, you would get a fairly definite opinion from most. But ask the same 100 people, “Are you going to Heaven when you die?” The vast majority would answer with varying degrees of doubt—”I don’t know”...“I’m working on it”...“I have no idea”...“I’m not sure.” Many of these same people would tell you that they believe in Jesus Christ and that they believe in Heaven. Yet they don’t know whether or not they are going to Heaven.

By J. Soares

I was water baptized before I was one year old because I was about to die and my mother wanted me to go to heaven… so, would I be saved then? Maybe so, by the faith of my mother, since I was a new born and could not decide for myself…. The only sin that I had to be forgiven was the sin of Adam and Eve – the original sin - that I inherited from my parents. Since my mother DID have the faith to want me to be with Jesus, then would I have died I would indeed be in heaven. Would I be saved through the water of baptism? Not really, I believe I would be saved by the faith of my mother.

On visiting a friend in France, I was shown a copy of Voltaire's "Lettres Philosophiques," published in 1734. These contain 4 very interesting letters about the Quakers.

At the time the letters were written, Voltaire had already had two spells of imprisonment in the Bastille for his advocacy of toleration and enlightenment. He was released from prison on condition that he left France and he chose exile in England. He was taught English by a Quaker and became sympathetic to the Quaker outlook. The extract from the first letter (below) deals with the Quaker attitude to Baptism. *******************************************************************

To understand the significance of baptism, let's first consider its historical background. The Holman Bible Dictionary explains: "At some point close to the time of Jesus, Judaism began a heavy emphasis on ritual washings to cleanse from impurity. This goes back to priestly baths prior to offering sacrifices (Leviticus 16:4,24).
Probably shortly prior to the time of Jesus or contemporary with Him, Jews began baptizing gentile converts, though circumcision still remained the primary entrance rite into Judaism" (1991, "Baptism").

People hear the word "baptism" and immediately they add the word "water" in their minds. "Baptism" in today's world has become synonymous with "water baptism". And in Jewish society people would have thought the same thing, since water baptism originated as a Jewish custom.

However, John the Baptist who was in the Old Testament (see Luke 16:16), knew that Jesus was coming to bring a different understanding of baptism, just as he was going to do with so many of the old traditions and laws. Jesus' baptism was going to maintain the spirit of the old baptism, but without the outward religious ritual.

This is what John the Baptist said of Jesus:

"There comes one mightier than I am, after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." (Mark 1:7-8, Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16)

Here is the man who was most famous for baptising people with water, saying that Jesus' baptism would be a different baptism. And we know that Jesus did not baptise with water himself. (See John 4:2.) So Jesus lived up to what John the Baptist had said of him, in that Jesus' baptism was a spiritual one, and not a physical one.

Dozens of Salvation Passages

When people discuss whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation, the tendency is to focus on a few passages of Scripture such as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, John 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:21 (we will examine all of these passages later in this series). However, there are many other New Testament passages which teach us something about salvation, and it is important to take those passages into consideration as well.

Now, what does it take for a person to become saved so that he will go to heaven and escape hell? That's the basic question which we are trying to answer here. What we find when we study about salvation in the New Testament is that there are dozens of passages of Scripture which tell us that we must believe in Jesus for salvation, and these passages do not say anything about being baptized. For example, take a close look at the words of Jesus in the well-known John 3:16 passage:

Water baptism does not seem to be what Peter has in view in 1 Peter 3:21. The English word "baptism" is simply a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means "to immerse." Peter is not talking about immersion in water, as the phrase "not the removal of dirt from the flesh" indicates.
He is referring to immersion in Christ's death and resurrection through "an appeal to God for a good conscience," or repentance....

See Matthew 3:11.

Acts 10:44-48 reads, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, 'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days."

In other passages of scripture, we see people believing before baptism (Acts 8:13), receiving the Word before baptism (Acts 2:41), hearing and believing before baptism(Acts 18:8), and in this passage, we see them filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues before baptism. Can an unsaved, unbeliever be filled with the Holy Spirit? Of course not. Can an unsaved person glorify God with the gift of tongues? Absolutely not. Therefore, we can safely conclude that these people were saved before their baptism.

Paul puts baptism in proper perspective in 1 Corinthians 1:17. It reads, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." If Paul wasn't even sent to baptize, then how can it possibly be a prerequisite for salvation? If it were, Paul surely would have been sent to preach the gospel and baptize.

Did you know that Jesus Christ never baptized anyone? John 4:2 reads, "Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples (baptized)."

We can suffice it to say that Jesus didn't come to baptize either. Therefore, we have the two most prominent and influential teachers in Christianity, and in the entire history of the world, and they did not come to baptize. How could baptism possibly be a prerequisite for salvation?
The answer is simple. It cannot be.

Mark 16:16 reads, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." This is an interesting verse and if you read it closely, you will understand it. Who will be condemned? Are the condemned the ones that don't get baptized? No, the condemned are the ones that don't believe. Mark 16:17 is an important verse, too. It reads, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;" Will unbelievers cast out demons and speak in tongues to the glory of God? Of course not...