1 Peter 3:18-22
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 For (A)Christ also died for sins (B)once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might (C)bring us to God, having been put to death (D)in the flesh, but made alive (E)in the [a]spirit; 19 in [b]which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the (F)patience of God (G)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of (H)the ark, in which a few, that is, (I)eight (J)persons, were brought safely through the [c]water. 21 (K)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—(L)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [d]for a (M)good conscience—through (N)the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 (O)who is at the right hand of God, (P)having gone into heaven, (Q)after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
Personal Opinion:
You see. It is not the water that saves you from the flood but rather the Arc. The Arc here is a parallel of Christ. It is your appeal to God [d]for a (M)good conscience—through (N)the resurrection of Jesus Christ in faith that saves you. Your appeal to God saves you not from the destroying of your body cause by the flood as you take refuge in the ark. Rather it is your faith in Christ itself that saves your soul from eternal damnation.
You see. In response to the story of noah's ark. It is not baptism that save you from condemnation. But your appeal to God that saves you. And that water during noah's ark time represent baptism, which now saves you, not by removing of dirt from your body as you immerse yourself into the water during baptism, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is a change of heart aka metanoia produced by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that saves you, not baptism. So Baptism itself serve no purpose if you are unable to repent.
Romans 2:25-29
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Personal Opinion:
For indeed Baptism is of value if you are obedience towards God word; but if you are unrepentant, your baptism doesn't serve any purpose to you. So if the unbaptise man obeys God's word, will not he be regarded as baptize as well? And he who is physically not baptise, if he obeys God's commandment, will the unbaptise not judge you who though having the commandment of God and Baptise are still unrepentant? For you are not a true christian just because you pray Jesus into your heart or because you have gone through the ceremony of baptism. No, a true christian is one whose heart is right with God. And true repentant is not just merely following through ritual trying very hard to obey the commandment of the law; rather, it is a change of heart aka metanoia produced by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise[a] from God, not from people. Obedience from a man with a change heart aka who is regenerate is natural and not burdensome.
1 Corinthians 7:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 (A)Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is (B)the keeping of the commandments of God.
Colossians 2:11-12
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.[a] 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
Numbers 21:8-9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “[a]Make a (A)fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” 9 And Moses made a (B)bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
When the bronze snake was hung on the pole, the Israelites didn’t know the fuller meaning Jesus Christ would bring to this event (see John 3:14-15). Jesus explained that just as the Israelites were healed of their sickness by looking at the snake on the pole, all believers today can be saved from the sickness of sin by looking to Jesus’ death on the cross. It was not the snake that healed the people but their belief that God could heal them. This belief was demonstrated by their obedience to God’s instructions. In the same way, we should continue to look to Christ (see Hebrews 12:2).
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of his giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life.
Ordinance here means "The act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders" It is a holy order by God. Thou baptism itself does not save us, we have to obey God's command to get baptise because by obeying God, we hallowed God's name and treat God as holy.
Luke 11:2
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 And He said to them, “(A)When you pray, say:
Luke 11:2
New Living Translation (NLT)
2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a]
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
As with all religious rituals,circumcision or baptism was designed to serve as an outer symbol of an inner reality
Baptism alone does not serve any purpose unless the Holy Spirit comes upon the individual.
The Holy Spirit is the one that does the converting not Baptism.
Acts 8:16-17
New Living Translation (NLT)
16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Baptism without believing in Christ does not serve any purpose.
Acts 8:36-37
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! (A)What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [[a]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
The Holy Spirit came before baptism not after
Acts 10:44-48
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers[a] who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues[b] and praising God.
Then Peter asked, 47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.
We are able to believe in Chirst due to the convicting work of the holy spirit not baptism. The Holy Spirit is the one that convict our hearts to repentance.
Acts 11:15-18
English Standard Version (ESV)
15 As I began to speak, (A)the Holy Spirit fell on them (B)just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, (C)‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then (D)God gave (E)the same gift to them as he gave to us (F)when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, (G)who was I (H)that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they (I)glorified God, saying, (J)“Then to the Gentiles also God has (K)granted (L)repentance that leads to life.”
1 Corinthians 12:3
New Living Translation (NLT)
3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
Why do Churches insisted that Baptism is necessary for salvation? Replace the word Circumsion with Baptism and you will get the idea.
Galatians 6:11-18
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting.
12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. 14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,[a] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.[b] 17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.18 Dear brothers and sisters,[c] may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.They are counted as righteous because of their faith.
Romans 4:11
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.
~An excerpt from Pastor John Piper
Does Baptism Save?
Now sandwiched between these two great truths about Christ (substitution for sinners and subjection of enemies) are the words about baptism. I preached on this text September 25, 1994. (Strengthened to Suffer: Christ, Noah, and Baptism)So I send you to the file cabinet if you want more, but I only have time here to go straight to the point at issue, namely, the meaning of baptism. In verse 19, Peter reminds the readers that, in the spirit, Jesus had gone to preach to the people in Noah's day, whose spirits are now in prison awaiting judgment. (I don't take the position that verse 19 refers to Jesus' preaching in hell between Good Friday and Easter.) But there was tremendous evil and hardness in Noah's day and only eight people enter the ark for salvation from the judgment through water.
Now Peter sees a comparison between the waters of the flood and the waters of baptism. Verse 21 is the key verse: "And corresponding to that [the water of the flood], baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Now there are some denominations that love this verse because it seems at first to support the view called "baptismal regeneration." That is, baptism does something to the candidate: it saves by bringing about new birth. So, for example, one of the baptismal liturgies for infants says, "Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's Church, let us give thanks."
Now the problem with this is that Peter seems very aware that his words are open to dangerous misuse. This is why, as soon as they are out of his mouth, as it were, he qualifies them lest we take them the wrong way. In verse 21 he does say, "Baptism now saves you" - that sounds like the water has a saving effect in and of itself apart from faith. He knows that is what it sounds like and so he adds immediately, "Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (Or your version might have: "the pledge of a good conscience toward God").
But the point seems to be this: When I speak of baptism saving, Peter says, I don't mean that the water, immersing the body and cleansing the flesh, is of any saving effect; what I mean is that, insofar as baptism is "an appeal to God for a good conscience," (or is "a pledge of a good conscience toward God"), it saves. Paul said in Romans 10:13, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord - everyone who appeals to the Lord - will be saved." Paul does not mean that faith alone fails to save. He means that faith calls on God. That's what faith does. Now Peter is saying, "Baptism is the God-ordained, symbolic expression of that call to God. It is an appeal to God - either in the form of repentance or in the form of commitment.
What is Baptism?
Now this is fundamentally important in our understanding of what baptism is in the New Testament. James Dunn is right I think when he says that "1 Peter 3:21 is the nearest approach to a definition of baptism that the New Testament affords" (Baptism in the Holy Spirit, p. 219). What is baptism? Baptism is a symbolic expression of the heart's "appeal to God." Baptism is a calling on God. It is a way of saying to God with our whole body, "I trust you to take me into Christ like Noah was taken into the ark, and to make Jesus the substitute for my sins and to bring me through these waters of death and judgment into new and everlasting life through the resurrection of Jesus my Lord."
This is what God is calling you to do. You do not save yourself. God saves you through the work of Christ. But you receive that salvation through calling on the name of the Lord, by trusting him. And it is God's will all over the world and in every culture - no matter how simple or how sophisticated - that this appeal to God be expressed in baptism. "Lord, I am entering the ark of Christ! Save me as I pass through the waters of death!" Amen.
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Further reference:
Romans 10:9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 [a]that (A)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and (B)believe in your heart that (C)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
For more information click in this link
http://carm.org/baptism-and-romans-63-5
http://carm.org/baptism-necessary-for-salvation
2.Another set of verses applicable to this issue is 1 Cor. 1:17. Paul says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." The gospel is what saves, and it is explained in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Baptism is not part of the gospel; it is something that the believer does after salvation.
For more information click in this link
http://carm.org/baptism-and-romans-63-5
http://carm.org/baptism-necessary-for-salvation
2.Another set of verses applicable to this issue is 1 Cor. 1:17. Paul says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." The gospel is what saves, and it is explained in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Baptism is not part of the gospel; it is something that the believer does after salvation.
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