Baptism does not make one a Christian. In order to be a Christian we need to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and believe in our Heart that God raised Him from the dead. (Romans 10:9,10). Surprisingly, after becoming a Christian God puts the desire in our heart to be baptized. Jesus Christ had himself baptized to fulfil all righteousness despite His being sinless. In our case, we need to be baptized to symbolically show that Jesus Christ has indeed "washed" us of our uncleanness - our sins. Praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior by the Power of the Holy Spirit forever and ever, amen! 

changed on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 5:09:39 PM

You have to be Christian to be baptized. See [Acts 8:37]. Your translation may not contain this verse, but this is not justified. The "oldest and most reliable manuscripts" refer to those Greek texts prior to the sixth century, but Against Heresies 3:12:8 by Irenaeus and Treatise 12:3:43 by Cyprian, both from the early third century, cite it, as do several second-century Old Latin manuscripts, the earliest known Greek copy being from the eighth century. More likely, it was removed, as Erasmus states, by the carelessness of the scribes, ("arbitror omissum librariorum incuria.")

Once you are saved, though, you will automatically want to be baptized, and though it has nothing to do with your actual salvation, it acts as a testimony. No example in Scripture waited more than three days for baptism, (that was Paul in [Acts 9:9],) most did it immediately, and other than the thief on the cross, no believer in the Bible is known to have died without it. Do you have to do good works to be saved? Absolutely not, but they come naturally once you are.

We are commanded to baptize in [Matthew 28:19]. For examples of baptism for testimonial purposes, see [Acts 19:4-5] and [Acts 22:14-16]. Essentially, it is symbolic of the beginning of sanctification, ([1 Peter 3:21].) There are some who claim that it was a part of the transitional period (like tongues and exorcism) and is no longer to be done. I've already written too much, but the short answer is that we should indeed still be baptized as soon as possible but only after accepting Christ. See [Luke 7:29-30] for what refusal to accept baptism adds up to. 

The bible says that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. [Rom 10:9,10]
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
This doesn't say anything about baptism by water needed for salvation. The bible does talk about baptism in many different ways. And at some points it may seem that baptism is needed to be a christian, but keep looking at the verse and try to see which type of baptism it is talking about. The three that I know of are the baptizm into the body of christ. This occurs when you first accept Jesus as your savior. This is the type of baptism needed for salvation. And this occurs as soon as you accept christ. So, when that happens you don't need to worry about it any more. Another type of baptism is baptism of the holy spirit. [1 Cor 12:13] "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." Jesus baptizes you with the holy spirit as he baptized his desciples when he came back on the third day. And the third type is the baptism of John, which is the baptism by water. This is an expression of your faith in Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with your salvation. It is just to show your commitment to Christ to the people arround you and yourself. I would urge you to look into this yourself and see the different meanings of baptism. If you have any questions about what I am saying or took any of this the wrong way please email me at chutas@uarkon.edu 

changed on Monday, March 25, 2002 9:44:11 PM