How could you possibly say baptism does not save?

Question:

I enjoy going to your site and looking at your pictures, but today I was reading some of the off-the-wall comments made by Jeffrey Hamilton. He is out in left-field when it comes to salvation.

In one comment he said e-mail me I could use a good laugh. Well, he better laugh now because if he does not believe that baptism saves he is in big, big trouble (Mark 16:16, I Peter 3:21) Oh, I could go on and on but really I just wanted to say how sad I was to read such trash on such a nice site.

May God bless you as you continue to study so you too can enjoy your everlasting life with the Lord.

Answer:

It is clear to me that you have not read the material on this site because I have consistently stated baptism saves. See: Baptism for a long list of examples. The only place the phrase "could use a good laugh" appears on this site is in the last chapter of Keys to Understanding. In that chapter is a list of actual emails that I received from people trying to justify their false beliefs. The samples are given for students to practice identifying the illogic of the arguments. As stated at the top of the page:

There is no end to the examples which I could present in this chapter. I selected a few dealing with salvation which should illustrate several of the points that I have made. Examine each sample and determine which line of poor reasoning is being used.

You properly did spot one of the faults in the last argument, which is ignoring passages that clearly contradict his beliefs. However, you committed a grave error. You made accusations without examining what a person said (or in this case who said it). "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" (James 4:11-12). By lifting a portion of what was written you created a falsehood.

Question:

You are right I did not read it all. I could not because I was so upset. I apologize for jumping the finger to the computer. It was the Keys to Understanding. I again apologize for misreading and jumping to the wrong conclusion. As a matter of fact this morning our lesson was “The Road” and I kept thinking “I have got to send this to Brother Hamilton. Poor guy, he does not understand." Where, in reality, you do understand, and I needed the passage of James 4 (which is one of my favorites).  My husband’s name was James and he left for the Glory Land four years ago very quickly. Many of my passwords use James in them. People sometimes say how dear, you are using Big Jim’s name for your passwords. I tell them "No, I am using James because I think James was written for me." Again, Brother, I will read more closely the next time and not be so quick to jump. I do love your site and love using your pictures for my Bible class pictures. Please forgive me and pray for me, please.

May God continue to bless you with the patience you have.

Answer:

I do forgive you. It's not the first time a misunderstanding like this has happened, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I remember one that happened many years ago and that lady also realized that she had misunderstood what I had written on another subject. She apologized profusely and we've been good friends for quite a number of years. I hope the same is true for you and me.

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