When was baptism authorized?

Question: I have a question in regards to baptism: Was baptism authorized after Jesus’ death or while Jesus was walking on earth? Please, could you provide clarification? Answer: After discussing with Nicodemus about the necessity of being born again of water and the Spirit, which alludes to baptism, (John 3:5), we find that Jesus left…

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Was baptism only for the Jews?

Question: In our Bible class tonight with some Dispensational friends I brought up I Corinthians 6:11, about them being washed and sanctified. Our friend said that had nothing to do with baptism, but that the blood of Jesus cleansed and washed us not water from baptism. I mentioned I Peter 3:21 and the comparison to…

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What is the difference between water and the blood of Jesus?

Question: What is the difference between water and the blood of Jesus? Answer: The shed blood of Jesus is the reason mankind has a hope of salvation. It paid the price necessary to purchase us back from the debt we incurred by our own sins. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness…

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How do I teach a stubborn person the truth about baptism?

Question: Thank you for your response. I did have another question that touches on your response. The same goes for denomination such as the AME. They teach false doctrine when it comes to baptism and yet proclaim to be saved. I have a female friend that swears to be saved and gave an account of her…

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How can one justify being a Christian if he is not baptized?

Question: How can one justify being a Christian if he claims to believe but is not baptized until some time later? Is he convinced that baptism does not save you? Question: Many denominations teach people that belief is all that is required for salvation. Some, such as the Baptists, do practice a form of baptism,…

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They Gladly Received His Word

by Larry Ray Hafley Truth Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 2, Jan. 19, 2006. Larry Lester Roloff said that when they “gladly received the Word” (Acts 2) that meant they were saved because no sinner would do such! I am wondering why we did not think of that. Reply: If the fact that, before they were…

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Taught Wrong and Baptized Right?

Adapted from an article by Wayne Jones via The Jackson Drive News & Notes, No. 14, April 10, 2005. Under the banners of acceptance and “unity,” many in the Lord’s church have developed an open-door policy with members of the denominational world. Many, by their own admission, have chosen not to “question” a person’s claim to…

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Is Matthew 28:19 a part of the setting up of the church?

Question: I am concerned about baptism. I have found that all of the Bible corresponds with Acts 2:38 from the prophets until the Spirit came upon the apostles. What I do not find is Matthew 28:19 having a part in the setting up of the church at Jerusalem. The prophets Isaiah and Micah tell us Jerusalem, and the…

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Anything to Make a Point

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton An old friend of mine, with whom I have had an ongoing debate concerning the necessity of baptism, found a reference that he felt proved that baptism occurs after salvation. The book is The Immerser: John the Baptist, by Joan Taylor, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. In the…

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Can a baptism be annulled?

Question: When a person has been baptized once in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and then receives baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, has the first baptism become annulled? I have a friend who told me that I wasn’t baptized because I wasn’t baptized in the name of Jesus…

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Notes on Baptism

Matthew 28:19 Mark 16:16 John 3:22-23 John 4:1-2 Acts 2:38 Acts 2:41 Acts 2:47 Acts 8:12-13 Acts 8:36-39 Acts 9:18 Acts 10:47-48 Acts 16:14-15 Acts 18:8 Acts 18:13-14 Acts 18:24-19:7 Acts 22:16 Romans 6:3-5 I Corinthians 1:13-17 I Corinthians 12:13 Galatians 3:26-27 Ephesians 4:5 Colossians 1:13-14 Colossians 2:12-13 Titus 3:4-5 I Peter 3:21 see Salvation see…

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In whose name are we to be baptized?

Question: It appears to me that you missed the main point about the Jesus name baptism.  Jesus commanded that his disciples be baptized in the “name” of someone.  Who do you suppose he meant that name to be?  He didn’t say (about Matthew 28:19) “repeat after me now”.  Do you suppose that after hearing Matthew 28:19 they…

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What Must I Do to be Saved? (Walker)

by Wayne S. Walker Of all the questions asked … Where did I come from? Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? The most important question ever asked was: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) In the sixteenth chapter of the book of Acts, the apostle Paul…

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Abraham wasn’t baptized, so why should we need it?

Question: In Romans chapter 4 it talks about Abraham being saved by belief.  “For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).   Did they baptize in the Old Testament?  Nowhere that I have read.  Now you might say that baptism wasn’t required in Old Testament days,…

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Does baptism make Jesus’ sacrifice insufficient for our salvation?

Question: Baptism is a representation of us being born into Christ.  It is something every Christian should do.  It is not something one should do to be saved.  Putting baptism as a requirement for salvation makes Jesus’ sacrifice not enough for our salvation and with this, I disagree. Answer: It was Jesus Christ who commanded,…

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How can baptism save?

Question: I’m confused. You said on your website that baptism is required for a person to be saved. How can this be so? Answer: Because the Bible states: “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection…

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The Work of Baptism

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6:1-11   I.         A frequent objection raised to baptism is that it is a work             A.        “We are not saved by works.” we are told.                         1.         Romans 4:4-5 – Faith justifies                         2.         Ephesians 2:8-9 – Saved not as a result of works             B.        Now certainly baptism is something done, hence it is a work.…

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Trials of Life (Sermon)

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         God knows the hearts of men             A.        I Samuel 16:7 “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”             B.        Luke 16:15 “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your…

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21 Reasons Why You Should be Scripturally Baptized

by Kenneth E. Thomas Because God commands it. (Acts 10:48) To fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15) To be a friend of Christ. (John 15:14) Because you love God. (I John 5:3; John 14:15) Lest you reject the counsel of God against yourself. (Luke 7:30) To complete the “new birth.” (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:5) To enter…

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Had Cornelius heard John’s teaching and, perhaps, was baptized by John?

Question: Would you please help me to understand why, in Acts 10:37, KJV, Peter says, “That word, I say, ye know.” It sounds as if Peter is aware that Cornelius, and maybe some of the others, had already heard the word, and been baptized with John’s baptism. Although they were the first Gentiles to receive…

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Can fellowship be denied?

Question: Where is the Bible passage that authorizes you to deny me fellowship as a member of the church when I acknowledge Christ and have been baptized? is there an ugly little secret that only those whose baptismal outlook is baptismal regenerationist are recognized? Apparently, my belief that my sins had been cleansed is not…

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What authority is there for re-baptism?

Question: Where does the Bible authenticate re-baptizing anyone who believed in Jesus and was baptized in His name? Answer: I know of none. Baptism is an act that is done once. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put…

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Does Matthew 3:11 show that eis can be translated “because of”?

Question: If the Greek word “eis” (“for” in English) is always forward-looking, then what about Matthew 3:11? Here it says that John baptized for repentance, but the repentance would have had to have come before the baptism. After all, Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:3 states John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. Therefore, “eis” can be “because of” in Acts 2:38.…

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Do you believe that baptism could be linked to grace?

Question: Do you believe that baptism could be linked to grace? Answer: In the Bible, grace is the concept of a freely given gift; a gift that the recipient has not earned nor has necessarily deserved to receive. God’s gift to mankind was the life of His own Son. “For God so loved the world…

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A refusal to accept that salvation came to Cornelius at baptism

Question: Baptism is not necessary for salvation. Cornelius was saved before he was baptized. There are two reasons why we know Cornelius was saved before being baptized. 1. Cornelius received the Holy Spirit before being baptized; that he had the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:13 states that he abided in God and that God abided in…

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Preaching the Gospel … Without Mentioning Baptism

by Foy E. Wallace, Jr. Number One Gospel Sermons, page 180 (A series of gospel sermons preached at Nashville Road Church of Christ in the NUMBER ONE Community between Nashville and Gallatin, Tennessee, February 5 to 26, 1967. By Foy E. Wallace, Jr. In the sermon on February, 26: The Story That Never Grows Old,…

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Plan of Salvation

by Foy E. Wallace, Jr Number One Gospel Sermons, pages 46-47. When the time came to reveal that great Plan of Salvation, God assigned that function of revelation to the Holy Spirit. God is the primitive cause of man’s salvation, he willed it. Jesus Christ is the sacrificial cause of man’s salvation, he purchased it…

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Misconceptions About the New Birth

by Dick Blackford Guardian of Truth Volume XXIX: 5, pp. 144-149, March 7, 1985 I receive the Sword Of The Lord, a Baptist publication that claims to be the largest religious weekly in America. In a recent article on the new birth, the above caption was highlighted in the middle of the article. It jumped out…

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Were the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus?

Question: Were the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus? Answer: Right after telling Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom unless they are born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5), we read in John 3:22, “After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with…

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Can a man be saved without baptism?

Brother Lipscomb: Do the Scriptures say that no one can be saved without baptism, or is it only an inference? If an inference, are not all creeds founded on inferences? I have been reading your paper [The Gospel Advocate] for some time, and I like it very well. Lipscomb’s Answer: Inferences are of different degrees…

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Is water baptism a work?

Question: Is water baptism a work? Answer: I have always been amazed at the dread shown by people toward the word “work.” You would think that it was a dreaded disease or something equivalent to sin. The word “work” by itself is neither good nor bad. It simply refers to something that takes effort. Faith…

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Should baptism be done only in Jesus’ name?

Question: For many years the churches of Christ have used Matthew 28:19 as a baptism that adds to the church that was built by the word of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem, a baptism that was not present when Israel was told to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.…

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Does Mark 16:16 say that someone not baptized is lost?

Question: I think I have a parallel that explains Mark 16:16. Suppose I state, “All people who are enrolled and live in the dorm are students in the college. If John is enrolled but doesn’t live in the dorm, does that mean he is not a student?” Similarly, Mark 16:16 says “He who believes and…

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Aren’t the references to baptism just symbolic?

Question: When looking at Galatians 3:27 or the Romans passages, doesn’t it make better sense to understand the word immerse or immersion literally? I am immersed into Christ, immersed into death in spiritual realms. I am clothed with Christ in a spiritual realm, not putting on holy vestments. I am arguing that to say that…

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If man must be baptized to be saved, why do so many passages only mention faith?

Question: The Bible teaches throughout the New Testament that faith and faith alone is necessary for salvation. John 1:12-13; John 3:15; John 3:16; John 3:18; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:35; John 6:40; John 6:47; John 7:38-39; John 11:25-26; John 20:31; Acts 2:21; Acts 10:43; Acts 11:17; Acts 13:38-39; Acts 15:11; Acts 16:31; Acts 20:21; Romans 1:16;…

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Does the term “brother” indicate Saul was saved prior to baptism?

Question: Since Ananias calls Saul “Brother” prior to Saul’s baptism, doesn’t this prove that Saul was saved before he was baptized? Answer: The verse in question is Acts 22:13 which reads, “and he [Ananias] stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him.” As the conversation between Ananias and…

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What about the thief on the cross?

Question: I am still a little confused about what I need to actually do. I heard about baptism, but they say that the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized. Isn’t he in heaven? Answer: I appreciate the time taken to ask questions concerning your salvation. Personally, I don’t believe the confusion comes from what the…

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