Why did Paul say he was not sent to baptize?

Question: Good morning, First, I would like to say thank you for your work and effort in spreading the gospel. I really enjoy reading things from your site. I’m writing about baptism. I once wrote a pastor about baptism. I was having difficulty believing it was necessary for salvation. I don’t know why. I guess…

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My father won’t sign a form to let me be baptized. What should I do?

Question: Hi, I have accepted Christ six months ago and attend church regularly. I have also participated in a Basic Doctrine class required for baptism and membership in my church. When I brought back a form on the Baptism and Membership Encounter Weekend Event to ask for permission from my parents. My mum agreed but…

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Why didn’t you tell the girl with the Muslim father that she could be saved without baptism?

Question: Hello, I just discovered your website’s “questions and answers” page and felt that of the few that I read, the answers were extremely factual and reliable, though I must admit, with one exception! I just finished reading the one from a girl whose father is a Muslim, though she states she is a Christian and though she believes she is supposed to be baptized, she doesn’t know…

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Spiritual Junk Food

Spiritual Junk Food – Part 1Spiritual Junk Food – Part 2 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 2:8-23   I.         There are always those who will try to destroy the work of God, offering up human derived philosophies to override God given truth – Colossians 2:3-4, 8             A.        While sounding plausible, they are in fact empty -…

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Do you need to be baptized in order to go to heaven?

Question: Hello, I have a couple of questions, but I hope I am not bothering you in any way. Do you need to be baptized in order to go to heaven? If so, what other things must you do? Do you need to be baptized to be a Christian? Can you be a Christian if…

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Is My Baptism Valid?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         Periodically, someone will approach me concerning his baptism.             A.        Doubts have crept into his mind as to whether his baptism was valid – whether he really was a Christian or only pretending to be one.             B.        Generally those with doubts were baptized young in life. Events have happened that show them they are…

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Are exceptions made for those who are unable to be baptized?

Question: If we are told that to be saved we must be baptized by being dunked in water, how or what allowances do you make for the sick, bedridden, old, or too young, who cannot go into the water and dunk their head? Answer: The argument is flawed because it seeks to find some exception…

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I want to be baptized but my dad won’t let me

Question: In Spanish class, we had a test. This guy asked me for the answers; he is an upperclassman. I knew it was a sin, and I didn’t want to do it, but I did anyway. I feel stupid and hate this blasphemous sin I have committed. Only now did I realize I could have…

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By One Spirit … Baptized Into One Body

by Terry W. Benton “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (I Corinthains 12:13). What does “by one Spirit” mean? The Holy Spirit is the element we are immersed in? Holy Spirit is the agency…

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Are the baptisms in the New Testament Spirit baptisms or water baptisms?

Question: I have been studying with a co-worker of mine and apparently, we are getting nowhere fast. Our discussions consist of mostly the importance of baptism. He knows the Gospel and believes that it is vital to believe in it for salvation’s sake, but he doesn’t believe that baptism is an essential part, only that…

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I want to be baptized, but my parents don’t think it is necessary

Question: I lost a lot of my faith recently due to the fact that I realized baby baptism doesn’t count and nothing that I did concerning God counted. I can’t even be baptized again yet because my parents don’t think it’s necessary after infant baptism, so I don’t know what to do. I could have…

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I’m concerned that my 15-year-old still doesn’t want to be baptized

Question: My husband and I both attended Christian colleges and are life-long members of the church of Christ.  We have two children, ages 12 and 15, who we have faithfully taken to church since they were babies.  They are now both very involved in the church youth group.   I am concerned about my 15-year-old…

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How do you get added to Jesus Christ’s church?

Question: How do you get added to Jesus Christ’s church? Answer: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. … So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and…

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What does water do when getting baptized?

Question: I was asked a question, which is, “What does water do when getting baptized?” How can I answer this scripturally? Thank you. Answer: It gets you wet. “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…

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Where are Gentiles commanded to be saved by baptism?

Question: I had not visited this site in a while, and ran upon it, along with our correspondence, recently.  I noticed that your last comment has an interesting conclusion, and I quote “You claim that the Philippian jailer was not baptized”. This claim never was, nor ever has been made by me.  I conclude that he…

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Death Bed Repentance

by David J. Riggs A neighbor lady who had become a rather close friend to my wife, came into our home and said, “Do you believe in death-bed repentance?” This was not the first time I had been required to give an answer on this topic. My answer is, “I believe in one kind of…

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We wanted to share what happened to us

Question: Thank you so much for all your help and teaching. My husband and I left the Southern Baptist church last week and joined the church of Christ in our area. The church of Christ was having a tent gospel meeting beside the lake my husband I were fishing at. and we overheard the preacher…

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Was baptism nailed to the cross?

Question: I’ve been discussing baptism with someone and the essentiality of water but the person was saying to me something about progressive gospel and how baptism was a ritual and all rituals and things of that nature have been nailed to the cross and such we don’t have to do them including baptism, so could…

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What if you continued with your sin after baptism?

Question: What if you continued with your sin after the baptism of water? Do you still need to be baptized again? Answer: The proper question is whether you repented of your sins before you were baptized. Some people do want to become Christians, but they are not interested in giving up some of their sins.…

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Should I wait to be baptized?

Question: I am a new convert. I converted about 6 months ago, but I have been always curious about God and learning about Jesus. The only problem is that I’m not baptized through the waters yet. I still know that the Holy Spirit is with me and I can carry (at least to me )…

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Being Made New

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BeingMadeNew.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 42:1-12   I.         It is that time of year when we begin thinking about the new year.             A.        Sure, it is just a date, a marker in the sand, but it becomes an opportunity to look at what was done and resolve to do better.             B.        Paul talked about that in…

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Does a person leaving the Christian Church need to be baptized again?

Question: What is your thinking (based on Scripture) on a situation where someone has been baptized in the Christian Church but says they were baptized for the remission of sins and they want to place membership in the church of Christ? Do they need to be baptized again? The argument is that we are placing…

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Can two non-Christians, involved in adultery, be baptized?

Question: I want to hear about your views on this particular topic. There’s this man who is married with kids. He had some problems with his wife — she being aggressive and abusive. He met another woman while he was still married to his wife and had sexual relations with her. He eventually divorced his…

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I somehow lost my love

Question: I go to a church of Christ. Lately, something has been telling me I need to get myself right and that I need to get baptized again for the right reason, but over the years I lost how to love and believe and how to let him in my heart. My conscience keeps telling…

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Why can’t my sister get baptized?

Question: In a second marriage where a non-Christian is wanting to become a Christian but was divorced for reasons other than adultery, is the sin the adultery or the remarriage? I am asking this in the context of repenting. Do you repent of the adultery in this second marriage or repent of the divorce and remarriage and…

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