“There is also an antitype which now saves us–baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ<\/em>” (I Peter 3:21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNo human is able to limit God, so your argument is facetious. “For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?<\/em>” (Isaiah 14:27). The question has never been about what God\u00a0could<\/em>\u00a0do. The question has always been what God has chosen to do. He could save only people who climb Mt. Everest, but that isn’t what He has chosen to do.<\/p>\nClearly it is Jesus who saves us and it is God who lays down the rules for salvation.<\/p>\n
\n- It is God who said you cannot be saved without Christ. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved<\/em>” (Acts 4:12).<\/li>\n
- It is God who said you must listen to His teachings to be saved. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek<\/em>” (Romans 1:16).<\/li>\n
- It is God who said you must believe that teaching. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:13).<\/li>\n
- It is God who said you must act on that belief by changing your ways (repenting). “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death<\/em>” (II Corinthians 7:10).<\/li>\n
- It is God who said you must be vocal about your belief. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation<\/em>” (Romans 10:9-10).<\/li>\n
- It is God who said you must be baptized to wash away your sins. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord<\/em>” (Acts 22:16).<\/li>\n
- And it is God who said you must continue to work on your salvation. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling<\/em>” (Philippians 2:12).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Seems to me that I’m doing as I must, teaching what God has taught (I Peter 4:11), while you are complaining that you don’t want to do the Lord’s commands. Limits are not being placed on God, you are limiting yourself from obeying God. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’<\/em>” (Matthew 7:21-23).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: I am sorry you feel the way you do about the Church of the Nazarene, but more so about your hard-lined stance about baptism. By saying “No one is saved without being baptized in water”\u00a0you immediately limit the limitless God. You are saying that God cannot save anyone on their death bed, since they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[78,52,439,47],"class_list":["post-21709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-authority","tag-baptism","tag-church-of-the-nazarene","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23787,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-believe-you-can-only-be-saved-by-immersion-in-water-what-about-someone-who-cant-be-immersed\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":0},"title":"Do you believe you can only be saved by immersion in water? What about someone who can’t be immersed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How does one get saved who cannot physically be submerged?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t look up your references, but is seems to me (by skimming through your article of why you left the Church of the Nazarene) that the main reason you left is you believe you are saved by baptism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21812,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/quit-picking-on-the-nazarenes-were-not-saved-by-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":1},"title":"Quit picking on the Nazarenes! We’re not saved by baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I suggest you read Ephesians 2:8-10 and pray about your erroneous attack on\u00a0The Church of the Nazarene. We are saved by the precious blood of Christ, not by being dipped in water. There are some, after all, who do not have the opportunity to be baptized immediately (the thief\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24859,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-teach-that-you-can-be-saved-without-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible teach that you can be saved without baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article, \"Why I Am Not a Nazarene,\" as I have been researching the\u00a0Wesleyan Nazarenes and was considering attending there as a member but I am having doubts. However, I read your article and where it says\u00a0\"No one is saved without being baptized with water\" is\u00a0not biblical.\u00a0\u00a0One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/for-if-you-must-be-physically-immersed-in-water-to-be-saved-then-the-blood-and-jesus-christ-has-no-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":3},"title":"For if you must be physically immersed in water to be saved, then the blood and Jesus Christ has no power","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As a Nazarene Pastor, I wonder about what you have written. As a Christian, I can not judge your salvation. Unless you truly believe that it is the water and not the blood of Christ that saves you. I have read your web site. I am impressed with your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7847,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-you-misinterpreting-the-scriptures-unless-you-teach-faith-alone\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":4},"title":"Aren’t you misinterpreting the Scriptures unless you teach faith alone?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I agree with you on many points however I believe that you make many hasty judgments and contradict yourself many times over.\u00a0 Whether you are Nazarene, Pentecostal, Baptist Church of Christ, etc. it truly does not matter because salvation is not found in your denomination rather in Christ Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35795,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-exceptions-made-for-those-who-are-unable-to-be-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":21709,"position":5},"title":"Are exceptions made for those who are unable to be baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}