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 you help me in what to say to him about that and could you shed some light on this progressive Gospel matter.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
The idea of a progressive gospel is that the teachings of Christ have to be modified and updated to suit the current situation. The idea is readily proved false by Paul’s declaration:<\/p>\n
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:6-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The gospel message does not change.<\/p>\n
What was nailed to the cross was the Old Law.<\/p>\n
“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ<\/em>” (Colossians 2:11-17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Notice in the same context in which the Old Testament is declared to have been nailed to the cross, Paul also states that circumcision — a rite that marked a person as being under the Law of Moses — was replaced with by the circumcision of Christ, which Paul declares to be baptism. There is no passage that declares that all rituals have been done away with. Consider that the Lord’s Supper could be classified as a ritual and few complain about its need.<\/p>\n
The idea that Christ nailed baptism to the cross is foolish. First, it wasn’t an Old Testament requirement. Second, Christ himself, after his resurrection from death declared: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen<\/em>” (Matthew 28:19-20). The majority of the teaching of baptism was done after the death of Jesus, so it is ridiculous to declare it ended before it was fully taught.<\/p>\n
The one altering the gospel is your friend. He is declaring that people can ignore the teachings of Christ and somehow be pleasing to the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[52,1306],"class_list":["post-32722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptism","tag-progressive-gospel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-apostle-paul-baptize\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":0},"title":"Did the Apostle Paul Baptize?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Louis Rushmore Plainly, the apostle Paul acknowledged that he personally baptized some individuals. \"Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,'\u00a0or 'I am of Apollos,'\u00a0or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.\"\u00a0Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39268,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-different-gospels\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":1},"title":"Are there different gospels?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have been seeing more and more about the Kingdom Gospel vs the Gospel of Grace. Dispensationalism is becoming very popular on YouTube, and people are actually turning toward this teaching. I have seen comments that the churches of Christ intertwine the kingdom gospel and the grace gospel.\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":64501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christ-sent-me-not-to-baptize\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":2},"title":"Christ Sent Me Not to Baptize","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton In I Corinthians 1:17 Paul said, \"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.\" The assumption that denominational people make is that Christ did not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58802,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching-the-gospel-without-mentioning-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":3},"title":"Preaching the Gospel … Without Mentioning Baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptism-started-out-in-water-but-it-has-changed\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":4},"title":"Baptism started out in water, but it has changed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This message is in regards to water baptisms. In the early stages, John the baptist and Jesus' disciples were performing water baptisms. Some preachers are teaching the brethren, \"except you be baptized in water you cannot be saved.\" The elders of Jerusalem settled the issue of salvation when they\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":70110,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-progressive-repentance-scriptural\/","url_meta":{"origin":32722,"position":5},"title":"Is Progressive Repentance Scriptural?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol 4. No. 4, October-December 2024 During my preaching work in Ghana in July and August 2024, I heard the term \"Progressive Repentance\" for the first time. 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