by David Gibson<\/p>\n
To say that baptism is essential to salvation does not at all contradict the truth that we are saved by grace. We can never earn our salvation. Baptism is a condition of salvation. It is likely that others have made the following points, but they need to be reiterated.<\/p>\n
Dipping seven times in the Jordan was a condition for Naaman to be cleansed of his leprosy (II Kings 5). And washing in the pool of Siloam was a condition for the blind man to receive his sight (John 9). Neither man earned his cure. Neither man could boast about what he had done. Each knew the grace of God had healed him.<\/p>\n
God could have used other means in their cases if He so chose. In fact, Jesus healed both lepers and blind men without using water (Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 17:11-19). But neither Naaman nor the blind man of John 9 could expect a cure unless they went to the water.<\/p>\n
Similarly, God makes baptism a condition of salvation. Just as in the cases of Naaman and the blind man, God has chosen water as an element in our healing.<\/p>\n
Was there something in the Jordan River water that could cleanse lepers? Could the waters of the pool of Siloam in themselves make blind men see? Surely it is evident that in both cases the power of God healed these men, on the condition that they washed in the water which God specified. This was a test of their faith and obedience.<\/p>\n
Water does not wash away sins, but the blood of Christ does. When? At the moment we are buried with Him in baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16).<\/p>\n
Praise be to God for His marvelous grace!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson To say that baptism is essential to salvation does not at all contradict the truth that we are saved by grace. We can never earn our salvation. Baptism is a condition of salvation. It is likely that others have made the following points, but they need to be reiterated. Dipping seven times…<\/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_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[52,48],"class_list":["post-91943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-baptism","tag-grace"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/naaman-was-healed-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":0},"title":"Naaman Was Healed by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton At first, Naaman did not appreciate the simple instructions to dip in the Jordan seven times (II Kings 5:1-14). He wanted to be healed of leprosy, but he wanted it to be on his terms. He imagined that God would heal him some other way. He\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":77346,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptism-grace-and-works\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":1},"title":"Baptism, Grace, and Works","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Belknap There are many people today who believe that baptism (immersion) is not essential to being saved. I truly believe this is one of Satan's grandest lies that he has successfully spread throughout the ages. What greater way is there to snatch souls away from God than to\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":5371,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptism-is-not-my-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":2},"title":"Baptism Is Not My Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Today\u2019s reading is John 9. Just like Jesus commands those who would be spiritually healed to be baptized, washed in water (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; John 3:3-5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:1-4; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; I Peter 3:21), Jesus commanded the blind man to go wash\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Blind_Man_Washes_in_the_Pool_of_Siloam_Le_aveugle-n%C3%A9_se_lave_%C3%A0_la_piscine_de_Silo%C3%AB_-_James_Tissot-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47430,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-baptism-have-to-do-with-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":3},"title":"What Does Baptism Have to Do with Salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 5:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Leprosy is a terrible disease. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions and nerve damage \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It has only been curable since the early 1980's. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So it is no wonder that a commander in Syria\u2019s army would go great lengths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43583,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":4},"title":"Salvation by Grace (Cope)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by James R. Cope via\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 12, October, 1952. In Titus 2:11-13 we read: \"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking\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":66875,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lessons-from-a-leper\/","url_meta":{"origin":91943,"position":5},"title":"Lessons from a Leper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zack Lee Naaman was a very successful man. He was commander of the Syrian army, held in high esteem in the eyes of his king, a victorious\u00a0general, and a mighty man of valor. However, he had leprosy. His story can be found in II Kings 5. Naaman heard through\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":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91943","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=91943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91943\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}