A proliferation of blogs, Facebook entries, smart phones and new media is no guarantee that biblical knowledge is increasing. In fact, the reverse is true even among so-called evangelical Christians. I read from New Jerusalem Bible that in Psalm 119, David said that he had more subtlety of God's Word because he meditated on it day and night. So often we think we know how to interpret Scripture but we lack the subtlety required for correct and accurate reading.
For example, whether water baptism is essential to salvation has been framed as an absolute, either you are baptized and saved or you are not baptized and therefore damned. The Word of God is not as simple as that. Often we read Scripture simplistically - Scripture can be simple but never simplistic.
Water baptism is tied to forgiveness of sins in Acts 2:38 and various other Scriptures beside. No one who knows Scripture will deny that baptism is important and in fact the first commandment or twin command together with "repent" after belief. Unless one believes, one will not repent nor one submits to water baptism. But to frame the question whether baptism is essential to salvation or can a non-baptized person be saved is to ask the wrong sets of questions. If you read Romans 10, it is clear there that once a person believes he/she is saved. There is no two-way about it. In your heart you believe and with your mouth you confess that Jesus is Christ, you shall be saved. In this famous passage, water baptism does not come into the equation. Once a person believes he is saved as apostle Paul asserts. God knows the hearts of men and women and He saves those who put their faith in Him.
Having said above, genuine faith is borne out by the fruits of repentance. The act of repentance is completed or is sealed by water baptism whereby one's sins are forgiven and washed away by the waters of baptism even as one puts his faith in the blood of Christ. In reality, it is faith in the efficacy of Christ's blood that saves a person but water baptism when it is taught aright and conducted with genuine faith is the outward sign of salvation, the inward sign is the heart that believes. Once God who sees the heart and knows that a person truly believes He pours out His Holy Spirit on him/her as evidenced in Acts (2, 8, 10, 19). As in the case of Cornelius, he was not yet baptized when the Holy Spirit came upon him. Thus, we cannot say that Cornelius was not saved just because he was not baptized because God had already given him the gift of the Holy Spirit. As Luke makes clear, Cornelius and those who believed and received the Holy Spirit were baptized forthwith.
The case of Simon the magician in Acts 8 also tells us that it is not water baptism that saves. Simon the magician was baptized with the rest of the Samaritans but apparently he did not receive the Holy Spirit when Peter and John laid their hands on the Samaritan who believed in the preaching of Philip. Here, we have a clear case that baptism does not save, in fact anyone can go through baptism without genuine faith and thus whatever baptism the person has gone through is but a sham.
I have just given one example of the subtlety of interpreting Scripture for those who are truly mature, knowing the full breath of Scripture. We do well to remember Jesus' rebuke to the Sadducees that they erred because they knew not the Scriptures nor the power of God (Matt 22:29).
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