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salvation, then it must be fulfilled for a
person to be saved. Intent doesn't equate to action. As the saying goes,
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
Colossians 2:12 ...
having been buried with him in
baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God.
This must be taken in context with the verse before it. Paul is teaching
people they are freed from human regulations. In verse 11, he says we're not
circumcised by man but by Christ. Thus, in verse 12, we aren't baptized by
man, but by Christ through the Holy Spirit.
After
studying the above passages, it can be stated that baptism by water isn't a
requirement to receive salvation. So do Christians need to be baptized in
this manner? No. The ritual of baptism, as claimed by most Christians, is a
way to show others the person being baptized has indeed accepted Jesus
as their Lord and Savior. That's an acceptable explanation, but we must also
show the acceptance by our actions every day. However, many people get
baptized without any witnesses, just they and the preacher are present. In a
case such as this, either the baptism isn't acceptable or it's only
symbolic to the person being baptized. It's a personal choice if, when, and
how a person gets baptized.
Some also claim we must be baptized in order to be
Christians because Jesus ordered us to and we must do so to be in obedience
to him. It's true he commanded some of his disciples to baptize people, but,
in the case of Paul, we can see this wasn't always the case. In fact,
if Jesus made baptism a commandment that must be obeyed, then he would've
baptized people as he taught.
Baptism isn't a requirement for salvation. Baptism is
the symbolic act of the death to our old lives and rebirth into a life with
Christ. |
