(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Hello everybody, it's me, Mr. 1223, back with another video. In this video, I want to answer a very simple question, and that question is, does baptism save us? Or another way that I could put that is, is baptism necessary for salvation? There are some religions and denominations out there which allege that baptism is necessary for salvation, that you cannot be saved without baptism, such as the Roman Catholics, the Orthodox Catholics, Lutherans, the Churches of Christ, Mormons, and several others. They believe that baptism is necessary for being born again, and that without it, one cannot have everlasting life. But what does the Bible say? First let's see what the scriptures clearly tell us that we have to do in order to be saved, what salvation is, and what it's not. And then let's take a closer look at what the Bible says about the subject of baptism. There's only one time in the Bible where the question is asked, what must I do to be saved? Now you think that's a pretty important question. If somebody were to ask that to a member of the Church of Christ, for example, they probably say, believe in Jesus, repent of your sins, get baptized, and bear to the end. If you ask a Roman Catholic, they probably say, believe in Jesus, get baptized, obey the Ten Commandments, continue in the sacraments until the end, etc. But what does the Bible say that we must do to be saved? It is written in Acts chapter 16 verse 30 to 31, and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. So according to the Bible, what do we have to do in order to be saved? Does it say get baptized? No. Does it say go to church? No. The Scriptures say believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Not thou might be saved, but thou shalt be saved. It is a guarantee. It is a promise. To say that somebody who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, who has their faith and trust in the person of Jesus, and is not baptized will go to hell, is in direct contradiction of this clear statement. In fact, the whole message of salvation throughout the Bible is that we are saved from our sins and receive everlasting life by faith alone. It says also in Romans chapter 10 verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him of the dead, thou shalt be saved. Again, the Bible tells us very plainly that if you believe in your heart on Jesus Christ, thou shalt be saved. It's by faith, not by anything else. Jesus said in John chapter 3 verse 16, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have her lasting life. In John 5 24, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. John 11 25 to 26, I am the resurrection of the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believeth thou this. Now the word whosoever, which is used here in John 3 16 and John 11 26, means anybody or whoever does this, that indicates that the only requirement for salvation and everlasting life is in fact faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You do not have to do anything else but believe on him. He said whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. If you had also to get baptized, these statements would not be true, because then many of those who had faith in Christ but who were never baptized, such as the thief on the cross, for example, would go to hell. Yet Jesus promised to that thief that today thou shalt be with me in paradise, Luke chapter 23. Even though he had just believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and he was on the cross, and he never got baptized, Jesus still promised him that he would go to heaven. Why is that? Because it's whosoever, meaning anybody, that believeth according to John 3 16. The Bible says also Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 to 9, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, that is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Again, it says salvation is by grace through faith, not by grace through faith and baptism and repentance and all this other stuff. By grace through faith, by believing. The Bible says in Romans 1 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So the Bible says clearly that gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone, not just some people, but everyone that believeth. These false religions out there which teach that faith is not enough to save you, that you must also get baptized, you must also be immersed, say the exact opposite of what the Bible says. The Bible says if you believe, you're saved. If you believe, you have everlasting life. Everyone that believeth has salvation regardless of whether or not they are baptized according to the scriptures. The scriptures separate baptism from the gospel, which according to 1 Corinthians 15 is how we are saved. It says in 1 Corinthians 1 17, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. Now it should be obvious why this is, and this is because the gospel by which we are saved, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 2, is the message of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection. And it is the preaching of the gospel as said there in 1 Corinthians 15 and also in Romans 1 16, which we just read earlier, which leads people to salvation. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. The preaching of the cross, the message of the gospel, not baptism, because baptism is different from the gospel. As according to this verse, 1 Corinthians 1 17, baptism is separated from the preaching of the gospel. People are saved through the preaching of the gospel, but not through baptism. They're two different things. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1 21, for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. So it is through the preaching of God's word, the preaching of the gospel, that people are saved. When they hear the word of truth and they believe it and they trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, they are saved and they're given everlasting life. It's about faith in Jesus, faith in God. It's a thing of the heart. It's not an outward thing of baptism. Those who trust in their baptism to save them are trusting in another person to save them because it's a fellow Christian who baptized them and it was based on the will and action of that fellow Christian who saved them. If their doctrine was true, yet the scriptures repeatedly tell us that the salvation is of the Lord and the only person, the only name we can ever rely on, we can never trust in, and to save us is Jesus Christ. The Bible says, neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved and faith in him is enough is sufficient for all. The Bible says, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Acts 10 43. Now we could just end the video there. Now that would be clear enough of an answer to the question of this video. That would be, is baptism necessary for salvation because there's dozens of verses and passages which tell us plainly it is by belief, it's by faith, it's by trust only that everyone whosoever believeth hath everlasting life. The scriptures repeat this over and over again. And yet the heretics who teach the doctrine of baptismal regeneration ignore what the Bible clearly says that one must do to be saved and they add to that and they twist the scriptures to claim that we must also be baptized. So there are a few verses, only a few, which they use to support their doctrine. And by the way, a good principle of a Bible interpretation is if there are like 50 verses saying one thing and two or three verses which seem to contradict, it's much more likely that the two or three verses are the ones that you're twisting or interpreting wrong and not the 50 verses which are plain, which say whosoever believeth, which say for by grace you say through faith, which say that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Those are all clear statements saying that if you have faith, you are saved. You have everlasting life. You're justified. There's nothing else you need to do. So if there's just a few verses which are not very clear that seem to be teaching according to your interpretation that it's baptism which saves, you should probably rethink those two or three verses. I mean it's pretty simple to figure out. So let me show you how the Roman Catholics and the churches of Christ and the Mormons and others will twist the scriptures. Firstly, there's this verse, Mark chapter 16 verse 16. It says he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Now of course I believe what the scriptures say, but the heretics are reading information into the verse. The question we're dealing with here is whether baptism is necessary for salvation. This verse does not indicate that, for Jesus only says he that believeth not shall be damned. Our salvation is dependent on our faith. As it says in another place in the scripture, he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Yet he never says if you do not get baptized, you will be damned. He simply says if you do not believe, you will be damned. So when we read the first statement, nothing about it contradicts the doctrine of faith alone, which is clearly taught in the rest of scripture as we've already proved. I could also say he that believeth and runs a mile shall be saved because salvation is dependent upon belief, upon faith. That's why Christ said whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have her lasting life. Anybody who believes is saved according to the Bible regardless of anything else that they do. So if somebody believes and they also get baptized, yes they're saved not because they got baptized but because they believed according to the scriptures. But failure to get baptized does not affect one's eternity and does not damn them to hell. And the scripture right here, Mark 16, 16 does not indicate that. That's why there's no verse in the Bible that says that those who are un-baptized will go to hell or be damned or not be saved, et cetera. If you have faith according to the Bible, you're justified, saved, given everlasting life, that's what the Bible says. Another verse the heretics will use to teach that you must be baptized is the following. Acts chapter 2 verse 38, it says, then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The issue is that they immediately assume that the word for means in order to have as if we do not have the remission of sins without being baptized. Now there's several problems with that interpretation. First of all, the context indicates that this is not proper because Peter, the one who is filled with the Holy Ghost preaching in this chapter, said just a few verses earlier in verse 21, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, which of course is a quote from Joel chapter 2 and is stated again in Romans 10 13, which tells us that calling upon the name of the Lord is the outward expression of the faith within our hearts. Then in the very next chapter, Peter preaches again, Acts chapter 3 verse 19. He says, repent, therefore be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Now, in this scripture, he mentions absolutely nothing about baptism. He just says, repent and be converted. That is to turn to Christ that your sins may be blotted out. So how are sins blotted out according to the scripture? By conversion, not by baptism. Baptism is not mentioned in that chapter at all. And yet the heretics assume that Acts 238 means that one must be baptized in order to have their sins permitted. Furthermore, it is preached later in Acts chapter 10, verse four to three, again by the same person, by Peter. It says to him, give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I'm sorry, I read that wrong. To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. This is again Peter preaching, and of course, it's the Bible, meaning it's God's word, it's inspired by the Holy Ghost. And it says whosoever, again, anybody that believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. So how are our sins remitted according to the Bible? By turning to Christ in faith, believing on him just as the scripture show in dozens of other places as we've already seen. And again, the word whosoever indicates that anybody who does this action of believing has had their sins remitted. Baptism is not an extra requirement. So going back to Acts 238, we know that the Bible does not contradict itself. So what does it mean be baptized for the remission of sins? Well, the answer is that the word for simply means because, as it's used hundreds of times in the Bible. Think of the phrase wanted for murder. That does not mean wanted in order to murder that person. Rather, it means this person is wanted because they committed murder. And that's the proper definition of the word for. So Acts 238 is simply telling us because we have our sins remitted by our repentance turning to Christ in faith, the next step we should take as Christians is baptism, not in order to be saved because the context does not indicate that whatsoever. In fact, in the perceiving verse, the people of Judea had asked the question to Peter, what shall we do? They did not ask what must we do to be saved as in Acts chapter 16, but rather they just asked what shall we do? And it's true we should be baptized as Christians, but just because the Bible tells us that we should get baptized, does that mean that we need to get baptized in order to be saved? No, as I pointed out earlier, the question, what must I do to be saved is asked only one time in the Bible in Acts chapter 16 verse 30. And the answer is in verse 31, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Not believe and get baptized, not believe and you might be saved. It depends on whether you get baptized, nothing like that. It's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So whosoever believe within him shall receive permission of sins. It's belief, it's faith. Acts 10 43, that's the Bible, OK? And then there's really only one last verse because, like I said, there's only like three verses that they even have compared to the 50 plus. I don't even know how many verses there are in the Bible that teach it's by faith alone, but they only have three verses to support. And as we've seen so far, usually they're taken out of context or they're changing the meaning of words within the verse. Now, this last verse is first Peter, chapter three, verse 21. It says the like figure wherein to even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the issue with this is that they were ignoring 70 percent of the verse to only focus on the phrase, even baptism doth also now save us. Now, if that's all the verse said, then I believe it. But that's not all it says, OK? It starts saying the like figure where unto even baptism doth also now save us and then has a statement in parentheses and continues by the resurrection of Christ. The key words here are figures and also. The reason why Peter says also is because of what was literally just said in the previous verse, verse 20. It says which sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing wherein few that is eight souls were saved by water. Now, here the Bible presents a picture of salvation in Noah's ark and says eight souls were saved by water. Now, it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that this is not literally saying that the eight upon Noah's ark were spiritually saved. No, rather, it's talking about their physical salvation being delivered from God's wrath upon the wicked, which was the flood. And he's using that as a figure or a picture of salvation. Then in verse 21, Peter continues by explaining that baptism is a picture, a figure, as he says in this verse, also of our salvation. Now that we are not that we are actually spiritually saved by the act of baptism, but that baptism is a figure of our salvation by the resurrection of Christ. And that's exactly what the Bible tells us in Romans chapter six, where it says Romans chapter six, verse 34. Know ye not that so many of us as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So baptism, according to the Bible, is a figure of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. When we are immersed under the water and then brought up out of the water, that symbolizes Jesus dying and being buried and then brought back up to walk in the newness of life. That is how baptism is a figure of what truly saves us, the resurrection of Christ. That's what first Peter 321 means. You shouldn't just take a little chunk of the verse and ignore the verse before it and certain words within it and the section after that statement. OK. And this again should be obvious that Peter is not saying that we are saved by baptism because it was said in the first chapter that we're saved by faith. Says in first Peter Chapter one, verse three to five, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, have begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Notice how it says by the resurrection of Jesus Christ later in first Peter Chapter three, verse twenty one, it talks about how it's a symbol of the resurrection of Christ. OK, verse four to inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that fate is not a way and reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So firstly, in verse three, it reminds us that we are begotten again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's how we were born again. And that's what is explained in first Peter 321. Baptism is a figure of the resurrection of Christ. It's the figure of our salvation. But then in verse five, it is written that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, not faith and baptism through faith. So how are we saved by faith in Christ, not by our baptism? There's absolutely nothing in the Bible which teaches that we are saved by our baptism. The verses which people use to teach this heresy, when you look at the whole verse and you look at the context and you compare spiritual with spiritual, which is what we should be doing whenever we read the Bible, do not in any way teach that we are delivered from our sins because of baptism. The doctrine of baptismal regeneration is a concept made by man. The Bible says whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. If you previously believed that baptism was necessary for salvation before watching this video, then you need to repent, change your mind and put all of your trust in Jesus Christ and him alone. OK, not in your baptism, not in your false religion, but in Jesus. OK, stop trusting in man's doctrine and man's words and see what the Bible says. That is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So that's it for this video. Thank you. Ready for watching. God bless you and goodbye.