WHY IS WATER BAPTISM SO CONFUSING?
There is no doubt that confusion reigns over the subject of Water Baptism. It has so often been called the “water that divides!” It is so confusing because, almost all Christian Denominations hold some differing view on the subject. Some make it a “sacrament” of Salvation. Others require it in order to become a Christian. Many make it a step of obedience and a true witness to salvation. In this way it is presented as one of the Church “ordinances,” being an established religious practice over the years. Some baptise infants only and others only adults. Then there is one popular denomination which does not practice it at all.
Major denominations teach that water baptism is required as part of salvation, if a person is to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. They use such Scriptures as: Acts 2:38-41, Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:36-40; 10:47, 48.
It seems that many Bible scholars are not clear as to the meaning of baptism and struggle with such verses as Acts 2:38. They do not differentiate between baptism required for salvation and baptism required as a witness to salvation. For example, Dr William Evans in his book The Great Doctrines of the Bible, states regarding regeneration (which is a synonym for salvation), that baptism and regeneration are not identical and that the Apostle Paul seemed to make little of the rite of water baptism (1 Cor. 1:14). He believed that, through Paul’s preaching people were saved through the Gospel, not baptism. (p 151, par. 1)
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We praise God for our dear friend, Pastor Andrew Hollier, in Australia. He has given us permission to use his trifold Bible Studies on key topics. We have them now on our webpage. www.prisonmission.org/free-bible-lessons/ scroll down and to the right side of the lesson webpage. We have over sixty of them. We will post one for our blog every week over the rest of this year! So, check our website each week to get the newest Bible Studies!