Truth.

John the Baptist baptised! Was John's Baptism a baptism unto Salvation? No, it was baptism unto repentance in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah! Remember, John was the forerunner who foretold the Messiah's coming.

The order that Jesus gave his disciples was Go, make disciples, baptise them. I know of no one who willingly allows another to put them under water without first having a belief in the person or the reason for allowing it. No one submits to baptism without first believing! Once one believes, then one will submit to the "rest of the teachings" including baptism.

Thus it is not baptism that saves one but rather belief that saves one. Baptism "seals" the faith!

Furthermore, Baptism is a work (some call it a sacrament, but a rose by any other name is still a rose). Can anyone earn salvation? NO! so that rules out baptism as a means of Salvation!

Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, meaning that he was marked by the Father before the creation to be slain as a form of sacrafice for the sins of the world. A once for all propitiation for our sins. Thus sins have no bearing on our salvation either. That does not mean we can sin with impunity, is simply means that our sins will not keep us from salvation because of a penalty owed, because the penalty was paid by Jesus.

Therefore what is left? Works can't earn us salvation, sins can't deny us salvation, so what is it that ensures us salvation? FAITH! All alone FAITH is what marks us for salvation. Jesus said in John 3:18 that those who have faith in Him are not judged, but those who do not have faith in him are judged already by their unbelief.

So, everything that we do outside of personal individual belief in Jesus, is nothing more than religion, and the practice thereof!

Assuming you are referring to John 3:16, the verse says, "for God so loved the world that He (God) gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him (the Son) shall not perish, but have everlasting life". Another verse has Jesus declaring that "I and the Father are one" Therefore, if one believes in Jesus, one believes in the Father who sent Him.

It took four men writing "books" to provide us with the words of Jesus we have, this forum was not intended to be a Barnes & Noble, but rather to condense a few doctrinal thoughts for discussion. Even so, your point is valid.

Mark 16:16 simply emphasizes the truth that belief comes before baptism, it does not negate baptism as an essential element in the faith. The non use of this verse does not indicate anything. The point being expressed is that individual human belief (faith) in Jesus is what marks one for salvation. Baptism by itself does nothing for our salvation. If it did, then the thief on the cross is not saved. As for Colossians 2:12, Paul is addressing believers, explaining to them what it means to have faith and to follow Jesus "in form" by being baptised. I say in form, because we cannot all be crucified, buried and resurrected in the manner that Jesus was. But by being baptised in water, we indicate that we spiritually follow Jesus even in death, burial and resurrection. That is, we have died to self, buried our self for all time, and resurrected a new person in Christ. Thus we are marked as "Christ-ian" by being so baptised. The baptism does not make it so, but rather indicates outwardly that it is so internally. Faith is not a physical thing, it is a spiritual thing. Jesus told Nicodemus,"[John 3:6] what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is spirit." Therefore, since faith is of the spirit, and water baptism is of "human nature", baptism has no bearing on the spirit for they are separate things as Jesus said. That is why baptism is the outward sign of the inward condition.

Agreed! But with the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision, one had to be, or belong to, or by self will choose to be, a jew to be circumcised as one. Under the Christ-ian covenant of baptism, one must be a Christ-ian before being baptised as one.