Originally Posted By: Bamarich2
Respectfully, you cannot prove these assertions by using the Bible. If baptism was not needed in the time period when Paul preached, the account of Acts 19:1-5 would not exist. This passage very clearly claims there was a difference between John's baptism and Christ's baptism.
EXACTLY...though you and I disagree on the meaning of "Christ's baptism." All throughout the New Testament, Paul teaches baptism into the body of Christ Jesus by faith. I'll list them here in a little while if you would like to spend some time refuting or explaning them, but there are many scriptures of Paul's writings (I'm sure you're already aware of them) where salavation is explained and characterized, never mentioning water baptism. Baptism into the death, burial, and resurrection is an act of the Holy Spirit, dry as a bone, by faith. Same precept here as in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12.

Paul is the God-appointed authority on preaching to Jew and Gentile alike in the age of grace. You see that all throughout the New Testament as he exhaustedly teaches, contrasts, and corrects concerning the Gospel of Grace to both the Jew and Gentile, proper handling of the Law, etc. Acts 19 is really cool because it shows exactly what I'm trying to explain and what I humbly believe. You have a group of Jewish believers who had become believers under the Gospel of the Kingdom at the preaching of John. At the time they heard and believed, Christ had not yet died and been resurrected and of course the Day of Pentecost and the giving of the promised Holy Spirit had not taken place. As a result, they were already saved because they had repented and been baptized under the Gospel of the Kingdom, yet they had not yet received the Holy Spirit because they hadn't heard the Gospel of Grace! They simply didn't yet have knowledge of what was available to them but Paul shared the truth with them once he realized what they had heard and believed.

The transition of God's focus from the fulfilling of his covenant with Israel to the new covenant is probably the most fascinating thing I've ever studied in the Bible. For years, I struggled with what seemed to be conflicts between what Paul taught all throughout the New Testament concerning salvation vs. what was contained in the early books of Acts and the Gospels. I'm at peace with that issue now. When all of the Scriptures are taken into account simulatenously, it fits together beautifully and seeming conflicts disappear. In my humble opinoin, regardless of what someone believes concerning this particular issue, it's all about faith in Christ Jesus. Most who truly believe that faith alone is what saves immediately follow the Lord in believer's baptism as the first act of obedience to their Savior. I did the same because my life's desire to obey and please Him in all that I do. But, based upon the totality of the Scriptures and what I believe to be accurate concerning salvation in the Age of Grace, as well as the experience of my own salvation experience, I'll never believe that if someone truly believes on Christ Jesus and is hit by a train before they can ever get dunked that they will go to hell. My God is simply bigger than that. Heck, I even believe that those who have NEVER EVEN HEARD a word of the Bible have the opportunity to be saved, in accordance with Scripture, but that is a topic for another day.

"The only reason I shoot a 3.5" shell for turkeys is because they don't make a 4" one." - t123winters