Look what he says in verse number 17, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach
the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect."
So, according to that right there, does it look like baptism is necessary for salvation?
Now, people out there who teach that you must be baptized in order to be saved, explain
this to me.
Explain why he says, "Well, I'm glad I didn't baptize people, because Christ did not send
me to baptize, but to preach the gospel."
Well, let me ask this, would that make any sense if the gospel included baptism?
I mean, if the gospel included baptism, he wouldn't say, "Well, I was sent to preach
the gospel," not to baptize.
Well, if the gospel included baptism, then he'd have to baptize in order to preach the
gospel.
He'd have to preach baptism, and basically, you know, that is the gospel, be baptized
to be saved.
But that is not what the Bible teaches.
You know, there are so many ways to disprove this doctrine that says that baptism is necessary
for salvation.
You know, you could start with about a hundred verses in the New Testament that say that
believing saves you, that don't mention baptism at all.
That's a good place to start.
You know, John 1-12, John 3-16, John 3-18, John 3-36, none of them mention baptism whatsoever.
And yet people teach that baptism is necessary for salvation.
Another thing to keep in mind is that 4,300 and some years of human history before John
the Baptist, nobody was baptized.
How did those people get saved?
How did they make it to heaven if baptism is necessary for salvation?
Okay, why was Jesus baptized if baptism is somehow necessary for salvation?
Jesus did not need to be saved.
Jesus did not need to wash his sins away.
He didn't have any sins.
So why was he baptized?
Because baptism is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus Christ was
picturing that and acting that out.
He was doing it in obedience to the Father.
When we get baptized, we're doing it in obedience to the Father, but it does not get us into
heaven.
It does not get us saved.
And then you say, "What about the thief on the cross?
He wasn't baptized."
Well, God made an exception.
No, God doesn't make exceptions like that.
You know, he says, "Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
And it's that simple.
It's not a matter of baptism.
And plus, here's the other thing.
If baptism saves you, then that means you have to rely on church to save you.
Because who baptizes you?
You get baptized by church.
So if baptism saves, that means you're relying on man to save you.
I've spoken to people before who were told that they could not be baptized at the church.
The church refused to baptize them because they did not either believe correctly or they
did not live their life correctly.
Now, I believe that in order for a person to be baptized, there's only one prerequisite.
If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
So if you believe on Jesus Christ, you may be baptized.
You say, "Well, if a man has long hair, he's got to get a haircut first, then baptized."
No, that's not biblical.
Okay?
Well, if he's living with his girlfriend, he's got to get, no, wrong.
If you believe, that's enough to get you baptized, okay?
And we don't have a baptism class because the water's not that deep.
You know what I mean?
You don't need a swimming lesson.
You know, and in the Bible, when people believed on Christ, they were baptized the same hour,
the same day.
No class, just baptized, just dunked, done, okay?
Now you say, "Would you ever refuse to baptize somebody?"
I would refuse to baptize somebody who doesn't believe on Jesus Christ with all their heart.
Somebody came to me and said, "Well, you know, I still believe you can lose your salvation
if you don't live right."
Well, I'm not going to baptize them, okay?
But here's the thing, you don't rely on me for salvation anyway.
Because baptism doesn't save, therefore I don't save, therefore this church doesn't
save in that sense, okay?
We have to be saved by believing on Christ, and the great thing about it is we just go
directly to Christ, just call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.
You don't have to get saved in church.
You can never set foot in church and still be saved if you're a believer.
But those who believe that baptism saves, they're basically saying you've got to come
to church and get baptized, or you have to be baptized by someone of the church that
will baptize you.
Well, now you're relying on man for salvation instead of on the finished work of Jesus Christ
and on just calling upon the name of the Lord, just like people have called upon the name
of the Lord throughout history and become saints.