Bible Questions Answered:
“...I read baptism washes away
sins...”
Robi/ Budapest, Hungary
Bible Answer:
Bible Text: (The Apostle Paul's
story.)
Acts 22:1-16 NLT
(Be sure to read all of Acts 22.)
1 “Brothers and esteemed fathers,”
Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.”
2 When they heard him speaking in
their own language, the silence was even greater.
3 Then Paul said, “I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated
here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully
trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to
honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.
4 And I persecuted the followers of
The Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and
throwing them in prison.
5 The high priest and the whole
council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters
from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring
the Christians from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
6 “As I was on the road,
approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven
suddenly shone down around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a
voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I
asked.“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus The Nazarene, the one
you are persecuting.’
9 The people with me saw The Light
but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
10 “I asked, ‘What should I do,
Lord?’ “And The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and
there you will be told everything you are to do.’
11 “I was blinded by the intense
light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.
12 A man named Ananias lived there.
He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by
all the Jews of Damascus.
13 He came and stood beside me and
said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I
could see him!
14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of
our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see
The Righteous One and hear Him
speak.
15 For you are to be His witness,
telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
16 What are you waiting for? Get
up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name
of The Lord.’
So this statement
(verse 16) was said by Ananias, to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:10-18).
Ananias "favored
of The LORD" was from Damascus, and little is known of him.
Acts 22:12 NLT
A man named Ananias lived there. He
was a Godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all
the Jews of Damascus.
Traditions says of
Ananias, that he later became the bishop of Damascus, and died a
martyrs death.
Are sins
forgiven by the washing of baptismal water?
I Peter 3:20,21
AB
20 [The
souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been
disobedient, when God’s patience waited during the building of the
ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved
through water.
Genesis 6:3 KJV
And The Lord said, My Spirit shall
not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days
shall be an hundred and twenty years. (The amount of time Noah
preached to the Antediluvians.)
The waters of
Noah's days separated believers from nonbelievers.
Believers lived,
nonbelievers perished.
I Peter 3:21 AB
21 And baptism, which
is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also save you [from
inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of
outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer
of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before
God [because you are demonstrating what you believe to be
yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Noah's day,
the faith of obedient believers, was seen by their public
Confession,
that only through
God's Ark, could they have SALVATION.
In our day, the
faith of obedient believers, is seen by our public Confession
(Baptism),
that only through
God's Ark, (The Lord Jesus Christ), may we have
SALVATION.
Do the waters give
salvation, Noah, would say never it was the ARK that saved them.
In our day, is it
baptismal waters that save us? Never, it is faith in THE ARK OF
GOD, that saves us!
The Lord Jesus
Christ is our Ark of Salvation! In Him alone we have safety and life!
Ananias reaffirms
this by saying (Acts 22:16 NLT)
“...calling
on the name of The Lord.’
One more thought:
Titus 3:4,5 NLT
4 But—“When God our Savior
revealed His kindness and love,
5 He saved us, not because of the
righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed
away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through The
Holy Spirit.
“Don't you see
pastor, God washed away our sins by our baptism. Baptism saves us!”
MY OH MY, ARE OUR
EYES BLIND THAT WE CANNOT EVEN READ THE WORDS BEFORE US?
He saved us, not because of
the righteous things we had done,
He saved us, not because of
the righteous things we had done,
Ephesians 2:8,9
KJV
8 For by grace are
ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works,
lest any man should boast.
“...and that
not of yourselves:
Not of works,
lest any man should boast.”
All the
baptismal waters of a thousands worlds could not save anyone!
Repentance and
faith, and confession in The Savior of the world, The Lord
Jesus Christ, is what saves.
Matthew 1:21 KJV
And she shall bring
forth A Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He
shall save His people from their sins.
Who shall save
people from their sins? Baptism? Mary? Disciples? NO!
“thou shalt call
His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their
sins.
“But pastor Titus
says “He washed away our sins,”
Yes that is
absolutely correct!
But,.........
Sins are “Not,”
washed away by baptismal water!
Sins are “Not,”
washed away by baptismal water!
“Well by what
then are they washed away?”
Our sins are washed
away, by The Precious Blood Of The Lord Jesus Christ!
Revelation 1:5
KJV
And from Jesus Christ, who is The
Faithful Witness, and The First Begotten Of The Dead, and
The Prince Of The Kings Of The
Earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
His own blood,
Revelation
7:13,14 KJV
13 And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and
whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in The Blood Of The Lamb.
The Bible Formula for Salvation will never change:
Repentance,
Faith, Confession, Salvation.
Mark 1:2-4 KJV
2 As it is written in the prophets,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy
way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of The Lord, make His paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the
wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins.
Acts 2:38 KJV
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 ye shall receive The Gift of
The Holy Ghost.
For much, much more
on this subject, be sure to check Amazon-Kindle for my new book
Salvation-We
Are Not Afraid, coming soon.
