Is Baptism part of salvation?
Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. 24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
This is a fascinating paragraph and it destroys one part of the doctrine of "Once Saved Always Saved" where they teach that baptism is not part of salvation and to say so is to teach a works based salvation. We are not saved by works, that is true. But just like a fruit tree bears fruit, if you are truly saved you will bear the fruit of the Spirit, which are works of faith and labor of love. To receive the word of God, is what they equate with salvation. That would be Jesus coming into your heart as a result of His sacrifice on calvary to forgive you of your sins. But if that is true, if the Lord has truly come into your heart and you have confessed of your sins, then surely you will repent of those sins. What are those sins? Well at the most fundamental level sin is ignoring the command of God and doing what is right in your own eyes. The Bible says "believe and be baptized". Simple command, you don't have to understand it, simply obey it. However, in this case we learn that they have believed, they have been baptized and yet the Holy Spirit has not fallen on them. Why not? First Jesus Christ enters your heart, once you have confessed and repented of your sins (believed and been baptized) you can be clothed with the Holy Spirit like a policeman wearing a uniform is clothed. However, this did not happen yet because the apostles have not yet sanctioned this. When they laid hands on them that was the apostles sanctioning the gospel going to the Samaritans. To be clothed with the Holy Spirit is a sign of authority to the angels and they would not recognize this authority until the apostles laid hands on them. But now this brings us to Simon. There are two things that can separate us from God just like a wire can be broken and prevent the electricity from flowing. One is bitterness and the other is iniquity. If you are nursing bitterness in your heart or you are living in iniquity you will be cut off from the Holy Spirit. The "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine never teaches this. Peter realized this was the case with Simon because he wanted to purchase the authority of the Holy Spirit with money. We see this with the "OSAS" crowd. These churches are often the best funded, FreeMasons will often be on the board of directors, they will have a large, brand new building, a good sound system, a TV ministry, etc. Consider TPUSA, they receive millions and millions in donations. They think give them more money and they will have more power. Their heart is not right and as a result their power has gone from millions listening to Charlie to thousands listening to those who have taken his place at TPUSA. The power the ministry has is 0.1%. of what it was. Now it could be the gall of bitterness or it could be the bondage of iniquity, but something is not right.
25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
This is ironic. One theory is that Charlie Kirk was assassinated because he was not going to publicly support the war in Gaza because he was accusing the Jewish leaders of sin. That was good news to those living in Gaza. Stephen is killed because he accused the Jewish leaders of sins and who picks up the banner to take the gospel to Gaza but Philip. Likewise Charlie is killed and who picks up the banner but Candace who also accuses the Jewish leaders of sin and takes the gospel to Gaza.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Ironic, isn't it.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
The whole world can see what happened with Charlie and many are trying to figure out what it means.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Sure sounds like what happened to Charlie.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Charlie Kirk was preaching Jesus at the end of his ministry and that played a major role in his being killed. Now Candace is preaching Jesus in her podcast. It is the major reason why she was fired from the Daily Wire.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Again, OSAS is seen to be an idiotic doctrine. This man understood from the gospel that it was important for him to make a public confession of his faith. Think of baptism as an engagement ring. You don't get engaged by putting on a ring, but if you are engaged then the ring becomes a sign to all. We live in an evil and adulterous age. I was in college when I got baptized. I had been listening to a man come to my room preaching the gospel for months. One night I walked into my dorm room and there were about ten people or more sitting around. My hair was wet and someone asked what happened? I said I had gotten baptized. I could see immediately the entire atmosphere in the room changed. The person who asked that was a Baptist and yet he asked "why did you do that?" The evil adulterous age doesn't have a problem with someone preaching the gospel, they will mock and ridicule, it is "good fun". But go and get baptized, that they understand.
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
There is only one requirement to being baptized, believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
This is a blog about the rapture and this word "caught away" is the word we identify as referring to the rapture. The apostasy leads people astray concerning salvation. They do this by speaking the truth, but although what they say is "true" it is also incomplete. If you are engaged to the Lord, if you truly are saved, then why aren't you wearing an engagement ring? He said to "believe and be baptized". So why do you teach you don't have to be baptized?
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
