Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
* Jesus said,"... AND is baptized" *
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
* Sins washed away THROUGH baptism *
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
* Believers were always baptized. *
Acts 19:5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus.
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
* Just look at those verses about Jesus name baptism! But the false preachers will still proclaim "thief on the cross" and those so deceived will go "amen brother"... BUT!! What the false preachers and those so deceived are overlooking is: The thief DIED BEFORE Baptism in Jesus name was even instituted and preached by the apostle Peter!! When the thief on the cross died, the new testament church had not been born; Jesus had not yet risen from the dead!!! The thief on the cross was dead for over a month BEFORE Acts 2:38 was even preached. *
* The thief on the cross was not even in the "church" dispensation, the commandment to be baptised had not been given. *
Acts 2:38 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.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,
Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.
* I really hope that you can see the deception in the "thief on the cross" argument against baptism. But I hope that if your preacher told you that lie, that you will realize that he has lied to you about other things as well, and is not really a man of God at all. *
* The Bible warns so many times, in so many places that there will be MANY false preachers leading people to hell. People who are being led into hell by false preachers BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE SAVED; that is the job of the false preacher to keep them feeling "secure". *
* Does your preacher teach the "thief on the cross" as an excuse to undermine the essentiality of baptism? If so, are you going to follow him into hell, anyway? *
Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause
divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them.
Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ,
but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the
hearts of the simple.
Acts 2:38 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.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Rev. Steve Winter