Baptism is tied so closely to salvation that it can easily be taken as necessary. However, the message of salvation through repentance and faith apart from works is so strongly stated, that we must reject the addition of anything, no matter how important, including baptism. The thief on the cross was assured of salvation by Christ Himself, without baptism or any other work. He simply turned from rejecting Christ as Lord, to receiving Him. It was always so. The book of Hebrews reminds us that Genesis records that Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness, before circumcision or any other work. Baptism becomes the first command for one who has been saved. It is the outward declaration of an inward work of God; and the refusal to submit is cause for other Christians to doubt the credibility of one who claims to be saved. It does not mean he is not saved, that is between the individual and God. It does mean that the churches can not sanction his claim. So baptism is not necessary for salvation. Along with the subsequent changed life (growth in righeousness, not perfection, which is another subject), it is necessary for a credible claim of salvation before men. 6/24--To Mr. Henry, I reply that anyting man does is a work, including allowng oneself to be baptised. And if the action of any man is necessary for salvation, then man becomes a dispenser of grace, and Christ's atonement wasn't enough. Salvation is presented in Scripture as being an internal transaction, which produces external evidence, of which submitting to baptism is one.

Baptism: A ceremony in which one enters the church family. It is a way of showing that you have been washed free of sin by the death and rising from the dead of Jesus Christ.

I doubt the thief on the cross next to Jesus was baptised and Jesus said He will see him in Heaven.

No, at least, not baptism by water. Baptism by water is only for those who believe(Acts 8:36-37 KJV) and thus, those that are saved. Romans 10:9-13 and John 3:16 tell us how to be saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 also tells us that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works, and getting baptized(water baptism) in hope of acheiving salvation would be adding works to salvation. Only those who are already saved should be baptized. When we get saved, there is another form of baptism that takes place at the moment that Jesus saves us, it is baptism with the Holy Ghost. To baptize means to "emerse" or "put into". Christ puts us into His body, the Church, when He saves us with His Holy Spirit. The other form of baptism(with water) takes place afterwards. I hope that this helps. :) -In the Master's service. Thank you and God bless you!

According to the Bible, baptism is not necessary for salvation. A person who accepts Christ and becomes a Christian (saved) should do everything in their power to then GET baptized, but baptism itself is not necessary for salvation.

No.

Here's the Doctrine to explain that. Enjoy! John DOCTRINE OF THE SEVEN BAPTISMS A. Baptism means identification or association. 1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the giant Ulysses who took a piece of hot metal and rammed it into Cyclop's one eye, and called it "baptizing." Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. 2. Xenophon said that the Spartans baptized their spears by putting them into a bowl of blood. 3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. 4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another thing so that the characteristic of the original thing was changed into another characteristic by what was identified with it. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification. 5. The Greek word BAPTIZO has been transliterated "to cleanse by washing, to immerse, to dip, to baptize" Jn 13:26. 6. The Greek word BAPTO means to identify, to intimately unite, to dip, Lk 16:24. In Rev 19:13 it is used to dye a piece of cloth. 7. The Greek word BAPTISMA is used of ritual identification, Mt 3:7, 21:25; Rom 6:4. 8. The Greek noun BAPTISMOS means cleaning, washing dishes; in Heb 6:2 it means "baptisms." 9. The Greek word BAPTISES refers to one who performs the ritual of baptism, Mt 3:1, 6:25, 11:11. B. There are two categories of identification in Scripture: 1. An actual identification is called a real baptism. 2. A representative identification is called a ritual baptism. It uses water. C. There are four real baptisms in the Bible, meaning there is an actual identification with something that has significance. 1. 1 Cor 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. Water was not involved here. Only Egyptian unbelievers were immersed in the water as a means of death. Identification with the mandates of true leadership is the concept here. Moses was identified with the cloud or Jesus Christ, and the people were identified with Moses. 2. The baptism of the Cross is found in Mt 20:22; Mk 10:38-39; Lk 12:50. This baptism is our Lord Jesus Christ being identified with our sins. This refers to the judicial imputation of personal sins to Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ was identified with our personal sins and judged for them, so that Christ became our Savior. As sinners, none of those to whom Christ spoke were qualified to be baptized with sin on the cross. 3. The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only, 1 Cor 12:13, "For by means of one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." a. This baptism is God the Holy Spirit identifying us with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. It is the means of forming the royal family and of breaking the back of the old sin nature as the ruler of human life. We are positionally changed. No water is involved in this baptism. We are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, Eph 4:5; Acts 1:5. The Holy Spirit enters us into union with Christ at the right hand of the Father, making us positionally higher than angels. b. Rom 6:3-5, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death [positional sanctification]? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into [His] death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life [experiential sanctification]. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, and not only this we shall also be [united with Him] in the likeness of His resurrection [ultimate sanctification]." c. Gal 3:26-28. d. The Greek prepositional phrase EN plus the locative of place of CHRISTOS meaning "in Christ" and the prepositional phrase EIS plus the accusative of CHRISTOS meaning "into Christ" both indicate positional sanctification. e. Characteristics of the baptism of the Spirit. (1) The baptism of the Spirit is not an experience. (2) The baptism of the Spirit is not emotional activity or ecstatics. (3) It is not speaking in tongues. (4) It is not related to human feeling. (5) It is not progressive, therefore, it cannot be improved. (6) It is not related to human merit or works. (7) It is obtained en toto at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ alone. (8) The baptism of the Spirit is eternal in nature and cannot be cancelled. (9) The baptism of the Spirit is known through perception of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age. Therefore, it cannot be applied in a state of ignorance. No one can sin in the sphere of positional truth. (10) The baptism of the Spirit is not a matter of the believer's volition. 4. The baptism of fire is the real identification of unbelieving Jews and Gentiles at the end of the Tribulation with fire in Hades, taught in Mt 3:11, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Lk 3:16; Rev 19:11. The unbeliever is identified with fire forever. The Tribulational unbeliever is identified with the defeat of Satan. All unbelievers are removed from the earth for the start of the Millennium. D. There are three ritual baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine. Water represents something else in a ritual baptism. The person going into the water must have knowledge of the meaning of the ritual. 1. The baptism of John is found in Mt 3:1-10; Jn 1:25-33. John lived in the ritual age of Israel. The water represented the kingdom of God. a. There had to be a ceremony never used before to identify a person with the kingdom of God because the King was present. The water represented the kingdom of God as John was preaching it. Putting a person in the water showed that he was identified with Messiah and that kingdom. It was an encouragement and means of relating doctrine to the fact the kingdom was being offered during the first Advent. The kingdom was postponed, but this did not change the significance of John's baptism. b. There was no spiritual advance in this baptism; only doctrine advances the believer. c. This baptism was never practiced after John's death. John and his ministry and his baptism were unique. d. In the water the person testified to his belief that the Messiah would go to the cross to die for his sins, recognizing that because he accepted Christ as Savior before He died and accepted Him as King, he was saved and identified in the Jewish kingdom forever. 2. The baptism of Jesus Christ was unique. John recognized Jesus Christ's impeccability and refused to baptize Him. Jesus told him the water represented something new, i.e., the Father's plan and will for the dispensation of the hypostatic union--to begin His public ministry and to go to the cross and receive the personal sins of mankind and be judged. So at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Christ identified Himself with the Father's will. a. In the water, Jesus was saying He would fulfill God's plan and live a perfect life under the greatest testing and then go to the Cross as a perfect person and receive the imputation of all personal sins, Mt 3:13-17. b. As He came out of the water, Jesus recognized that when He completed the plan of the Father by being judged for our sins and then dying physically, He would be resurrected, followed by His ascension and session. Coming up out of the water was a picture of His resurrection. 3. Christian water baptism is the ritual testimony of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There had to be a testimony before the Canon was written to explain the baptism of the Spirit. From the beginning of the Church Age until the completion of the Canon, this baptism was necessary to teach the principle of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation. But once the Canon was completed this ritual was no longer necessary, since the explanation for the baptism of the Spirit is now in writing. a. The purpose of Jesus Christ on the cross, His resurrection, ascension and session, and the beginning of a new Church Age had to be portrayed with ritual until the Canon was completed. b. Water baptism was used as a training aid for new, weak believers, just as certain temporary spiritual gifts were used to teach until the Canon was completed. c. In the water, the believer recognized that he was identified with Jesus Christ in His spiritual death, physical death, and burial, i.e., retroactive positional truth. Identification with His spiritual death meant rejection of good and evil. Identification with His physical death and burial meant separation from good and evil. d. Coming out of the water was recognition of being identified with Christ as He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, i.e., current positional truth. e. Paul tells the Corinthians he stopped using water baptism because it was a means of dividing believers, Acts 2:38, 8:36-38, 16:15,33; 1 Cor 1:11-17. So before Romans 6:3-4 and 1 Cor 12 were written to explain the baptism of the Spirit and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, water baptism was used to represent what had happened at salvation to those who did not yet have the completed Canon. 

These statements reflects total ignorance and twisting of scriptures. What part of doing WHAT GOD SAID you don't understand! People with little Bible knowledge is dangerous to the Christian Faith! Ask King Saul does God mean exactly what he says: I Samuel 15:18-22. Every person who became a Christian post ressurrection was baptised into Christ' death. It is true the Greek word rendered means 'immerse, dip or plunge' Get a concordance or use the internet and run the reference of New Testament conversions and every believer had faith, repented of sins, confess their faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and was baptised to wash away their sins. Then, God gave them His Holy Spirit to dwell in them. Romans 6:1-11; is before Romans 10:9,10 and was written to those who had obeyed the Gospel! It is ignorant to think we can be saved from sins without regeneration and renewal. Matthew 28:18-20 the King of His Kingdom said, teach and baptise them! Angels obey God at His word, if we Gentiles will be saved, we must obey His word exactly as He said it. Revelations 20:15-20. Baptism is the obedience into the death buriel and resurrection of Jesus, it is from baptism we are Raised Up to walk in newness of life, we become priests of God, we are added to his Church of Christ/Kingdom, we are given the gift of His indwelling Spirit and our names are written in the Book of Life. There is no faith only, grace only sinners prayer, outward sign of inward graces, Holy Spirit conversion except through what Jesus said; 'ye must be born again of water and of the Spirit; John 3:5-8; Hebrew 12:22; Revelations 1:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16! Baptism is the obedience to God's word and it is this obedience that will save us, He Loves Us All, He will not Save Us All, Unless we Obey Him! Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 15:13-14. Obedience to God demands sacrifice and righteous living based on what He Said. He will not ask us what others said, but did we do what He said in His word! Peter and Paul both taught baptism in Christ death not for weak believers, but for all believers to get into Christ! Paul never taught against what he himself (as a relgious believer of God) was told to do; "Arise and be baptise and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord"!!!! You can't have your sins remitted any other way, you can't crucify the old man of sin any other way, you cannot be 'born again' any other way, the blood of Christ was shed in his death and we become buried with him in Baptism. Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:4. The Spirit of God places us in the one Body, the Church of Christ through obedience of Baptism! Satan and His Angels wanted things done on their terms and we read what God did to them, Remember Gentiles, we were grafted into His Grace through Jesus death and He (Jesus) said we must do what He has said! This is right, this is safe and this is True! Anything else is ignorant and the Blind leading the Blind! Ty Allen tyjallen@msn.com

Matthew 28:19: Jesus said, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit." Mark 16:15-16: He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Acts 2:38 Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. The Catholic Church believes that Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have heard the Gospel and have had the opportunity of asking for Baptism. Therefore • Those who die for the sake of the faith without being Baptized are baptized by thier death for Christ. This is called Baptism of blood. • Those who die while preparing for Baptism are assured salvation. This is Baptism of desire. • Those who die never hearing of Christ but have sought the truth and does the will of God as they understand it can be saved. See Romans 2:13-16. This is also Baptism of desire. • Children who have died without Baptism are entrusted to the mercy of God. For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1257-1261: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2.htm#art1 With love in Christ.

Not the usual one, though as imacatholic2 said, the only one that matters is baptism in the blood of Jesus', though that is not literal, nor should is anyone advocating an actual blood bath. Also, transubstantiation is BUNK!