[Cvengr]

Yes, I have manifest my faith by baptism performed with water by a pastor through faith in Him. (We used a hot tub/jacuzzi and I won;t go into all the side jokes about, gee, we didn;t have the heater/bublers on, etc.)

The more important baptism is of the Holy Spirit.

[adiaireton8]

My point was that someone else baptized us. We do not baptize ourselves. Nor do we give ourselves the Eucharist. And likewise, someone else preaches to us. Someone else gives us a Bible, or tells us about the Bible. So many of the things we know about God we learn through other believers. Other people pray and intercede for us, maybe even rebuke us at times. Look at all the ways in which fellow believers are actively involved in the working out of our salvation. The individualistic notion of 'me and Jesus' is not true to the Christianity found in the Bible and throughout Church history. The Church plays a very important role in our salvation.

-A8