It is Christ's blood that affords us forgiveness of sins. Not baptism.
Your admonitions hit straight into my heart.
I was raised as an Episcopalian, which theology is akin to the Roman cult without the pope. I learned the Nicene Creed as a child and it became but truth in my mind. When I posted that earlier, I had just cut and pasted it.
But, we are certainly not saved by baptism. We get baptized as adults as a sign to nonbelievers. I was sprinkled by the Bishop has a baby, and my parents made promises in the church. But, though my father is now retired as an Episcopal priest (his third career), discounts much of the Scripture as merely being 'nice stories'.I was baptized in the ocean when I was 23 years old after it became clear to me that I was a sinner, and that Jesus died to pay the price for my sins.
Jesus Christ's life on earth is the centerpiece of history. Before he came on to the Earth, he always existed. When he was born of a woman in Bethlehem, and walked those few years about the land, he was visible. He could be touched, and knew even when someone touched the hem of his garment, just as he knows every heart. His death on the cross was not the end, nor the beginning for Jesus. But the resurrection from that death demonstrated God's love and promise to us. Before he died, he promised that whoever would believe in him would have eternal life.Following his ascension into heaven, he sent us his Holy Spirit promised as a sign to our soul.
So, thank you for your correction and admonition. I honestly had not thought completely about what I had posted without reading. I posted the Nicene Creed from my childhood. But today, I want to make it clear to everybody reading that my faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Jesus is not the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for life eternal, by faith That his work is complete and that our work is to believe. Nothing more. Amen!