Perhaps I’ll listen to Phil when he stops preaching the false gospel of baptismal regeneration that the Church of Christ/Campbellites are so fond of. It is the Blood of Jesus Christ that saved, not the water of a baptistry.
It has not been argued that “water saves” so that is a straw man argument. It is the -act of obedience- in submitting to water baptism as commanded by Christ that saves, it’s not the water that saves. It was the -act of obedience- in dipping 7 times in the Jordan River that God cleansed Naaman, it was NOT the water that cleansed Naaman.
—Rev 1:5 it is the blood of Christ that washes away sins.
—John 19:34 Christ shed His blood in His death.
—Rom 6:3-4 water baptism is the means as to how one gets into the death of Christ where He shed His blood whereby that blood washes away sin.
Faith only cannot get one into the death of Christ. Denying water baptism is not accepting the gospel of Christ. Acts 2:41-—those who gladly received the gospel were the ones baptized. Those who rejected the gospel were the ones who rejected Peter’s command to be baptized. Therefore logically, being baptized is accepting the gospel.
How do you get paid for your work? Is it remuneration in justice for the work that you have done, or is it because you cash a paycheck?
The first is a meritorious cause; the second is an instrumental cause. There is no opposition between them.
The merits of the Cross of Christ are the meritorious cause of our justification, while the waters of baptism are the instrumental cause. Once again, they are not opposed to each other.
Perhaps I'll one day accept a religion when all the finger pointing, inter faith criticisms, church scandals and all the other negative crap your churches and their leaders are being accused and convicted of comes to an end.........
Till then, I'll just accept the fact that there is a God and all the religions around the world, including yours, are just the product of civilizations trying to put meaning to the unexplainable........