Not a single one of these scriptures mentions Grace or has anything to do with Grace...
Baptize does not mean water...Baptize does not mean wash...Baptize means baptize...And like you said, it means immerse...
The Didache, written between 80-100 AD, states the following with respect to Baptism: “Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water [that is, in running water, as in a river]. If there is no living water, baptize in other water;
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
How can your church get it so wrong??? And how can someone who reads scripture get it so wrong...THE LIVING WATER IS JESUS CHRIST, NOT running water...
St. Ignatius of Antioch writes: “Let none of you turn deserter. Let your baptism be your armor; your faith, your helmet; your love, your spear; your patient endurance, your panoply” (Letter to Polycarp 6 [A.D. 110]).
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Sounds like Ignatius was trying to remember some scripture but he got it a little mixed up...
Then they are led by us to a place where there is water, and they are reborn in the same kind of rebirth in which we ourselves were reborn: ‘In the name of God, the Lord and Father of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit,’ they receive the washing of water. For Christ said, ‘Unless you be reborn, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven’” (First Apology 61:14–17 [A.D. 151]).
The washing of water??? With Ivory soap???
Where did Justin get this idea...Certainly not from Scripture...Maybe the washing of regeneration (and there's no water there either)...
The Lord was baptized, not to be cleansed himself but to cleanse the waters, so that those waters, cleansed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin, might have the power of baptism. Whoever comes, therefore, to the washing of Christ lays aside his sins” (Commentary on Luke 2:83 [A.D. 389]).
I hunted and hunted for Luke 2:83 but alas, I couldn't find it...I don't quite remember Jesus sterilizing any water for baptism either...This must be where you guys get the Holy Water...
First, you still have not disclosed what Church you belong too, it is hard to engage in any charitable and civil and honest discussion without knowing the theological perspective one is posting with.
The comment from St. Ambrose is [2, 83] refers to the 2nd book, paragraph 83, the notation used by Fr. William A Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, Volume 2. It does not refer to Luke 2:83, as there was not Luke 2:83 in St. Ambrose’s time, nor now.
And again, none of the CHurch Fathers interpreted any of the passages you cite, not your personal theology regarding Baptism, in the way that you do. Sorry, but it is what it is.
Good day