**water baptism saves no one**
Without the name of Jesus invoked, it is of little good.
The command in Acts 2:38 is not important then, in your opinion.
“..days of Noah,...eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ...” 1Peter 3:20,21
Why a good conscience....because of obeying “from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered” to us. “Being THEN made free from sin..” (Rom. 6:17,18) A few verses earlier Paul reminded the saints at Rome of their conversion; “how that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death”. (If you could have been literally buried with Jesus Christ, you would most likely have been stained with some of his blood.)
Paul’s own conversion shows a man brought low by God himself; how he was even spoken to by the Lord, and given INSTRUCTIONS to follow. Paul was well aware of who Jesus was, short of realizing until that point, that he was indeed the Christ. At that blinding appearance, Paul was told that he would be “a witness.....of those things..”.
Yet, even after that, and meeting Ananias, and hearing his testamony as well, Paul was still in his sins, for Ananias commanded Paul: “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord”. Acts 22:16
Some food for thought:
The weak things confound the the things that are mighty. And devout tradition can be ignorantly flawed tradition. Young King Josiah was completely immersed into following God’s will, doing all that the priests and scribes advised him to do, as well as what God had put on his heart. Josiah’s earnest devotion led to getting all spiritual things back to as original condition as possible, including the temple of the Lord. This great desire led to finding the ‘lost’ book of the law, and for it to be read. It was shocking to him, causing him to rend his clothes and declare that the they were in big trouble for not keeping the word of the Lord.
In Acts 19, Paul encountered some devoted men in Ephesus, and asked them “Have ye received the Holy Ghost SINCE YE BELIEVED?” Since they had not heard of the Holy Ghost, Paul asked them of their baptism, and found that they had been baptized unto repentance after John’s baptism. Paul reminded them of John’s message to “believe on him which should come after him, that is on Jesus Christ”. This leads to the possibility that these men had heard of Jesus, but were evidently not baptized in his name, since Paul promptly baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus.
This is just a start. I have much more, but must break off for tonight.
What about the thief on the cross who went to Pardise with Jesus? He was never baptized in water. What about the person who truly accepts Christ minutes, or hours before death and has no access to water or time to be baptized in water? I have been baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Completely immersed in water! I did that as an act of obedience. I baptize many in water, complete immersion in the name of the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit. My salvation rests securely in Jesus Chriat and in Jesus Christ alone. Water baptism is SYMBOLIC! It symbolizes that I died, was buried, and arose with Christ. I was saved before I was baptized. If I had not been saved first by receiving Christ as my Lord & Savior, I would not have been obedient to baptism. Have you been baptized in the name of Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Do you not believe Matthhew 28:19? When I was baptized in the name of the Father, SON, and Holy Spirit; I was baptized in the name of Jesus. I was saved before I was ever baptized in water! There is nothing anymore magical about water than there is with the juice and bread used for communion. They are strictly symbolic of a spiritual reality. If you don’t believe this, you have been duped, deceived, and misled by the apostolic or oneness movement. You are not following “the faith once delivered to the saints.” Jesus Chriat miraculously changed my life. He did for me what no man could ever do in delivering me from a lifestyle of total destruction. I’ve been preaching this gospel for 30 years now, spent 30 years studying the word of God, 30 years on my knees, and 30 years following Jesus Christ. “I know in whom I have believed.”