Here's a test for you:
Do you mean the ordinance of baptism performed by the "church" that includes the use of water?
If you are speaking of the specific act of a water baptism performed by the "church", then is it THAT act, that ordinance, that you claim "saves"?
Consequentially, if a person is baptized in water by the "church", is that person "saved"?
What place does personal faith have in this act?
Finally, is it the act itself of baptism or the faith of the person being baptized that saves that person?
And, lastly, in anticipation of your answer to the last question, if both faith AND the act of baptism are necessary to "save" a person, then what happens if that person dies after his profession of faith and before his participation in the act of baptism? Is he STILL saved?
And I add, what happens to babies who die without baptism?
ok, i’m ready for my test:
baptism is the sacrament where one receives the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and is placed in Christ.
i don’t know what an “ordinance” is and i am not sure why you have “church” in quotation marks. The Church received AUTHORITY from Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations by TEACHING and BAPTIZING. Baptism does involve water.
i don’t claim baptism saves, the Holy Spirit tells us it does in 1 Peter 3:21. We either believe the Scriptures or we don’t.
if a person is baptized they are in Christ, therefore if they died they are saved. the Scriptures are clear that one can be in Christ and thru sin, lose their salvation. The Church has never taught “once saved, always saved” in 2,000 years. that is another 16th century invention.
faith is required for baptism as we see in Acts 8. if an adult is seeking baptism, they must express faith in Jesus Christ before baptism, if it a baby or child being baptized, the parents must express faith before the baptism.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and life, He is our salvation. We must be in Christ to be saved, outside of Christ there is no salvation. The Scriptures are clear, the only way into Christ is thru baptism. It is how we put on Christ and how our sins are forgiven. Faith is wonderful, good works are wonderful, but we are saved by grace.
The Scriptures are clear baptism is by the Holy Spirit, using the Church as the means of grace. If someone hears the Gospel, believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became man to die for our sins and reconcile us to the Father and wishes to have their sins forgiven in baptism, this can only happen if the Holy Spirit draws that person. If the Holy Spirit starts a good work in you, He is faithful to complete, therefore the Church teaches such a person is saved. This is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than someone who rejects baptismal regeneration and wishes to be in Christ without being BAPTIZED into Christ. The former is Biblical and historical Christianity, the latter is a false 16th century doctrine invented by the devil to attack the Church and the unity of the Body of Christ.
The Scriptures don’t answer your baby question, so i hesitate to speculate.
i think i answered all your questions, so could you answer mine:
why did Jesus COMMAND baptism?
where does the Bible say baptism is symbolic?
where does the Bible say baptism is a first act of obedience?
where does the Bible say baptism is an outward sign of what has happened inwardly already?
why do Baptists teach there are two baptisms ( Spirit and water ), when Paul tells us in Ephesians there is only ONE baptism?
finally, how can you believe NO ONE understood baptism from 95ad til the 16th century, where was the Holy Spirit for these 1,500 years?