Can you be baptized and not be saved?

Sincerely,
Water Worries

Dear Water Worries,

People are baptized all the time without being saved!  The word ‘baptism’ comes from the Greek word ‘baptizo’ which means ‘immersion’.  The word ‘baptism’ is the same word that Greeks used when a ship sank to the bottom of the ocean or when someone dove to the bottom of a swimming pool.  In the most technical sense, people are baptized when they take baths, go swimming, etc.  Taking a bath will baptize you, but it definitely won’t save you.

Baptism is only effective when it is done by faith (Col 2:12) and by the authority of Christ (Acts 2:38).  When we are immersed in water for the purpose of appealing to God for a clear conscience (1 Pet 3:21), then we are saved.  Baptism is only effective when combined with belief in Christ (Mk 16:16).

If my past sins are forgiven when I am baptized in water, and it is possible for me to "lose my salvation" and go to hell after being baptized, then wouldn't my best chance of going to heaven be to drown in the baptistry?!!  Before I had a chance to sin so as to be lost again?  If I wanted to be absolutely sure of heaven, isn't that my best opportunity?

Sincerely,
Lifetime Guarantee

Dear Lifetime Guarantee,

Using that logic, all children should be drowned at birth.  All children go to heaven (see “What About The Children?” for further details), so why not kill them before they have a chance to sin?  What a horrible way to live life!  If our goal is to die as soon as we receive salvation, then we have missed the point of being children of light (Eph 5:8).  Once God shows us His love by saving us, we are to spread that love to others (1 Jn 4:19).

Once we become christians, we have the chance to convert others (Matt 5:16), build up other christians, and support the weak (1 Thess 5:14).  When we are baptized, we are saved (1 Pet 3:21).  New christians are babes in Christ (1 Cor 3:1), and like all babies, their life is just beginning.  Baptism is just the beginning of our journey.

I have heard (I think) that when you ask God or Jesus to forgive your sins and if you really mean it from your heart, God will remember your sins no more.  The ‘sea of forgetfulness’ is what I think it is called.  If this is true, then will these sins come up on the Judgement Day, or will God not remember them anymore?

Sincerely,
Total Recall

Dear Total Recall,

When God forgives, He no longer holds those sins against you… they never get brought up again.  The verse you are referring to is Heb 8:12.  When we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us (1 Jn 1:9).  It isn’t that God has amnesia; it is that He no longer holds those sins against us.  He counts us as righteous because we are faithful (Rom 4:5).  Jesus says that those who are in Christ will not be judged (Jhn 3:18).

Is Hebrews 6:4-6 saying that if a person backslides (as I did for eighteen years), he cannot be forgiven and is doomed to hell?  I asked the Lord to forgive me six years ago and have been living the way His Word says to, but I’m unsure about this Scripture.  Please help if possible; I want the truth.

Sincerely,
Forward Slider

Dear Forward Slider,

Heb. 6:4-6 says that it is impossible for others to renew to repentance a brother who has fallen away.  It is always possible to come back to the Lord after falling away (1 Jn 1:9), but when someone has already been enlightened by the truth (Heb 6:4) and heard the word of God (Heb 6:4), there isn’t any teaching that can sway him from leading a wicked life.  If someone falls away from Christ, it means their heart has been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13), and it is up to that individual to soften their own heart and return to the Lord.  From your question, it is obvious that your heart has once again been pricked by the Scriptures, and you have made the decision to humbly return to the teachings of Christ.

(This post is a follow-up to “Bullycide”.)

Sorry, I disagree on a couple of points.  I've been in the line of fire, so I know from firsthand experience that some kids are sinners of the worst kind.  I believe some kids ARE aware of what they're doing, and if God let evil people like that into heaven, it wouldn't be heaven anymore.  Kids who drive other kids to their grave are guilty of MURDER in the sight of God.  You can't let the wicked off the hook.  Jesus put no age limit on repentance.  He said, unless you repent, you shall ALL likewise perish (Luke 13:3-5).  Paul says in I Cor.7:14: Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy.  Merely being a child doesn't bring holiness.  There are clean children and unholy children.

The prophet Elisha was teased (apparently, only verbally) by a gang of youths for being bald in 2 Kings 2:23-24.  Elisha pronounced judgment on those kids.  He didn't absolve them of blame just because they were young.  NO WHERE in scripture does God say you're automatically innocent if you're below the age of 18, 13, or whatever.  What's missing in modern pulpits is good, old-fashioned, fire-and-brimstone preaching.  God's love is so overemphasized to unrepentant sinners that they never suspect there might be a fiery hell awaiting them on the Day of Judgment and God's righteous wrath against sin.

Sincerely,
Done Being Bullied

Dear Done Being Bullied,

We appreciate your points and think there might be some miscommunication.  There is an age where a child reaches young adulthood - often known as the "teens", and children do begin to be responsible before God for their choices.  There is a point where a child ceases to be simply a product of their environment and transitions into being a culpable adult who has chosen a path of righteousness or wickedness.

However, children are not born in sin as you seem to be stating.  1 Cor. 7:14 is being used out of context.  In 1 Cor. 7:14, the children are 'holy' because they are purified by their believing parent's influence.  Otherwise, 1 Cor. 7 would be literally saying that a child is bound for hell or bound for heaven based off of whether or not their parents are christians.  Jesus died to save the whole world (Jhn 3:16), and every human has an opportunity to obey Him.

2 Kgs 2:23-24 is dealing with teenagers (or young adults), not small children.  Yes, many of today's youth exhibit the same hateful and rebellious attitudes that are shown by that gang of young adults that Elisha interacted with.  Children that rebel against parents and show a lack of respect for authority are clearly condemned in the Scriptures (Col 3:20, Deu 21:18-21).

We couldn't agree more that there is a need for preaching on hell and the judgment to come (if you read the answers to many of our questions, we think you will see that we don't shirk our responsibility to that topic).  Once we reach the age where we are old enough to make decisions and repent of those decisions on our own – we must prepare ourselves, so that we won't perish (Lk 13:3-5).  Children eventually become adults, and as adults, we must be prepared to meet our God.