All right, Jeremiah.

Um, I am glad you've been thinking about our conversation. I'm glad; I was hoping you would.

All right, so I wanted to share some thoughts based on what I see in Scripture. Great, I'm open.

I believe salvation is secure by placing faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by the purpose of baptism. I've got a note on that.

Man is saved by hope, grace, faith, mercy, words, the word, the truth, obedience. There are a lot of things that we're saved by, and nothing alone can save us. Nothing alone.

All right, so placing faith—if you will read Hebrews 11—you will see that faith is always belief to the point of obedience. It's never mental ascent; it's never just belief alone.

So the faith of all these people, like Abraham and Isaac, I mean Abraham and Noah, it's always believed to the point of obedience, including the Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace ye are saved through faith." The Ephesians were saved by grace through faith; it wasn't from themselves. They were not the source of this grace; they weren't the source of the salvation. Works aren't the source of the salvation. Instead, they had to go through their faith to get to grace.

That's recorded for us in Acts chapter 19. This is the account of their faith. It happened while Apollos was at Corinth that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.

So the book of Ephesians is written to these people, and this is the account of their faith when they became the church at Ephesus. Finding some disciples, he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

Now, he called their baptism into John's baptism their belief. That's not the only time in Scripture that baptism is called belief.

So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said unto them, "Unto what were you baptized?"

So he called their baptism unto John's baptism their belief. So they said, "Into John's baptism."

Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

When they heard this, the Ephesians, saved by grace through faith, were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

So that's what their faith looked like. They did not believe alone. That's the actual account of them being saved by grace through faith. They did what Jesus said they must do to be saved; they didn't believe alone.

So they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus is for the remission of sins.

Then Peter said to them, "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."

Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Comparing it, it is for the remission of sins in KJV, forgiveness in the ESV, and the NASB, and the CSB, and the LSB. It's remission in the Young's Literal and also in the ASV. It means forgiveness.

The reason we are baptized is because Jesus authorized it for forgiveness. Now, the reason it works is because, number one, God says it does; He commands it. But it works because of the blood.

So Matthew 26:28 also says the exact same phrase there; it's the same in the Greek both places, 26:28. "This is my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Baptism is for the remission of sins; the blood is for the remission of sins. Both are true. So we get the remission of sins through the blood when we are baptized. That's it.

All right, so baptism, as I understand it, is an act of obedience. Yes, it is an act of obedience because Jesus commanded it there in Acts 2:38. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."

Right, so it's a command. It is an act of obedience to that command. And this is who God is going to save: Hebrews 5:9. "And being perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them who obey Him."

For those who do not obey, John 3:36. Now, this translation does not get this accurate to the Greek, but this one does. I think the only ones that don't get it correct are the KJV and the NKJV; the rest of these get it correct.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son"—apathē is the Greek word for obey in the NASB—"reject" in the CSB. That's actually pretty potent.

So the ones that don't obey, they reject God. God contrasts belief and disobedience. Those who do not obey are not believers. Those who do not obey are not believers.

God saves the obedient, and the disobedient remain damned. The wrath of God abides on him. If you don't obey, the wrath of God abides on you.

All right, back to it. You said it's an act of obedience and a public declaration of faith. So people made that up last century; it can't be supported by Scripture.

I'm going to give you the actual public declaration of faith. We're going to see two instances of it: Romans 10:10. "With the heart one believes unto righteousness; with the mouth confession is made."

That's a terrible translation on that one, and I mean based off the Greek. For the heart one believes unto righteousness; with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. That's the actual public profession of faith; it is unto salvation.

Here's an account of that happening: "What hinders me from being baptized?" That's what the Ethiopian said when Philip preached Jesus. Philip preached Jesus, Acts 8:35.

"Here's water; what hinders me from being baptized?" Acts 8:36. "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "This is it; this is the actual public profession of faith: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

That's an actual public profession of faith. All right, so people made up that baptism is that; it's not. They did that last century. That belief is brand new, and it's not by the authority of Scripture; it's not by the authority of Jesus.

You said it's not the mechanics of salvation. I believe, based on what I've experienced, that you have probably Googled for this. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, yeah, that's what you've done.

You've just gone off and Googled for somebody. I—you don't want to see this, but I have to share it with you.

So what you learned today—I'm going to pause right here. I'm going to say this: what happened was you learned today in this broadcast that it is essential to salvation. It scared you, and so what you did was you went off and Googled for somebody to agree with what you've already been taught.

It's against the Bible that you learned today, okay? There's no gentle way to put that. What you learned today is that baptism is essential to salvation. It is.

And you can Google for people all you want. This is not fun for you; I'm not trying to hurt your feelings when I do this for you. This is for you; this is for your benefit.

This is not intended to hurt you. You need to stop Googling for spiritual questions and start being. So I made this for people who do this. This is not good for you.

This is actually harmful to you. It's harmful for you to learn the truth in the Bible and be like, "Whoa, does that mean what it says?" It does.

And then for you to be like, "That can't be true; I'm going to see if I can find out how it's not true." You can Google for any kind of false doctrine you want and find people to agree with you.

The Bible that you understood to be true today—that's why it's got your attention; that's why you've dug in. It is true. God designed your brain and the Bible to work together, and you did understand that. We both know you did. God knows you did.

All right, let me get back to what you're saying. I'm doing this because I love you.

All right, so it is not a public profession of faith; it is the mechanism of salvation. All right, so now we've got the house of Cornelius. Excuse me; now you've got the "Christ sent me not to baptize" excuse.

We're just going to do this. So those people that you've Googled for, they have the house of Cornelius saved without faith. I'm going to prove that now.

Acts 11:14: "You're going to hear words whereby you and your household will be saved." Then, as I began to speak, Acts 11:15, "The Holy Ghost fell upon them." They had not heard words whereby they would be saved; therefore, they were not saved.

They were not saved when the Holy Ghost fell upon them. So his whole argument is that they were saved. We know they were saved because they had the Holy Ghost. No, they weren't.

God tells us in Acts 15. You're going to have to search the Bible now. I'm not going one at a time; I'm just going to talk to you.

Acts 15:8-9 is where God tells you why the Holy Ghost fell upon them. It was never for salvation. The Holy Ghost didn't die for us; Jesus did.

Holy Ghost baptism was never for salvation. The Holy Spirit fell upon the house of Cornelius to prove to the Jews that the Gentiles were now accepted, and God spells that out in Acts 15:8-9.

You're going to have to look these things up now. Those words whereby you would be saved, Acts 11:15, concluded with this command: "Can any man forbid water that these shouldn't be baptized just like we received the Holy Spirit?"

Then he commanded them to be baptized. That's the same command he gave the Jews starting in Acts 2:38.

Now, the whole purpose of Acts 10 and 11 is to show that there's only one way. God doesn't make it one way for the Jews and one way for the Gentiles. That's the entire purpose of Acts 10 and 11—to prove to the Jews that the Gentiles get the same offer.

So that's spelled out even more explicitly in Acts 10:34. God shows no favoritism. He commanded the Jews to be baptized for the remission of sins; He commanded the Gentiles to be baptized in water.

Acts 10:47-48: "Can any man forbid water?" He commanded them to be baptized.

So no, the next one he gave was 1 Corinthians 1:17. I'm prepared for all of these, okay? Why? Because I love you, and I want you to be saved. That's why I'm doing this.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. 2 Corinthians 5:11—that says why I do what I do.

People have taught you that you can be saved without doing what Jesus said for salvation. Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." Mark 16:16. He said that; he's right; he's Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:17: "Christ sent me not to baptize." Oh, so they'll say, "Oh, does that mean he was glad he didn't?" They weren't saved.

So the context clears it up. 1 Corinthians 1:10 clears it up in the whole context from 10 to 17.

Now I beseech you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you. That's the whole problem here; that's what he's addressing.

But that you all be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment. Dropping down to verse 13: "Some of you are saying, 'I'm of Paul.' I'm being a Paul kind of Christian. Look, I'm an apostle Paul kind of Christian. What kind of Christian are you? Oh, I'm of Paul."

That was the problem. "I'm of Paul; I'm of Apollos; I'm of Cephas; or I'm of Christ."

Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? That's what he said.

He said, "I baptized Crispus and Gaius, the house of Stephanus. I'm not sure more if I baptized more." We are because he remembered he baptized those Ephesians in Acts 19, and he baptized them for the washing of sins because that's what he was baptized for.

Acts 22:16: "What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, washing away your sins." That's just like Acts 2:38—remission of sins, forgiveness of sins.

Paul was baptized for the same reason. Acts 22:15: "What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, washing away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

I need to be recording Job. I'm recording the Book of Job; it's one of the things I'm doing.

Continuing on, because I love you, this is not intended to hurt your feelings.

Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach. So he clears it up in the context. So that's 1 Corinthians 1:17.

That they submitted—the people you Googled for—I baptized Crispus, Gaius, the house of Stephanus. I'm not sure more, and I'm glad I didn't baptize more.

This is the whole reason right here. It is; it's religious division. Lest any should say that they had been baptized in mine own name.

That's what he said. That's when he said, "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach." Paul was sent to preach baptism for the washing of sins.

His job was preaching, not baptizing. Preaching. And when he preached, he preached baptism for the washing of sins.

We know because Jesus told him it's a must-do. Acts 9:6: Saul saw Jesus as a blinding light on the road to Damascus. He fell on his face and said, "Lord, what will you have me to do?"

Go to town to find out what you must do. He gets to town after praying and fasting for three days. He finds Ananias, who was sent to teach him.

Paul recounts this in Acts 22, verse 15: "Be a witness." He was told he was going to have to be a witness of everything he was learning.

And what he learned is the must-do according to Jesus and what he would have to be a witness of. "What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, washing away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

This is just you and I. This video is just you and I; that's it.

So Paul was baptized for the washing of sins. So the 1 Corinthians 1:17 abuse has now been taken care of. I took care of the abuse of Ephesians 2:8-9. Those people were baptized; they did not believe alone.

We're going to take care of the abuse of every other Scripture that these false teachers have taught.

All right, what else we got? So baptism—so they say it underscores that baptism, while important, is not the means of salvation.

God, however, says it's salvation important. "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." They said the exact opposite of Scripture.

They say while it's important, they don't believe that it's as important as God says it is. God says eight souls were saved by water, and just like that, baptism now saves you.

1 Peter 3:20 and 21. It doesn't wash dirt off the flesh; instead, it is an appeal for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

An appeal—calling on the name of the Lord. Baptism is how you call on the name of the Lord.

"What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, washing away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." It is an appeal for a clear conscience, and it saves you.

God doesn't need people to say to explain how he doesn't mean what he said. He said baptism now saves you. God is right.

All right, see what else we got.

All right, when I was baptized in the Baptist Church, it was as a public profession of faith, which cannot be supported by Scripture.

So that Romans 6:3 and 4 does not say that. What Romans 6:3 and 4 says is that only the baptized people are in Christ.

It says we are with him through baptism, and that they had obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine delivered to them. Romans 6:17.

I want you to note three important words in that: Romans 6:3 and 4. "Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism and raised."

That's the death, burial, and resurrection. I'm going to do it again. "Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism and raised to walk in newness of life."

That's the death, burial, and resurrection. Verse 17: "God be thanked, you were the servants of sin, but you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine."

They obeyed the death, burial, and resurrection. That's the gospel. They obeyed the gospel.

The same writer, Paul, said in 2 Thessalonians 1:8, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on those that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

It goes on to say they will be separated from God eternally in verse 9. That's the end result for those people who do not obey the gospel, which is being baptized, which is calling on the name of the Lord, which is an appeal for a clear conscience.

Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21. Now those people in Acts—in Romans 6 were there during the first gospel sermon, Acts chapter 2, that we've already talked about.

Being baptized, "Repent, be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Verse 10 shows us that the Romans were there.

That letter, Romans chapter 6, that letter to the church at Rome in chapter 6 is written to people who were there, and they gladly received his word by being baptized.

They obeyed the command to repent and be baptized. They obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine delivered to them. That's Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:17 in the context of Romans 6:3 and 4 that we're talking about.

Okay, so it's not a profession of faith. Instead, confession with the mouth is a profession of faith. It does not symbolize your identification with Christ; it's how you're with Jesus.

So you said, however, salvation, however, was already secured through my faith in him. So those who are not baptized for the reason Jesus said salvation do not have faith in Jesus.

So Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." Number three: people who taught you—the Baptists taught you—"He that believes will be saved and then baptized."

They have reversed the words of Jesus. That's not how to be saved according to Jesus. You have to reverse the words of Jesus to even say what you just said there.

Okay, that's unbelief. All right, faith is the foundation of salvation, and those who do not do what Jesus said do not have faith.

Baptism reflects that faith. Baptism is the evidence of that faith. Colossians 2:10-13 says that baptism is your faith in the powerful work of God, where he cuts the sin off of your heart.

And just like that, Romans 6, it says you are with him in baptism. You're with Jesus when you're baptized. It is your faith.

And when you do that in faith, God cuts the sin off of your heart. And just like that, Acts 2:38 for the forgiveness of sins. Just like that, Acts 22:16, the washing of sins.

Colossians 2:10-13, the forgiveness of transgressions. You're going to have to look up all these Scriptures now.

All right, as Romans 10:9 and 10 states to baptized believers, it states that to baptized believers, the context, verse 1: "Brethren," he calls them saved people. They are saved people.

Romans 10:9 and 10 does not teach people how to be saved; it's written to the saved. The purpose is stated in the first verse of the chapter. You have to read this.

"Brethren, my heart's desire is that the rest of Israel will be saved." Don't believe me; please don't believe me. Please open your Bible and test me.

1 John 4:1: God commands you to test me. See, I'm not asking you to believe me; I'm quoting God telling you you have to test me.

And the people who taught you, you have to compare what they say to the Bible. Romans 10 is written to baptized believers.

Romans 6 that you just cited shows that they were baptized. Acts 2 shows that they were baptized for forgiveness, not as just a symbol like they taught you.

Not somebody was saved and then baptized. That's Baptist doctrine sourced from the Baptist manual. Yes, there is a Baptist manual; yes, that's where they got what they teach you.

No, it's not found in Scripture; it's just not. Romans 10:1: "Brethren, my heart's desire is that the rest of Israel will be saved."

You've got to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth. Romans 10:9, because Romans 10:10, those things are unto righteousness and salvation. They lead to those things.

So his purpose is so the church at Rome would help the rest of Israel to be saved. He states so in Romans 1 and Romans 10:1.

Sorry, Romans—continuing. Romans 10:13: "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Romans 10:16: "But they haven't all obeyed the gospel." Romans 10:13 is not the first time they heard "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

They heard it back in Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2:10: "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." That was the second time they heard it in context.

He wants them to teach the rest of Israel to hear, believe, and call on the name of the Lord like they did. But they haven't all obeyed the gospel.

Romans 10:16: "But they haven't all obeyed the gospel." 2 Thessalonians 1:8 again, where we just were, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel."

Romans 6: They obeyed the gospel by being baptized. One more time, Romans 10:1: "Brethren, my heart's desire is that the rest of Israel will be saved."

Keep believing and confessing because those things are unto righteousness and salvation. "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Romans 10:13: "But they haven't all obeyed the gospel." Romans 10:16: "The Romans obeyed the gospel."

Back to that, Acts chapter 2. Romans were there. Acts 2:10: "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Acts 22:21: "You people killed Jesus." Acts 2:36: "What do we do?" Acts 2:37: "Repent and be baptized."

That question, "What do we do?" shows they didn't know how to call on the name of the Lord. So he told them in Acts 2:38: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins."

The Romans were part of the 3,000 that gladly received his word by being baptized. Acts 2:41: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and that day added unto them about 3,000 souls."

All right, let's get back to it.

All right, so you're confident in your salvation. I know, buddy; that's why you're the target audience. You said because you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior when you haven't done what Jesus said to do for salvation—be baptized to be saved—then you haven't placed your faith in Jesus.

You've placed your faith in Baptists who told you you could be saved by belief alone, and then you're going to be baptized as a symbol to show everybody else as a public profession of faith.

The Bible nowhere teaches that; it just doesn't. I say it with all urgent love: you cannot be saved the way the Baptists teach. You can only be saved the way Jesus says.

Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." All right, baptism was my step of obedience. It's one of the things we must obey—not that the act, not the act that saved me.

All right, you said it's not the act that saved me. I want you to compare what you just said: "It's not the act that saved me" with this.

The ESV happens to get this the best, so we're going to do the ESV on this because they formally—we're going to keep going.

We'll drop down: "Eight persons in the middle were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Baptism is the appeal; it saves you. God doesn't need people to explain how he doesn't mean what he says. He said it; he's right.

I know you're confident in your salvation; that's why you're my target audience. Let me just be super blunt, man.

Super blunt here: my target audience is people like you who believe God is God, wonderful, and Jesus is Jesus, and he's the only way, and his blood is the solution to your problems—your sin problems, my sin problem.

You believe that, but you don't believe the words that came out of the Savior's mouth. That's why you're my target audience.

I know you're confident in your salvation. What you are confident in is Baptist doctrine, and it cannot be supported by Scripture one after the other. I'm exposing it, Ephesians 5:11, by the authority of Scripture.

Okay, and I do this because I love you. I'm not trying to be weird about saying it over and over again. I seriously want you to be prepared for Judgment Day. This is why I live my life; this is my purpose.

All right, okay. Even if it were required, the reason for my baptism was out of obedience to God.

Um, you haven't been baptized because you weren't immersed for the remission of sins. You haven't been obedient to God until you are immersed for salvation. You haven't been obedient to God.

Um, I don't see how you could claim Scripture would disqualify my baptism and make it illegitimate. This is why you said it doesn't save you. God says it does.

If you went down in the water for the wrong reason, you haven't been baptized. What did God say is the purpose of baptism? Right here, not me, but God.

"Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." What is God's purpose for baptism? There, it's for the remission of sins.

What is God's purpose for baptism? When that was Peter talking, now Paul, what the purpose here—why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

That's appealing to God for a clear conscience, just like 1 Peter 3:20-21.

To compare my baptism to a baby in the Catholic faith is an unfair comparison. I appreciate your perspective.

So the reason it's not unfair is because, in exactly the same way, it's not baptism—that outward display of an inward change, an outward profession of faith.

People made that up; that's why what you did isn't baptism. A baby being sprinkled isn't baptism because it doesn't meet God's definition of baptism.

Being baptized thinking you were already saved isn't baptism because it doesn't meet God's definition of baptism. God says it's for salvation: Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:20-21.

God says it's for the forgiveness of sins: Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Colossians 2:10-13.

All right, next comment, and I'd like to build on what I said before. All right, as I mentioned earlier, salvation is secure by placing faith in Jesus Christ alone.

So it's not—it's by faith as God defines it, which is belief to the point of obedience. And baptism is an act of obedience. Yes, and he only saves the obedient.

And a public declaration of faith—it's not. People made that up; not the mechanism of salvation. It is, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved."

All that wrong. He said, like we're doing Ephesians 2:8-9. Those people were baptized; that's what their faith looked like. Acts 19:1-5.

Adding baptism as a requirement for salvation shifts the focus away from the sufficiency of God's grace and Christ's finished work on the cross.

Then why did you cite Romans 10:9 and 10? "With the heart one believes unto righteousness; with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Does it shift the focus away from God's grace when you say we've got to confess with our mouth? It's the same thing, man.

You correctly cited two of God's works that are required of us. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God—an actual outward profession. It's a work; people see it outward; it's a work, and it's unto salvation.

Does that shift the—yeah, so we didn't make up baptism, man; Jesus did. I didn't say, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved."

Let me read that again. Adding baptism as a requirement—take it up with Jesus. Jesus added it. Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."

I didn't add that; Jesus, having all authority, Matthew 28:18, did. I didn't make that up, man; Jesus did. You need to hear Jesus, not me.

I'm not asking you to believe me. All right, shifts the focus away from the sufficiency of God's grace.

God's grace isn't given to everyone. I mean, it's appeared to everyone, but most people don't access it. Most people don't access grace.

How do we know? Because most people are on the broad path that leads to hell, Matthew 7:13-14, not the narrow path that leads to life.

But grace has appeared unto all. Grace that brings salvation has appeared unto everyone, Titus 2:11, but most people are going to be lost.

What's the difference? You're going to have to go through your faith to get to it. Faith like the Ephesians had—baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, Acts 19:1-5.

Most people on the broad path to hell, Matthew 7:13-14. What's the difference? Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone that says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

All right, so the finished work of Christ on the cross is denominational code for "I don't have to do anything."

The Bible nowhere instructs people to be saved by the finished work of Christ on the cross. People made it up last—I want to say last century, but I don't know.

People—I want to think that's made up last century. Christ finished his work on the cross, and he told you what you must do to benefit from his work.

It's just Baptist lingo; it's not biblical. Nobody was ever saved by the finished work of Christ on the cross. People made it up.

All right, Cornelius—oh man, lost my spot. It's a lot too. Wow, it's a lot.

Well, you know what? I'm going to praise you, Jeremiah, for it being a lot because you're obviously digging in. Wow, I got a lot to deal with. I'm going to keep going.

All right, so Cornelius was baptized to be saved just like everybody else. It's not an outward expression of faith.

Mark 16:16 says, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." But I know where this is going before I get to it.

"He that believeth not shall be damned." This verse emphasizes belief is the foundation for salvation.

By what authority? Why, when Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved," what gives you authority or whoever you Googled for to say it places emphasis on the belief?

It does not. Jesus put both before salvation. There's zero information in there that would lead you to say, "Oh, the emphasis belongs on the belief."

That's textbook Isa Jesus, man. So Isa Jesus—ice, the Greek word into—that's inserting your presupposition is what it's called. Your preconceived notion—you approached the text.

I know belief alone saved, so, well, he said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." So, well, the belief's the important part there.

There's no authority to say that. Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved."

You know who I'm going to give you three examples of unbelievers now? Here's one: "Jesus never existed." That guy's an unbeliever.

Well, Jesus existed. I even believe he's the Son of God, but there's no way he lived without sin, like Hebrews 4:15 says. That guy's an unbeliever.

Well, I know Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved," but I just think he that believes alone will be saved. That's an unbeliever, man.

The people who taught you are unbelievers because they don't believe Jesus' words. They do not believe the words of Jesus.

They believe instead, "He that believes alone will be saved," or "He that believes will be saved and then baptized as an outward display of an inward change."

People made it up; it cannot be supported by Scripture. But this can be supported by Scripture because it's Scripture.

The actual words of Jesus: "Who will be saved?" Jesus: "He that believes and is baptized will be saved."

It is so simple that it takes denominations to help you get that wrong. I say it with all desperate love.

I know this is intent; I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm pointing you to the Savior.

All right, the second part specifies that condemnation comes from unbelief. Yes, not the absence of baptism.

Faith is what saves, and baptism reflects that faith. Baptism is the evidence that one has faith.

Those who reject baptism do not have faith in the powerful working of God. That's Colossians 2:10-13.

Those who do not believe the words of Jesus do not believe. Oh yeah, so John 3:18: "The ones that do not believe are condemned already."

You don't need to additionally reject baptism to be condemned, so the first part tells us who will be saved: "He that believes and is baptized."

The second part tells us who will be damned: unbelievers. Do you think somebody needs to also reject baptism for salvation in order to be condemned, or are they already condemned at the point of unbelief?

They are already condemned at the point of unbelief. Look, I'm pausing right here. Every single objection is this easy to deal with. They're all Antichrist—all of them.

You have to do what Jesus said for salvation. If that sounds strange to you, that's evidence you've been taught by a denomination.

You have to do what Jesus said for salvation—not me, not any person, not your Baptist pastor or your grandma or anybody. Only what Jesus said will work.

Only what Jesus said to do for salvation will work. He said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." He never said belief alone works.

He said in multiple places that belief is essential. None of those places say that belief alone works. You got that?

John 3:36: "The ones that believe have life, but the ones that don't obey, the wrath of God abides on them."

The disobedient are unbelievers. Those who reject the Lord's terms for salvation are unbelievers. Don't believe them, man. Don't believe them anymore.

All right, back to it. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."

The Greek word for "ice" can mean "because of." No, it cannot. It cannot mean that. Stop there; go done.

Oh, albums—all albums. It never means "because of." Okay, "ice" never means "because of."

I got the Greek for it right here. Before I go there, I'm going to go to this one: "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38.

The blood of Christ is for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28. It's the same Greek in both places—the same Greek in both places.

So if we are baptized because our sins were already remitted, then Jesus Christ shed his blood because our sins were already remitted.

You understand that? If we are baptized because of the remission of sins, then Jesus shed his blood because of the remission of sins.

It doesn't work. If we repent and we're baptized because our sins have already been remitted, wait a minute, why would we repent because our sins have already been remitted?

That also doesn't make sense. But in the Greek, "ice" never means "because of." Never.

You know it because of Matthew 26:28. That's just illogical. You also know it because literally every time "ice"—oh man, let me fix that.

I used it on the broadcast, so I had to reverse it. "Ice"—it's in 2571 times. Then it's "to," "unto," "in," "for," "on," "toward," "against," "upon," "at," "among," "concerning," and "because of."

Zero times it appears as "because of." It doesn't. Every excuse—every excuse—every single one.

They—on the cross, "Christ sent me not to baptize." Ephesians 2:8-9. Romans 10:9 and 10. Every single excuse is easily remedied.

They might pull the—I'm going to predict some of the other excuses. "Oh, but Mark 16:16 and following is not supposed to be in the earliest in the Bible."

It's not supposed to be there; it's not in the earliest manuscripts. It's in three out of the earliest five, and two of them where it's missing, there's a blank space for it.

It's supposed to be there; God put it there. Oh, my foot's killing me. I'm sitting on my feet. I'm a 53-year-old man; I'll be 54.

I've been sitting on my feet this whole time. I don't know how long we've been going, but we're going to keep going.

All right, faith is what saves; grace is what saves. When we have faith, you said, "Not the absence of baptism."

I'm going back up to that last one you said. Faith is what saves; grace is what saves. When we have faith, we have to go through our faith to get to grace.

Faith is never belief alone; it's always belief to the point of obedience. We've taken care of the "ice" objection; now it's handled.

All right, so what concerns me is the risk of placing trust in an act like baptism, placing trust in an act like confession, repentance.

Jeremy, when you do what Jesus said, that's not placing faith in the thing that Jesus said. That's placing faith in Jesus.

When you do what Jesus said for salvation, that's not placing faith in the thing that Jesus said to do; that's placing faith in Jesus.

I'm real tempted to stop right there. Jesus told you to hear the good news, the gospel. Believe that good news. Repent of your sins, Luke 13:3.

Confess your belief to other people, Romans 10:9 and 10, and be immersed in water for the remission of sins.

When you do those things, that is the evidence that you have placed your faith in the one who commanded you to do those things.

It's not the things that your faith is in; it's in the one who told you to do those things.

All right, so if salvation requires baptism or any other action, belief is an action; confession is an action.

You've already cited actions that you believe are essential to salvation. You already believe actions—works—are essential to salvation. You know this.

Then faith is no longer fully dependent on God's grace. Faith is belief to the point of obedience.

That's when we get grace. We do not get grace by grace alone. We do not get grace by faith alone.

We get grace when we believe to the point of obedience, demonstrating faith in the one who commands the things that we are to do.

Grace alone? No. Faith alone? No. Christ alone? No. None of that alone will work.

Christ was given as the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, 1 John 2:2, but most people are going to be lost.

It's more than what Christ did; it requires you to have faith—believe to the point of obedience like the Ephesians did.

All right, next we're going to go to Romans 4:5, I'm sure. So that contradicts Romans 4:4-5. No, it does not.

So Abraham wasn't—see, Abraham wasn't described as having believed until after decades of obedience. Going back to Genesis 12, that is referenced in Hebrews 11.

Abraham got up and went. I think it's verse 6 or 7; I think it's 7. Abraham got up and went, not knowing where he was going.

As soon as God said go, he said okay. That's what his faith looked like. He didn't believe alone.

Abraham was willing to stab his own son. It wasn't until he had been faithful for decades before it was said that Abraham believed. He didn't believe alone; he was obedient.

Go back to Genesis 12 for that. Salvation is rooted in faith, not works. Salvation is rooted in grace, and it's only accessed by those who have faith, which is belief to the point of obedience.

Yes, works are part of that. This is the only place in the Bible—let me pull up the faith alone in the Bible. Let's just do it this way.

Faith only—here it is, ready? Oops, here it is. "You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only."

That is the only time faith only appears in Scripture. That's it; that's the only time faith only appears in Scripture.

All right, salvation is requiring baptism. It risks turning grace into something we earn, which undermines the gospel.

Let me do that the way you did it. Requiring Romans 10:9 and 10—requiring belief and confession risks turning grace into something we earn, which undermines the gospel.

Do you see what I did there? So what I did is I took things—works—that they believe are essential to salvation, and I just replaced baptism with it.

Baptism is not our work. I'm going to let you read it yourself. Baptism is not our work, but belief, repentance, and confession are our works.

You are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. In him, you are also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

Buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in my own works, in the working of God who raised him from the dead.

And you, being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Baptism is your faith in the working of God. When you are with Jesus, buried with him in baptism, you're raised through faith.

You're raised with him through faith in the work of God. Baptism is not your work; it is the powerful working of God.

In the ESV, it is the operation of God. In the KJV, it's where God cuts the sin off of your heart and forgives your transgressions.

It is not your work; it is grammatically passive. It is done to you. But the works of repentance, confession, and belief are your works that precede salvation.

Those people who have been teaching you, they won't admit it, but they believe works are essential to salvation. They won't admit it; they believe it; they teach it.

When they teach Romans 10:9 and 10 is essential to salvation—belief and confession—they teach it. When they teach repentance is essential, they teach that works are essential to salvation.

It is those works that are essential to salvation. Baptism is not your work; it is his work. It is your faith in his work.

Oh, oops, I'm already off that. All right, back to it.

Like I said before, my baptism as a public profession of faith aligns with Romans 6:3 and 4. No, it doesn't.

Those people obeyed to be with Jesus. It's not a public profession of faith symbolizing your union. You say it just symbolizes your union.

God says you are with him in baptism. It's when you—it's when you are united. It is your union.

Baptism is your union with Christ. You say it only symbolizes; it is your union.

Oh, then baptism reflected your faith. God says baptism is your faith and your obedience to God. Obedience is essential to salvation.

Romans—sorry, Hebrews 5:9. It wasn't about securing salvation because my faith had already done that.

You did not have faith in Christ. What you had your faith in was Baptists who told you you could be saved by belief alone, and then they called it faith alone.

Your faith is not in Jesus. I can prove it. Which one of the following statements is true?

"He that believes will be saved and then baptized." Man, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." Jesus.

Whichever one of those you believe reveals where your faith is.

All right, what I ask is this: have you considered the possibility that tying baptism directly to salvation might place partial trust in the act of baptism itself rather than fully in Christ?

No, it is my faith in Jesus that is evidenced by me doing what he said for salvation. Doing what he said is not placing faith in the thing that he said to do; it's placing faith in Jesus.