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So reads the headline in the Graham Leader newspaper, in Young County, Texas. Replete
with 3 pictures of one being baptized, the article went on to state very clearly the purpose of
the baptism. The fact that it was a burial in water, as prescribed by the Bible (John 2:23;
Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12) is not the issue here, but the purpose of their
baptism is!
The preacher for the Cowboy Church of Young County said "Getting baptized doesn't save you; it's Jesus and Him alone," Jamey Burrus, who did the baptizing, went on to say: "It's a public testimony of your conversion..." One submerged that day said "baptism was a way of showing the world that he was dedicated to serving Jesus." The New Testament teaches just the exact opposite of what Preacher Burrus teaches! Jesus said the purpose of baptism is to "be saved" (Mark 16:16) and so does the inspired Apostle Peter (I Peter 3:21). Burrus is wrong when he says "Getting baptized doesn't save you...," since the Bible says it does! Whom will you believe? Far from being done only to show one's dedication to serving Jesus, the Bible declares that baptism is for the purpose of removing sins by the blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28; Acts 2:38, 22:16) and essential for salvation. The problem is that such false teaching leads folks to believe they've been baptized scripturally, and/or that the purpose of baptism doesn't matter. All of those baptized that day were taught wrong, hence they could not have been baptized right! If a person believes he was saved before baptism, he could not have been baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16; I Peter 3:21). Michael Brooks, who teaches at a Baptist college, worded their belief when he said: "We Baptists see baptism as an act of dedication done after a conscious decision to follow Christ." Our Lord said that it is to be done in order to be saved! Later learning the real purpose of baptism does not retroactively make a prior baptism efficacious. Such folks need to be baptized scripturally. |