First, the word "compensation" is NOT my word, it's the dictionary definition. I only quoted that to illustrate your false belief that something (in this case, water baptism) is required to receive the gift of salvation. I was NOT equating the value of Jesus and His shed blood to the value of being dipped in water, and I think you know that, but you just took an opportunity to strike with a LOW BLOW. In fact, you will see that I added (without action or works) to clarify what I take "without compensation" to mean. Instead of acknowledging that, you twist my words to suggest that I was comparing the "value" of Jesus and His shed blood to the "value": of water baptism. That's ABSURD.
That is exactly the point; there is no "compensation" possible for the life of Christ Jesus, and any attempt to insinuate that our obedience to His command constitutes compensation for His blood is insulting to Him. But that does not lessen the importance of our obedience to Him before our reception of His gift. We are simply fulfilling the terms of His last will and testament in order to receive the bequest He promised if those conditions are met.
But I think you also did that to avoid the truth that salvation is a gift, and it is FREE. Not only do we not have to pay for it, but we also don't have to perform any physical action for it.
We do not have to pay for it, but we do have to fulfill the terms of His will in order to receive the bequest offered to those who do, just as with any will that contains conditions before the inheritance is received.
You mention that a gift must be unwrapped or unsealed or cut out of a box before it can be used. Maybe it needs to be assembled, or maybe one must travel somewhere to get it. You must place a very cheap price on Jesus and His blood, to compare Him and His sacrifice to something that we get out of a box, or must put together, or something that we must travel to find.
All of that is your deplorable smokescreen to avoid the truth that I have presented over and over again, but you don't want to see it, much less accept it.
I place a very, very high value on Jesus' blood and the sacrifice He made to secure my salvation. And I also can read in His Word how He placed conditions upon receipt of that salvation, like confessing His Lordship with one's mouth, and being baptized in water.
The only "condition" required to receive His gift of salvation is FAITH. And FAITH for receiving salvation REQUIRES NO PHYSICAL WORK OR ACTION. Your false claim that James' "faith without works is dead" refers to receiving salvation is misinterpreting scripture. James is referring to the faith that believers have AFTER their initial supernatural experience of being born again.
If faith is a condition for receiving salvation (as you just said and I agree) then the faith that must be present before salvation is received must meet the verifiable condition that James mentions to show that this faith is alive. Faith that precedes the reception of salvation must be alive to be effective (to actually be faith). It astounds me that you would claim that this faith must be passive and inactive, but then Satan wants you to believe that so that you remain lost and in His grasp.
You are steeped in legalism. Legalism is found where there is the excessive and deceptive requirement of man's rules on God's people. "You must be baptized to be saved" goes beyond what God requires and deceives God's people into thinking they cannot be saved UNTIL and ONLY WHEN they get baptized. We already have FAR too many unsaved people getting baptized - as a teenager, I witnessed many. But you would add more to that number, bringing great confusion into the body of Christ.
I agree that there are many who are baptized who are not saved. But that is not because the lost are being baptized. A lost person must come to the water of baptism in order to receive salvation during the act of baptism (the lost, old, dead man goes into the water and the redeemed, new, alive man comes out of the water). But there are many who do not believe when they are baptized, and so they only get wet.
I have nothing against water baptism. I think all Christians should obey the Lord and be baptized. NonChristians should NOT be baptized, which is what you advocate for, saying that salvation comes later during baptism, so an unsaved person will get saved when they get baptized. FALSE John said: "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him', and does not keep His commandments is a liar ..." If we know Him (if we're saved), we should keep His commandment to be baptized. If we don't know Him, then we would not even have a reason to be baptized, unless we're deceived into thinking that will save us.
It is very sad to me that someone with your knowledge of the Scriptures could be this deceived. Everyone who comes to believe that the Scriptures are true, and that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior they so desperately need to wash away their sin and redeem them to God, must be obedient to Him and surrender their will to Him in baptism. I have pointed out the many Scriptures that show how it is during baptism that we die to sin, have our sins cut from us, and are united to Christ's resurrection. I really hope that you will one day release your rebellion to His Word, read the Scriptures with an open heart, and let His Spirit show you the truth about baptism.
In fact, your strong emphasis on people getting baptized in order to be saved, actually deemphasises being saved before that.
That is because we are not saved before that.
So what do you tell people who want to be born again? Sorry, that won't happen unless you get baptized?
When someone I am teaching shows that they are ready to be born again, I lead them through the Scriptures that say that they will be born again during baptism. By this point I have already lead them through the understanding that they have sinned and so are condemned before God with no hope of salvation on their own.
I then lead them to Mark 16:16 and show them Jesus' command that those who believe His Gospel and are baptized will receive salvation.
I then lead them to Acts 2:22-38 where the answer to the question, "What must we do (in order to be saved?)" is answered: repent and be baptized.
I then lead them to Rom 6:1-4 and Col 2:11-14 and show them that when they are baptized they will die to sin and be resurrected with Jesus from the death that sin caused.
Then I ask them if they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and upon their affirmative answer, I baptize them in the name of the the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit so that they can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when they come up out of the water I embrace them as a new brother or sister in Christ.
John 3. As far as I know, nobody had ever heard of being born again before. Obviously, Nicodemus had not. He even asked: "How can a man be born when he is old? Jesus told him "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Obviously, Nicodemus wanted this experience, but Jesus did not wait for him to understand what He was saying, nor did He wait for him to actually experience the second birth.
Some would have us believe that "born of water" refers to baptism. But I think Jesus would have told Nicodemus that, if that were true, and if it was that simple Being born again is mysterious - the Holy Spirit enters into a person's life when He wants to, NOT when we want Him to. But I believe our hearts must be right, and we must believe in Jesus, and seek the new birth. Then He is faithful to give us that good gift in His time.
He does give us that gift in His time, exactly when He said He would give that gift: during baptism. Yes, being born of water in John 3:5 refers to baptism. When one is baptized, he is reborn (resurrected)(Rom 6:1-4) as Jesus was through the power and working of the Holy Spirit (Col 2:11-14): thus, born of water and the Spirit.
