> > So. If you've been baptized, what was it like? When was it (i.e. as a baby so you don't remember or by choice when you were older)? How do you feel it has changed your relationship with God?
>
> Baptism was a completely exhilirating experience. It changed my life in a profound way, particularly because baptism is what puts us into Christ and gives us "new life". . . . I know I've quoted a lot of scripture, but since it's a biblical matter, I took that as an appropriate occassion.

I wondered if this would come up. Baptism doesn't put Christ into you, at least not according to scripture. This is the most fundamental doctrinal difference between the Church of Christ and other denominations, even most so-called "non-denominational" churches. The Church of Christ believes that baptism is a necessary element of salvation, whereas other Protestant denominations believe that not only is baptism not required for salvation but that what *is* required for salvation is to rely *solely* on belief and acceptance of Christ for salvation. That is, if one trusts in baptism for salvation, that is not a saving faith at all.

The scriptural references that the Church of Christ cites for baptism being required for salvation are primary taken from the four gospels, which apply to times prior to the dispensation of the gospel of grace, given to Paul for the times following Christ's crucifixion. Indeed, prior to that time, baptism *was* a necessary component of salvation -- salvation, in fact, was obtained quite differently then, as one could not simply "believe that Christ died for you," as that had not happened yet.

The book of Acts chronicles the transition from the times when Christ walked the earth to the so-called age of grace, which is in effect today. Acts 16:29-31, in which a man asks Paul how one is saved and Paul answers, is the earliest indication of this change in doctrine. Previously when someone asked this question -- that time of Christ himself -- the answer was "keep the commandments, sell your belongings, and follow me." This is not the answer we give today; Jesus was not speaking to us, in our times, he was talking to someone who lived prior to his crucifixion.

As I say, Paul was given the new gospel for the times following Christ's death, in which one believes in the sacrifice He made on the cross to be saved. In Ephesians 6:19 and I Cor. 3:10, Paul speaks of this gospel as a new gospel, one which had not be taught before. (There's a better reference that I lost track of but could find if necessary, in which Paul preaches this new gospel of grace to the other apostles -- Peter, etc -- and the apostles are amazed and consider it for a long time before accepting it. Not that would happen if Paul's gospel was the same as what the other apostles had been preaching ALL ALONG, as documented in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.) It is this gospel of grace, a mystery before but now made known, that teaches salvation by faith alone. Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 10:9-10, and others teach this. Nowhere is baptism mentioned in these verses, and nowhere do any of Paul's writings teach that baptism is necessary for salvation.

What DOES Paul have to say about baptism?

I Corinthians 1 speaks of this at length. In particular, verse 17: "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel." If baptism is a necessary component of salvation, what's Paul doing specifically not getting people saved? He didn't even preach about baptism, so other people could know to do it. Instead, he specifically preached things such as "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Basically, telling people they can be saved by faith alone, no baptism required, and moving on. If baptism is a necessary component of salvation and not a purely symbolic act, this guy was leading people astray from God, providing them with a false security. Yet the letters he wrote to various churches, preaching the gospel of grace to them, are part of the perfect, inerrant Word of God.