A person Becomes a Christian at the Point of Baptism and not before

Eph. 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" When Paul uses the term grace, would you agree that he is saying, "by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ you have been saved? " Would we change the meaning if we said "by the gospel of Christ you have been saved? " According to Strong Greek dictionary, Grace means a "gift". Now who would disagree that the grace that saves is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. This fits with Ro. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of the God for everyone who believes, …" In 1 Co. 15:1-4, "1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" This grace is the gospel, you cannot separate them. Look what it says; Paul preached it and the received it, and took their stand on it, and by this gospel they were saved. How many gospels are their? Gal. 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Friends there is only one Gospel, there is not the gospel and grace that saves, as in 2 different things, for the gospel is the grace of Ephesians 2:8. Now we are instruct and even warned not to pervert, change or preach a different Gospel. We have 3 verses that teach that this gospel is something to Obey as well as believe. 2Thess 1:8-9 Rom 10:16, and 1Pet 4:17, We will look at 2Thess 1:8, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. " According to all three verses the gospel of Christ is to be obeyed. Well How does this fit with Eph. 2:9, Not of works, lest anyone should boast? Well the answer is found in verse 7, Which has the location of those saved In Christ. Not one of them did a work of redemption, to save themselves, it was done for them by the gospel, the Grace of God. So none of them kept the law good enough to be saved. Yet this is not saying obedience is not required to be saved. Rom. 6:17 "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. " What did they obey, what doctrine did the follow that saved their souls? The answer is found in Rom 6:3-4, 7, 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. " Talking about baptism that is the doctrine they had obeyed from the heart, That is also Obeying the gospel of Christ, Obey the death burial and resurrection, in reality Obeying the grace of God. Now Paul told the brethren at Thessalonica that those who are hell bound are those who do not believe, and those who do not obey the gospel, and God has in this passage given us the only way to obey the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rom 6, teaches that fact totally. Rom 6:7, "For he who has died has been freed from sin. " Paul is taking to Christians who were sinning so that grace could abound,vs1-2 and in this chapter Paul teaches them again what they did to become Christians,vs3-4 reminding them of the gospel they obeyed, that doctrine they had obeyed from the heart vs17, the death that happened in baptism when they died with Christ there in the water, freed them from their sin. Why was it so important to God to have Paul write verse 7? What happened in Christ death? Jo. 19:33-34 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Now this is what we have learned through these passages, When a person is baptized, that person is obeying the gospel, and they died to sin and with Christ and to self. They were buried and raised with Christ, It is at this point of baptism and not before that they come into contact with the blood of Jesus. Rev. 1:5, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood," So I ask a question when were we washed? When we died with Christ, thus Rom 6:7, For he who has died has been freed from sin. Notice not earned, not worked for, but given in baptism. Then Paul says in Heb 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. After we are washed in the blood Jesus shed in his death we become a sanctified people, by the blood of Jesus, I want to make a comparison between What Nick said concerning Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. " Who ever has feathers and flies is a bird, but whoever does not have feathers is not a bird. " My response: in Mark 16:16 Did you notice the words "And Is" and in Nicks example they are not there. That makes the 2 statements totally different grammatically. Let me give you an example that would parallel Marks teachings. He who Reads and is comprehending will be enlightened, But he who does not read will be ignorant? If you read and are comprehending, You will be enlightened, in the context of this sentence, But if you do not read, You cannot be enlightened, thus you will ignorant. How can you comprehend what you do not read? The results would be ignorance, in the same way, How can you be baptized if you do not believe? Baptism unites a believer with the one whom he believes in. without belief, you cannot be united, that is why infant baptism is wrong because a baby has no sin, and cannot believe. We both have 3 questions we can ask of the other according to the rules and the other must answer. 1. Were the People in Acts 2:37 Saved at that point in their lives? 2. Were the People that Acts 2:47 is talking about saved at that point? 3. What did they do between verses 37-47 that got them saved. Please keep in context with the chapter. your question. If a person waits until Sunday when they were taught Saturday night to be baptized, they had their opportunity. And according to the scriptures they would be lost. Note God would never allow anyone to die on the way to be baptized, You want a proof text 2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, [fn] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. " If God is holding off the Judgment day because of lost souls that may repent, do you think, the one who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and is holds our life in his hand would allow Satan to take one of his? I have run out of space and Lord willing will deal with you second question next post. The criminal on the cross was under the old covenant and not under the new. He was not the only man that Christ forgave their sins, Mark 2: 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic,… next post