Baptism into Christ is the point of salvation, not any time before.

Round 2 I want to being to the attention of those who read this that ccedericka only posted an opinion, and I have serious doubts as to her ability to debate in a formal way. In this round we have the opportunity to ask 3. questions to our opponent. So ccedericka Please answer: 1.If you were to die right now do you know for sure that you are saved? 2.Please explain your answer. 3.What authority do we follow in Christianity today? Good evening. Tonight we will look at what saves, how it saves and when it saves a "believing individual"? So let's get started. In 1Co. 1:18 "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." No matter what we no matter what we believe The Holy Spirit said through the pen of The Apostle Paul that Christ, Death, Burial, and Resurrection, is God Power to Save lost mankind from their sins. Paul would again say, in Ro. 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Did you all realize that God cannot save anyone without the message of the cross, which is the Gospel of Christ? The blue letter bible says: the glad tidings of salvation through Christ , But Paul would give a more defined definition of what the Gospel or the message of the cross is in 1 Co. 15:1-5," 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, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve." In vs. 1 we see the word Gospel and in verses 3-4 Paul explains that the gospel is Christ; death, burial and resurrection. In vs.2 we see they received and stood on it, by this gospel they were saved. Friends that is why Paul would say in 1 Cor. 1: 17 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." I would rather myself preach the death, burial. and resurrection any day. Baptism will always come latter, and there are other Christians that can baptize. But not all can preach or teach the word. This is what Paul is saying in 1Co. 1:17 and he is not saying in this verse baptism is not important. For we will look at what he said concerning baptism in other passages, Now let's look at what he said concerning how many gospels there are. Gal. 1:6-9, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 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." The Judizer's were trying to get these churches in the Galatians area, to be circumcised and were saying that was part of salvation. In their eyes these gentiles Christians could not be saved until that had happened. Paul gives a blanket statement to anyone who changes the gospel of Christ in the least. If an angel from God or any preacher, Priest, Rabbi, or anyone period, Preachers a different gospel then the one God had taught him, He would be accursed. That would Accursed means as a "Non Believer." Friends in this debate, if I or my opponent preaches a different gospel, God looks at us as a non believer. We both believe with all our heart that Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life and was nailed to a cross, and died there, that a soldier pierced his side after he was dead, and blood gushed out of his side. We believe he was buried in a tomb and laid there for three days and on the third day arose in the morning from the grave, and somewhere after 40 days arose from the grave. But if we preach another gospel God will look at us as a non believer, and hell will be our fate. But you may be saying that is the gospel, Christ death, Christ Burial, Christ Resurrection, and his ascension into Heaven. I ask you to consider some other evidence that completes Paul's teaching on the Gospel. Turn in your bibles to Rom 10:16, But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" 2 Thess. 1:8-9,"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. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power," 1Pet 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Obey according to vines means to harken to a command a) to obey, be obedient to, submit to. Three verses all teaching that the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is something to be obeyed. Now it is a fact that the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened, and Paul and Peter are saying in these passages, that it is something to be obeyed. So how do we obey it? Not only that but if you do not obey it, Hell fire awaits you!!!! If God expects you to obey a fact, then he must make a way for you to obey it. You see if we had a red rose and God said obey it, God would have to make a way to do it In the same way, God has to make a way for us to obey the fact of the gospel. Paul teaches us that he did just that. Rom 6:3-7, "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. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. In verse 3, in Baptism we are baptized into Christ, and we are baptized into Christ death, Right? In verse 4, In baptism we are buried with Christ into death, and that is our death for we died to self, sin and the world. In verse 5 In baptism we were Raised with Christ, Therefore we see in these 1st 5 verses we see the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and ours with him. Uniting the baptized believer with Christ, for God showed us how to obey the fact of the Gospel. God's power to save, is the gospel and once we obey it we are saved. Now for verse 7 teaches us that he who died has been freed from sin!!!!!. Thus a believer in Christ is forgiven of their sins, at the point of Baptism. Belief only does not save until one obeys the gospel of Christ which is being buried with Christ into his death burial and resurrection. Ed Wharton writes in his book The Church of Christ Page 51 the last paragraph "The Mark of the true church's identity is its teachings concerning what a man must obey to be made free from sin." Thus there is more to the gospel of Christ then mentally believing it. It is something to be obeyed, and the way you obey it is, by being baptized.