The New Testament teaches that the penitent believer must be baptized for the remission of sins.

And I want my opponent and the readers of this debate to know that I am not opposing salvation by grace through faith, in fact it is what I am teaching contrary to my opponent who teaches salvation by grace through faith alone. Onto the debate. Rebuttals: Mark 16:15-16 MY opponent falsely accused me misinterpreting the meaning of baptism. I did not say in Mark 16:16 that baptism is just submerging someone underwater, in fact it's more than that, and I showed it throughout my first affirmative. Furthermore my opponent says that baptism is a social proclamation of Christ. Now wait a minute, I see no scripture that supports that claim. There are zero scriptures that ever speak of immersion as a "social" display. Now, let’s see who has really has flaws in his arguments. My opponent claims that baptism is just a symbol that we have already been saved. Is baptism a symbol? Yes. But is baptism a symbol of our already having been saved? NO! A thousand times, no. There is not one passage in all the New Testament which makes baptism symbolize our salvation from sin. The symbolism here is that of comparing Christ's death, burial and resurrection to our death, burial and resurrection in baptism-our baptism is a form of that which Christ did. In baptism we die and we are buried and from baptism we are raised to walk in newness of life because we are forgiven. Later, my opponent denied to give reason why Mark 16:16 is wrong, instead he resorted to his own argument that says salvation is by grace trough faith alone! Really? Alone? All I can see in Eph. 2:8 is "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith”. There is no alone there. Furthermore, salvation by grace through faith does not negate baptism or baptism violates God’s grace For in Gal. 3:26-27 says “Gal 3:26 for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ” It is clear enough that baptism is by faith! And the verses that my opponent does not disprove my proposition instead it helps my proposition. Click here: John 3:16 [1] Eph. 2:8-9 [2] Tit. 3:5 [3] Acts 2:38 Here my opponent agrees that this verse as a summary proves that baptism is necessary for salvation but because of the hardness of his heart he twists this verse and here my opponent contradicts himself greatly. He says that Jesus Christ IS baptism and upon Jesus he wiped our sins away. Then, baptism wipes our sins away! Acts 22:16 In this verse, my opponent excites me with his kind of contention. Again my opponent contradicts himself by saying “baptism, in a spiritual sense, is salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Then baptism IS SALVATION TROUGH FAITH! ! Thank you for bringing that wonderful point. Moving on, as an excuse so that he can escape the impact of Acts 22:16 on him, he resorted to the thief on the cross. This is a perfectly valid argument and makes sense at first glance. However, the problem arises from not having a clear understanding of what baptism represents and what the scriptures tell us about it. According to Romans 6:3-6, baptism represents being unified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The problem with the thief on the cross when Jesus told him he would be with Him in paradise, is that Jesus was still alive. Christ had not yet died or been buried, so He had certainly not risen yet either. Baptism into Christ was not put into practice until Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 after Christ had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. I) the thief on the cross was still under the Old Covenant and therefore not subject to this baptism. He was saved just like anyone else under the Old Covenant. II) But besides that, when Christ was on this earth, He had the authority to forgive people of their sins. Look at Mark 2:9-12: Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven;' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed, and walk? 'But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he said to the paralytic -- "I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house. " He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this! " When Christ was on the cross, He was still on this earth. And He had the authority to forgive sins. III) An additional point to consider: To even position the argument about the thief on the cross one must be able to prove he was never baptized. But consider the following verses: Mark 1:4-5 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then ALL the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. So who can really say the thief was never baptized before he was crucified? According to Mark 1:4-5 there is a plausible chance he was! [4] Furthermore, I do not belittle God’s power, for in Rom 1:16 says “…the gospel of Christ: is the power of God unto salvation…” What does the Gospel say in Mark 16:16? —“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”. Matt. 7:7— as I have proven before, prayer alone to God through Jesus Christ can’t save you! I John 1:9—this verse is taken out of context if it is applied to mean initial conversion. This is written to the Christians not to non-Christians. I Pet 3:21 Again, because of the impact of destruction to my opponent’s doctrine of faith alone, he cannot answer this directly. I can also say that many of your passages you provided contradict the many verses that pertain to the essentiality of baptism to a person’s salvation! Col. 2:16 Again, due to the impact of this verse, my opponent can’t answer clearly. Of course baptism is written in there because it is the subject! Baptism is not a work of man it is a work of God as shouted by this verse. Rom. 6:3-4 “"Newness of life" in this case, is not referring to everlasting life. But to the transformation of life on earth, upon accepting Christ. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. " John 10:10” Why does Newness of life does not mean everlasting life when accepting Jesus Christ, which in him you will have the newness of life, not mean everlasting life? How do we have life? In Christ Jesus right? Then how can we be in Christ Jesus? Isn’t it by baptism as said in Gal 3:26-27 and Rom 3:6-4? Galatians 3:27 “All of these verses pertain to the ceremonial aspect of public baptism. "baptism into Christ" is the acceptance of Christ into one's life, and the transformation that one receives upon acceptance: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. " Romans 12:2” Romans 12:2—do not refer to non-Christians but to Christians in Rome. Again, this verse is taken out of context. [1] . http://www.bebaptized.org... [2] . http://bebaptized.org... [3] . http://bebaptized.org... [4] . http://bebaptized.org... Onto Con