Baptism is not essential to salvation, the Blood of Christ is essential for salvation! Not long ago I spent half a day debating an individual who has been indoctrinated with the false teaching of Baptismal Regeneration and the other half of the day debating with a Hyper Dispensationalist who refuses to be baptized. What a day that was for me! One side ardently believes if you aren't baptized you can not be saved and the other side ardently believes you shouldn't be baptized at all because it is under the law. Both are deeply flawed in their doctrine and I made little progress in my debate.
Baptism is not essential to salvation but I strongly believe it is essential to sanctification. Baptismal regeneration takes much away from the work of Christ and His shed blood on the cross and places the emphasis on a work. Refusing to be baptized is to be refusing to identify yourself with Christ and the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord! Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and untold millions for generations have been baptized. One who refuses to be baptized is living in complete rebellion to the Word of Almighty God.
One common factor I noticed between the two individuals is a contentious spirit, much like that of an agnostic who lives to argue the denial of God. I found this qoute of Charles Spurgeon who Pastored the Metropolitian Tabernacle Church in England. The Prince of Preachers as he was often referred to sums it up perfectly.
In his sermon “The Secret of Loving God,” Charles Spurgeon highlighted the importance of taking a public stand for God and declaring our love for Him to the world with the story of his baptism. “I always look back, with deep gratitude, to the day when I was baptized. Up to that time, I was timid and fearful, and afraid to confess Christ; but after I went into the river, and was publicly baptized into His death, I lost all fear of man, and I think I can honestly say that I have never been ashamed to acknowledge my Lord from that day to this. The world has had many a cruel word for me from that day to this, and there is no love lost between us; I am done with the world as the world is done with me; I am crucified to the world, and the world to me.”
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