Can Someone be Saved without Baptism?

[isaiahceasarbie]

God is not bound by the means of grace, but we are.

Well said, Dr. Cooper.

[BeauDWaln]

Great teaching. Been sharing Jesus with an old friend and this helps answer a question he's had that I've answered, but not with the clarity. Thank you

[maximilianusofmarchaorient]

Expecting "Why I am not a Baptist" after this one. Great stuff.

[rosannecramer]

This is very good and the example of the thief on the cross is some thing I never realized until you explained it so well. I have to say that I believe you are saved by baptism and the Word of the Lord. I was baptized as a Catholic and then had a true conversion experience while I was reading the Word of God later in life. I was totally transformed and from that day on had a hunger for the Word. I believe in both being necessary but not absolutely necessary as Dr Cooper so aptly explained. We can still be saved without baptism depending on circumstances and also desire for it such as the example of someone getting hit by a car before they had the opportunity to be baptized. Thank you Dr Cooper! 🙏🏼

[roti]

The thief received Christ's Word of explicit personal forgiveness and promise of eternal life. This is what Baptism is. The thief believed and was baptized by Christ's Word.

[kjhg]

I think the way to answer this question is that God's promise of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is absolutely necessary for salvation. In the ordinary case, this covenant is made in baptism, but God can use other means to make his promise if he chooses (i.e. baptism of blood, baptism of desire, all of the promises made before the institution of trinitarian baptism, etc.). In unusual or extraordinary cases, God uses means other than the waters of baptism to make his promise of eternal life.

[timothylethbridge]

And all the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. “Can anyone refuse water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”
Acts 10:45‭, ‬47 They received salvation before being baptized

[solafidedeum]

Hebrews 7:25 "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."🙏
Let God’s Peace and Grace be with you (To The Reader). Praise God always. Amen🙏🙌

[KB-gdfc]

If your argument is that the thief died before baptism was instituted then you have to also acknowledge that John 3:5 isn’t about new testament baptism.

[OutcastWriter]

Dr. Cooper, I so appreciate your channel and ministry. My husband and I have been so blessed by your resources since discovering the Lutheran Church last summer. I am about to have my two very small children baptized, but have not yet told my staunchly Baptist family about that decision. Since we began attending a Lutheran church my husband has died, so I am very much going to be standing alone against my family's protests. I feel prepared to answer most of the objections I anticipate them bringing up, except for the question of, doesn't a person have to willingly choose baptism? I feel quite certain they will ask that, and I don't know for certain how to answer it in regard to my children being too young to willingly choose to be baptized. We can't forcibly baptize an adult against their will and the baptism be valid, so why can we baptize children who are unable to knowingly consent? Any advice in regard to answering that question would be deeply appreciated. ~Mary

[flaviusmuntean]

This instantly made me think of Lutheran Satire's video on this!

[ThroneofPositivity]

Brother this is so helpful. This necessary word complicates things so much. I feel like that's the wrong question to be asking. Baptism seems "necessary" but not for salvation. Yet this doesn't minimize baptism as if it weren't necessary. We need to be baptized haha sounds so simple yet so complicated.

I truly appreciate the distinction of necessary vs absolutely necessary. This seems what's to be missing in most baptism discussions

[johnkarpiscak]

This is a good explanation of why "baptism is necessary but not absolutely necessary." This is why John 6:29 (and similar passages), and the Great Commssion are congruent.

[samueljennings]

I’ve always thought that regardless of position on baptism, the example of the dying thief was irrelevant to the discussion entirely because he died before Jesus gave the Great Commission regarding evangelism and baptism 🤷🏽‍♂

[paulblase]

Technically, in formal logic, baptism is a sufficient but not a necessary condition. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." As you said, not being baptized is not a condition for being condemned. Let's go back a step: Baptism is a means of grace. It itself does not save, but through it God gives the faith for salvation and the Holy Spirit who begins His work of sanctification. God may give those things in other ways if necessary.

[aaronh]

I’d be very interested to listen to a video on your view of the long ending of Mark. I also tend to accept the long ending as inspired, but I couldn’t articulate my position very well. I think that even if it wasn’t written by Mark, it has been accepted and preserved by the church for so long that it is valid, although I might count it as being on the level of antilegomena.

[critical_mass]

Remember this quote.

God's word so simple it takes someone else to help you misunderstand it.

[collettewhitney]

Dr Jordan. B cooper. I always thought that baptism it very important to bring people in to the christdom that why we get baptised as children
By the way very good talking points and excellent video. God bless you ❤❤🙏

[Heythere]

I think another point that could be made and that is the true question here is about baptism regenerating a person and that ultimately it is water with the Word and the Spirit that regenerates, not water alone, and therefore the Word itself as a means of grace is sufficient for regeneration. Ultimately the question being asked here is, “when you say baptism is necessary are you saying baptism is the only means of regeneration?” And then of course the answer would be no, the Spirit is always with the Word, and where the Word is, regeneration can take place.

[michaelg]

Thank you for mentioning baptism in blood. I recently came to the conclusion that both (triune/valid)-baptism and faith are (absolutely) necessary to be saved.
1 John 5:5-8 talks about the blood being a valid witness, like water, which means a person who died before they could receive water baptism, had (at death) received baptism by blood and is saved as well.