Is baptism a work of man and thus unneeded?

Is baptism a work of man and thus unneeded? 
Ephesians 2:8-9 is great: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Without studying, people can take this too far. I've even heard it said that repentance can't be necessary, as it would invalidate the free gift of God. (So would a serial murderer be fine as long as he had faith alone?")

Q: From Eph 2:8-9, is baptism unnecessary because it is a work of man? 
A: "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Col 2:12) 

Some like to say that anything that is a work cannot be a requirement for salvation. Baptism, along with other factors such as belief, "now saves you." (1 Pet 3:21) Is there something about being wet that does it? Something about our righteousness that we can brag about? Read Col 2:12 again, and the answer is "Nope!" Baptism is the working of God, not man. It's His designated operating table. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn 3:16) "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."" (Jn 6:29) 

These are great works, and they're absolutely necessary. 
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What about the thief on the cross?

What about the thief on the cross?
BQ: A common objection to what the Bible says about being immersed/baptized is, "What about the thief on the cross? He wasn't baptized, but Jesus said he was saved." How can this be?

A: Before Jesus died, the Old Testament/Covenant/Will was still in effect. Hebrews 9:15-17 explains "For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood."

Jesus hadn't yet died, but he had full power over his last will and covenant.  “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Mt 28:18) 

Imagine that you you're planning out your will. You have $500. While you're still alive, being the owner of the will, you can still give away money (salvation) as you see fit to anyone you think deserves it. After you're dead, as the Bible points out, the will is then in effect, and the money (salvation) is only given out as stipulated. For these reasons, the thief on the cross is not a valid example of New Testament salvation. 
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Are you a new creation?

Are you a new creation?
When you came out of the waters of immersion, did you become an overwhelming conqueror? (Rom 8:37) Look at your life now versus your life before you were clothed in Christ (Gal 3:27) in baptism. Did you actually change who you were? Are you, as this verse says, " a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come?" 

Q: Can we be the same as we were before baptism, or do we have to change? 
A: We're told, "do not be conformed to the FORMER lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior." (I Pt 1:14-15; 4:1-3) For we have spent enough of our PAST lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." 

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? And having been set free from sin...For the wages* of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:1-2; 22-23)

Look at your life. God gave you a gift in baptism, and it's the greatest ever. Are you using it? God freed us from our bonds so that we'd NO LONGER BE IN THEM. We sometimes slip and fall, but if we continue to do as we've always do, we'll get what we've always gotten. . "He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, and he who pursues evil will bring about his own death. The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their walk are His delight" ( Pro 11:19-20) Let's not get the wages of sin, but commit to that change and receive eternal life.

*freebie: wages are something you have to work for. What are you working towards?
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A simple addition.

A simple addition is a deadly thing.
BQ: I talk to  many people who say, "The Bible says that 'faith alone through grace saves you.' They believe it is so, and it's hard for them to imagine why my eyebrow arches up like it does. :P

Q: 1.) How many times does the Bible say that faith alone through grace saves you? 2.) How many times is the phrase "faith alone" used? 3.) Why is saying, "we are saved by grace through faith alone" bad?

A: 1.) Zero (0) times. It says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." (Eph 2:8-9) Notice how that is worded. God specifically left out the word "alone." It absolutely never says that.

2.) One (1) time. "You see that a man is justified by works and NOT by faith alone." (Jms 2:24)  Now observe the similarity in sentence construction between Eph 2:8-9 and Jms 2:24: they both say, "X saves you," but neither of them say that "X alone saves you." In fact, we can see that both of these save us, and that James implies both are necessary. Otherwise he would have had to say, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith." By saying "justified by works and not by faith alone," James makes the implicit assertion that both are necessary. 

3.) God never approved of people adding even a single word—in this case, "alone"—to His teachings. "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deut 4:2) "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book." (Rev 22:18)

Saying that "faith alone saves" is just as bad as saying "works alone saves" a person. There is just as much evidence in the Bible for both of these doctrines: absolutely none.
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Sons of God

Sons of God.
BQ: Often I hear that we need to become sons of God by just believing in Jesus. The Bible addresses this. What do you think it says? We'll look at a verse and pay careful attention to the wording. 

A: "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:11-12)

Notice that believing and receiving do not make one a child of God. They open up that option, however, and that's why it says that we have the RIGHT to become children of God. There are still conditions to be met, or everyone would make it to heaven by default. 

Credit for the idea for this BQ goes to Brian Howard. 
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Various aspects of salvation for those being saved.

Requirements of Salvation
BQ: The Bible lists those things which God has created to ensure our salvation. What are they? 

A: 1-Romans 10:14-17 (We must HEAR.)

2-John 8:24, Romans 5:1-2, Acts 16:31 (We must BELIEVE.)

3-Acts 2:38, Luke 13:5, Acts 3:19, 2 Cor 7:10-11 (We must REPENT of
our worldly ways.)

4-Mt 10:32-33, Romans 10:8-10, Acts 10:36-37 (We must CONFESS before
men that Jesus is the Son of God.)

5-Acts 2:38, Acts 22;16, 1 Pet 3:21, Romans 6:4, Gal 3:27, Mk 16:16
(We must be IMMERSED in water to wash away our sins and to get the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit)

6-Rev 2:10, Rev 3:11, Mt 10:22 (We must remain FAITHFUL until death.)
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Are we saved by faith alone?

Faith Alone
BQ: Controversy time! Truth doesn't fear examination, so let's examine the book of Truth and see what we find!

Q:Are we saved by faith ALONE?

Let's start off with Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Faith is obviously necessary, but is that the whole picture?

A: James 2:17; 21; 24. Mt. 12:37. Rom 2:13. Rom 5:9, 1 Pet 3:21.

There are yet more things required. This is just a snippet, but the most salient point is this: "faith without works is dead."
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