Great to hear from you. You have a good question. Have you checked
to see if the statement I made about every time the words baptism and salvation, or it's
equivalent appear together, baptism always comes first, is true?
But what about Acts 10 and the story of Cornelius' conversion. This
was the opening of the church to Gentiles. Cornelius was a good, righteous and charitable
man already when the angel told him to send for Peter. When Peter came to preach to him,
he had his whole family there to hear. Peter noted that God is no respecter of persons,
but in every nation those who fear Him and work righteousness are accepted by Him. He then
preached Jesus to Cornelius and his family. He made the statement, "To Him all the
prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of
sins."
"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
fell upon all those who heard the word." (Acts 10:44). In Acts 11:15 when Peter is
retelling this story to the Jews, he said, "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit
fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning."
The best way to determine the purpose of anything is to see how it
is used. Watch and see how Peter by inspiration used what happened with Cornelius
receiving the Holy Spirit. "And those of the circumcision who believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, 'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have
received the Holy Spirit, just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the
name of the Lord."
Peter, either in the event or the retelling of the story doesn't
conclude that they were saved when they received the Holy Spirit. Instead he concludes
that they were eligible to be baptized and commanded them to do so. The point was that the
Jews didn't think the gospel was for anyone besides them. God showed them that the gospel
was for all with the giving of the Holy Spirit to Cornelius’ family. This gift of the
Holy Spirit was the same given to the apostles at the beginning (Acts 11:15). It was not
the gift of the Spirit given to all who have their sins remitted when they repent and are
baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
The Bible is consistent. Instead of looking for a way around what is
obviously taught in verses like Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-5; Galatians
3:26,27; Colossians 2:12; I Peter 3:21, why not just accept it and live by it?
Sincerely,
Leon Barnes