Must You Be Baptized to get to Heaven?

Misconception: “You Must be Baptized get to Heaven”

This is another very common misunderstanding.  Don’t get me wrong, Baptism is of supreme importance, but many people will be in Heaven who have not been dunked.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)

Jesus was hanging on the cross when he made the promise, above, to the man hanging next to Him. Nowhere is it implied that Jesus got the other man got off the cross, baptized him, and got back on. Surely baptism is not strictly required to get to heaven.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV)

Pretty simple, huh? All you have to do is believe in Jesus.

Actually it is not quite that simple. It is not as simple as believing that 2+2=4. This sort of faith is a gift from God. You can never find God with your mind, alone. Trust me on this, I have tried to explain God to a devout atheist. Using the most convincing arguments I could find, he just could not see. God must reveal Himself to you. The disciples walked with Jesus for nearly three years before it started to become clear to them who Jesus was. And then, once they realized that, Jesus said that God had revealed that to them. Surely if a person can hang around the Son of God, see miracle after astonishing miracle for three years and not realize Who He is, there is a certain blindness in the natural mind. Wouldn’t you agree?

But have heart! If you want to find Him – it is because He first wanted you to find Him. So keep looking! The natural mind does not want to find God because the natural mind wants to be in control and do what it pleases.

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him (John 6:44 KJV)

Watchman Nee says that Eternal life and Salvation are not the same thing. Salvation is salvation from this world. Eternal Life is of course self-explanatory. ^[1]

Watchman Nee says that Salvation is salvation from the world system. Salvation is not a personal thing, it is a positional thing. Like being on Noah’s Ark. Either you were on the ark or you were not.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38 KJV)

Baptism is absolutely critical for this life For it is by believing and being baptized that one gets the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is no way to make any spiritual progress in life without the Holy Spirit. I could explain it for a week and you would not understand unless you have experienced it.
It is like trying to explain to someone the feeling you get of a job well done. The satisfaction of looking back at your work and realizing you’ve done a great job. If you’ve never experienced it, there is no need to try to explain it.

The Holy Spirit quickens your spirit to allow God to communicate with you.  ^[2]

The unregenerated spirit is dead to God. Though He can communicate with you (mostly by conscience) There is very little God can do, except to try to lead you to the cross by making your conscience unbearable.

1 A Living Sacrifice Chapter 1
By Watchman Nee
Christian Fellowship Publishers (October 1972)
ISBN-10: 093500808X
ISBN-13: 978-0935008081

2 The Spiritual Man Part 1, Chapter 4 (Combined Edition)
By Watchman Nee
Christian Fellowship Publishers (1977)
ISBN-10: 0935008-39-X