What About The Thief On The Cross?
What about the thief on the cross? This question is often posed to “prove” that today one can be saved without being baptized (immersed in water), in the name of Jesus, for the forgiveness of sins. They say the thief was not baptized and was saved the day Jesus died on the cross. While it is true, the thief was forgiven of His sins by Jesus and that day would be with Him in Paradise, whether he was baptized or not, does not pertain to understanding how He was saved this day. While Jesus was on earth, He had authority to directly forgive sins of others based on whatever conditions He deemed appropriate. We have other examples of this. Also, the thief along with Jesus lived under the Old Covenant, Law of Moses, which would not be abolished until Jesus’ death had taken place. We now live under the New Covenant and must be saved by the conditions given under that covenant, the apostles’ teaching. Let us look and see whether today baptism is essential to our being saved or not.
