Dusty idea today is God doesn't need any help from mankind with figuring out if His wisdom will suffice for our salvation, or the mode of how that salvation comes about.
Concerning the obediance of man to God, man's reasoning has no business or place in that process. God's will is perfect and the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the writings of the authors in the New Testament is without question. If you think the Bible is flawed in some places why do you read any of it? Human reasoning is being applied to the author's writings by well meaning individuals, it still doesn't by any means excuse it. Anything that is deemed out of date or not relevant to our span of time can only be deduced by human reasoning, it is certainly not out of the scriptures.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (ESV)
I'd like to discuss a question I have heard on many occasions with regards to baptism and if it is essential, or is it just something we do because Jesus did it. The question is, "What if a person gets in their vehicle to go be baptized and they have a wreck and die on the way?" The answer to this question is,"God is God." God is THE God and he can do what he wills. God is omnipresent, meaning he knows the future as well as the past and everthing in between. I pose the question, "What if a person accidently fell and died 5 min. before God knew that someone was coming to talk to this person to persuade them to believe?" Would this not also fit the style of scenario posed by the first question? Also judgement is going to take place on a heavenly level. Jesus can do what he wants to do, he has all power in heaven and earth, and under this senario he can save who he likes. God doesn't need us to decide for him if he's being fair or not. God is God. This universe is his as well as everyone of us. God will be just at the judgement, we just need to do his will to the best of our ability. One may decide on baptism and die in a car wreck on the way to being baptized, but we need to make that effort because that is what the scriptures say. All conversions after the day of Pentecost in Acts include immediate baptism. We, the creation, just need to read the Bible without adding human reasoning biases that God, the creator, has had his prophets and apostles write through inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The sins remain until the act of obedience of baptism is exercised. It's not the water its the act. Just as Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5 used human reasoning when Elisha told him to wash in the river Jordan 7 times and his leprosy would be healed. His reaction was, thats not grand enough, its too simple and he was angry. But his obedience to God through his prophet Elisha healed him. There wasn't any magic in the water it was the obedience. This same type of obedience is expected of us in the New Testament. Human reasoning about salvation should never be engaged. We should just obey from the heart and not decide for God if this plan he has is gonna work for mankind. Likewise when Paul was struck blind on the road to Damascus, Jesus spoke to him and said, "It is Jesus who you are persecuting." Do you think he believed on Jesus after that? The next three days he was blind and didn't eat or drink. Do you think he believed on Jesus as the Messiah those three days? Then Ananias came to him and said this as recorded in Acts 22:16, Why do you wait? Arise and baptized and wash away they sins, calling on the name of the Lord. If believing in Jesus and accepting him as your savior gets it done why does Ananias say to wash away his sins after all these other events? I'm not ignoring other scriptures, when you put them all together Baptism is the cleansing moment, the moment we touch Jesus' blood.
Acts 22:16 is the definition for Calling on the name of the Lord, and no one is the judge of that.
