Can a believer be a part of the Body of Christ without being water baptized?

On another topic we were discussing baptisms.
I think the actual subject of the topic was the evidence for the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

But somehow we veered into questions about water baptism and salvation.
At least one individual had strong feelings about the necessity of water baptism for salvation.

In thinking about the significance of water baptism from my perspective, I landed on this topic question:

Can a believer be a part of the Body of Christ without being water baptized?

• Acts 2:41
  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
  
  
• Acts 2:47
  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
  
  
• Acts 5:14
  Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

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Discussion questions:
- What is it that makes a believer a part of the Body of Christ?
- Can a believer be a part of the Body of Christ without being baptized?
- Is there another way to became a part of the Body of Christ?
- Can a believer be saved yet be outside the Body of Christ?
- Can those who refuse to commit to membership in a body of believers be saved?

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For the purposes of this topic the Body of Christ is the whole body of believers.
Or could be viewed as those who belong to a church, a subset of the whole Body of Christ.
The topic also points at the importance, or unimportance, of water baptism as an
entry point into a local church body, or into the whole Body of Christ.

Other aspects of the Body (body) of Christ may come into play.
- The body of Christ that was given for us on the cross.
- The representative element in the Lord's Supper. (the bread broken for us)
- The danger of taking of the body (bread) unworthily.
- The body of Christ as representative of the work of the Atonement on our behalf.
- The body of Christ as being made up of us as body parts, with specific functions.
- The body of Christ needing all the body parts to function properly.

There may be other aspects as well.

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FredVB said:

Being baptized in water does not save a person.

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I agree, but that is not the topic question. (see below)

FredVB said:

There are not scripture passages saying that.

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Recently these scriptures below were posted as defense of salvation through baptism. And in Acts chapter 2:38 Peter famously says:
"Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Mk16:15-16
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

1Peter 3:21
21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

FredVB said:

There is spiritual baptism all true believers, who are in Christ, have. We respond to God who provides everything for it in faith, that we come to Christ and are restored to God, through Christ's work and the work of God's Spirit, but not by any of our own. With repentance we have we live, with growth for it, yet more toward God's will which is being shown, and works come according to the fruit of the Spirit growing in us. Some still never grow so much as others, but what we each need is to compare ourselves just to where we have been, to keep going with our growth having God in our lives.

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The topic question is whether someone can be a part of the Body of Christ without being water baptized.
Or to put it another way, how do we become part of the Body of Christ? Can a believer that has separated themselves
from the church be/remain part of the Body of Christ?

Actually read the OP for more information. Too many people are only responding to the topic titles.
And not really understanding what the subject is.

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New topic:


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Wick Stick said:

Can you be adopted without an adoption ceremony?

Yeah, but that isn't what usually happens.

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Most respondents to this question want to conflate salvation with being part of the Body of Christ.
I am trying to separate the two issues to examine them separately.

While I agree in principle that a new believer becomes, or should become, a part of the Body of Christ, that might not be the case.
A body is made of parts. Each part has a function. I think the church has a fair share of members that aren't functioning as body parts.
And many have left the church all together, meaning they have no active part in any local congregation. (the church)

Can we really declare these nonperforming believers as being a part of the Body of Christ?
I'm not questioning their salvation. I am questioning their status as part of the Body of Christ.

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TrevorHL said:

I believe that it is essential to believe in the death and resurrection of Christ and the coming Kingdom of God upon the earth to be saved and this belief motivates the individual to be identified with the death and resurrection of Christ by water baptism, and by this means the believer becomes part of the body of Christ Acts 8:5-6,12, Galatians 3:26-29, Romans 6:1-8.

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Greetings to you as well.

Most respondents to this question want to conflate salvation with being part of the Body of Christ.
I am trying to separate the two issues to examine them separately.

While I agree in principle that a new believer becomes, or should become, a part of the Body of Christ, that might not be the case.
A body is made of parts. Each part has a function. I think the church has a fair share of members that aren't functioning as body parts.
And many have left the church all together, meaning they have no active part in any local congregation. (the church)

Can we really declare these nonperforming believers as being a part of the Body of Christ?
I'm not questioning their salvation. I am questioning their status as a functioning part of the Body of Christ.

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Wick Stick said:

I'm not sure they ought to be separated. The word "salvation" confuses the issue because we use the word differently than the Bible does.

In the Bible, salvation is a state of being that directly results from an active practice of obedience to God. By that definition, I don't think the two can be separated.

But when we say salvation, we mostly seem to mean what happens after death, which is a different thing.

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Sure. That's that way it is supposed to work. But... ???

Wick Stick said:

Status? I don't think that's positional. It's more about participation.

If you allow Jesus to work through you, then you are acting as His body... while He is working through you. Then you go back to your everyday stuff that is not Jesus working through you, and you are not acting as His body.

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I agree. But doesn't LACK of participation make us NOT a part of the BODY?
Can we be a body part if we have no function in the BODY?

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