Uncle Floyd's Letter
Dear Brother Editor:
Other day on the radio a preacher was ridiculin the idea that baptism is necessary to salvation. He told a story 'bout a woman who heard a sermon on "The Sheep and the Goats" and was taught to be baptized so she could become a sheep. Her kids couldn't get over her comin in home wet after the baptism. Next day they got the ole billy goat down to the creek behind the house and was duckin him. Their mother heard the commotion and went down to investigate. She asked what in heaven's name they was doin. They replied, "We've baptized this ole goat fourteen times and he ain't turned to a sheep yet."
I guess the preacher thought his story proved that baptism don't mean a thing towards salvation. But I've been a thinking about it. He preaches to people ever day in hopes of transforming them from goats into sheep. Does he think preachin is necessary? Them kids could have been down there preachin to that ole goat and fourteen sermons wouldn't have turned him into a sheep.
This same preacher prays fer people. What if them kids had been down there prayin fer that ole goat? They could have prayed fourteen prayers and he still wouldn't have been a sheep.
Three things is wrong with this preacher's story: (1) Men and women ain't literal goats. (2) When people are saved they ain't changed physical. (3) Baptism alone don't save. People must believe (Mk. 18:15,16) and repent (Acts 2:38) before baptism will do them any good. Since that ole goat the kids had could neither believe ner repent, naturally he couldn't be changed into a sheep.
It's a shame that honest folks get deceived by little stories like this. If a man is saved before baptism, he is a sheep before he gets into Christ, fer we are "baptized into Christ." (Gal. 3:27) If a man can be transformed from a goat into a sheep without gettin into Christ, he don't need Christ, nohow.
And who ever heard of duckin a sheep in water to prove that he is a sheep? This radio preacher said we are baptized to show that we are saved. He should have had the kids in this story duckin a sheep in the river to demonstrate to the world that he was a sheep.
Well, Brother Editor, It gets my goat that folk don't realize that the real goat in this case was that radio preacher.
Yours truly, Uncle Floyd