Why did Paul say this? like this?

[BeenThinkin]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Adam Clarke says:

Preparing these adult heathens for baptism by the continual preaching of the word was of much greater consequence than baptizing them when thus prepared to receive and profit by it.

Originally Posted by Austin

And that is a very good point that you made and one that is very accurate. Paul was emphasising his displeasure with the people who were boasting in almost an atmosphere that they were more concerned with who they were attached to by baptism than who they should have been following by faith( Jesus) Paul's quote is definitely appreciated by pastors.

But your explanations are missing my point. If baptism was so important, ( and I believe it is important) as to be a heaven or hell issue, I think it would have been better for Paul not to have said the things he said. I wasn't sent to baptize sounds like it wasn't as important to Paul as present day Pentecostals have made it. He couldn't even remember how many he had baptized. Present day preachers keep a long list of how many got baptized in their revival. The churches post at the end of the year how many were baptized that year. That's good. But Paul didn't seem to place that much importance on it. Why? And yes, I heard some of your explanations, but they seemed rather flimsy to me! Just my opinion!

Someone said we need to keep "the main thing, the main thing", and it would seem to be that Paul was putting much more importance on the cross, than a 3 step plan of salvation, that he was not sent to do part of. To me the "main thing" was not a 3 step plan but the preaching of the cross!

What say you? And thanks for responding.

Been Thinkin