Basic Facts: Baptism do not save.

Chapter Three

BASIC FACTS ABOUT BAPTISM

Before we discuss the controversies first let us establish some basic facts:

A. Baptism does not save

The question here is, Is baptism necessary for salvation?

Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, Lutheran church and several Episcopal churches believe that baptism is the direct instrument of regeneration. Roman Catholicism teaches that unless a person is baptized he will be excluded from heaven. (In that case the thief who was on the right hand of Jesus could never enter paradise. If it were necessary, Jesus would have at least made a rain to baptize him. A rain in the midst of an earthquake and darkness would have made a nicer background.). It was these false mystic power of baptism that made the early heretics to baptize living as a proxy for the dead.

Even in many traditional churches children who are not baptized are not buried in the cemetery. May be we can interpret it as that they do not belong to the church until baptized. All evangelicals and Pentecostals agree that baptism being a ceremony cannot save. If baptism saves, it was very easy to get saved.

It is clearly the gospel that saves us. But what is the gospel? It is explained by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:1-4: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. Baptism is not mentioned here.

Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize: "I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." (1 Cor. 1:14-17) If baptism is necessary for salvation then why did Paul avoided it as far as possible? Why did he not mention it in context of salvation anywhere?

Acts, Peter was preaching the gospel, people got saved, and then they were baptized.

Acts 10:44-46"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.' So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

These people were saved. They were given the gift of tongues, which is a gift the Holy Spirit to the believers. (1 Cor. 14:1-5) If they had the evil spirit they might still speak in tongues but they will be praising their gods. Evidently they were saved before they were baptized. Often misrepresented quotation to support the salvific function of baptism is the verse:

John 3:5, "Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.'" There are many who claim that the "born of water" here represents water baptism. This is a clear misreading of the text taken out of context. Let us read the context.

Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

This interview with Nicodemus took place before the public ministry of Jesus. Jesus told Nic that unless a man is born again he couldn’t be saved. The response of Nic was how could he go back to his mother’s womb. Now notice that Jesus says:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus evidently mentions two births. Born of water, Born of spirit. These are two distinct births. Both are necessary to enter into the kingdom of God. Then in traditional style the same idea is repeated to explain the two births, Born of flesh and Born of the Spirit. Then he emphasizes, you must be born again. Every man is born of water, i.e. born of flesh. He must be born again in the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. Being born from the watery womb makes a person fleshly person – a child of Adam – a living soul. . Being born of the Spirit makes a man-the living soul- into a child of the second Adam – spiritual person

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Jesus began to baptize in the traditional manner of John of repentance soon after, delivering the same message of impending Kingdom of God. This was not the Christian baptism of salvation, because Jesus was not crucified, nor did he ascend to heaven and the Holy spirit was not given to them

Another passage which is oft quoted is

Acts 2:38, "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.‘"

Notice that salvation is not mentioned in this verse. Repentance is connected with baptism. It has always been so connected. Repentance alone will not lead to salvation. Baptism is an expression of repentance. It is Jesus who saves. But repentance is the first step.

1 Pet. 3:21, "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also -- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

What does baptism correspond to? Is it the flood? Or, is it the ark? What was it that saved Noah and his family? Was it the water or the ark? Obviously, it was the Ark. Noah built and entered the ark by faith and was saved (Heb. 11:7). The waters destroyed the unbelievers. (2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6). It was the Ark that saved. Noah entered the ark by faith. Baptism here evidently refers to the Ark, not to the waters. That is why the rest of the verse says, "not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God" as referred in Col. 2:11-12.

Again it is not evident that the baptism referred to here refers to water baptism. Mathew Henry explains it as follows:

Noah's salvation in the ark upon the water, which carried him above the floods, set forth the salvation of all true believers. That temporal salvation by the ark was a type of the eternal salvation of believers by baptism of the Holy Spirit. To prevent mistakes, the apostle declares what he means by saving baptism; not the outward ceremony of washing with water, which, in itself, does no more than put away the filth of the flesh, but that baptism, of which the baptismal water formed the sign. Not the outward ordinance, but when a man, by the

regeneration of the Spirit was enabled to repent and profess faith, and purpose a new life, uprightly, and as in the presence of God. Let us beware that we rest not upon outward forms. Let us learn to look on the ordinances of God spiritually, and to inquire after the spiritual effect and working of them on our consciences. We would willingly have all religion reduced to outward things. But many who were baptized, and constantly attended the ordinances, have remained without Christ, died in their sins, and are now past recovery. Rest not then till thou

art cleansed by the Spirit of Christ and the blood of Christ. His resurrection from the dead is that whereby we are assured of purifying and peace.

Titus 3:5, "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."
The washing of rebirth can only be that washing of the blood of Christ that cleanses us. It is not the symbol that saves, but the reality. The reality is the blood of Christ.

If baptism were necessary for salvation, we would expect to find it stressed whenever the gospel is presented in Scripture.

Though Peter mentions baptism in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38), his sermon from Solomon's portico in the Temple (Acts 3:12-26), Peter makes no mention to baptism. He links forgiveness of sin to repentance (3:19). If baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sin, why didn't Peter say so in Acts 3?

Paul never made baptism as a part of his gospel presentation. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul gives a summary of the gospel message he preached. There is no mention of baptism. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul states that "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel," thus clearly differentiating the gospel from baptism. That is difficult to understand if baptism is necessary for salvation. If baptism were part of the gospel itself, necessary for salvation, what good would it have done Paul to preach the gospel, but not baptize? No one would have been saved. Paul clearly understood baptism to be separate from the gospel, and hence in no way efficacious for salvation. In Galations 5:1-12 Paul rejects the argument that circumcision is necessary for salvation. But Paul makes no alternate claim that baptism is required in place of circumcision, but emphasizes that we are saved by faith through Jesus Christ alone.

The purpose writing the book of John was that we "might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." Therefore, if we want to know about salvation, we need to look into this book. But there is no reference to water baptism at all in this book. The only reference to it is in the conversation to Nicodemus well ahead of any institution of baptism and could not have been referring to that at all. To add force to the importance of John's Gospel regarding this controversy about water baptism, it should be mentioned that it was written in about 90 A.D. This means it was written well after the final Pentecost. But John never mentioned baptism in connection with salvation.

Perhaps the most convincing refutation of the view that baptism is necessary for salvation is those who were saved apart from baptism. We have no record of the apostles being baptized, yet Jesus pronounced them clean of their sins (John 15:3--note that the Word of God, not baptism, is what cleansed them). The penitent woman (Luke 7:37-50), the paralytic man (Matthew 9:2), and the publican (Luke 18:13-14) also experienced forgiveness of sins apart from baptism. The Bible also gives us an example of people who were saved before being baptized. In Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius and those with him were converted through Peter's message. That they were saved before being baptized is evident from their reception of the Holy Spirit (v. 44) and the gifts of the Spirit (v. 46) before their baptism. Indeed, it is the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit (and hence were saved) that led Peter to baptize them (cf. v. 47). In every case of conversion, baptism comes after salvation showing clearly that baptism is not part of the salvation

What then is implied in the baptism? Confession is the believing in heart and confessing with the lips. Every faith must be declared in action. Baptism is an open act of faith and the act of joining the church. It has no meaning when performed in isolation. Hence all baptisms were performed in the open among the community of believers. It is the community that makes the difference. Salvation is becoming part of the body of Christ, which is the Church. The teaching here is that the salvation is not individual as most modern preaching emphasize. Man is not saved individually, but by becoming part of the body of Christ. Christ takes up not individuals. He saves his bride - the church. Hence in a wider sense baptism leads to salvation. Not the act but becoming part of the church.

Discuss these verses:
Acts 2:38 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.
It does not follow from baptism, but from believing Jesus.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

This verse must be interpreted along with

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teach all nations --- baptize them. Baptize whom? The nations

Preach gospel------- believe and baptized are saved

You were told to baptize all nations. But only those who believe among them are saved.

When the Greek text of Matthew 28:19 says "Make disciples of all nations," there is no grammatical basis for saying that this means, "individuals from all nations, not nation"; and that the "baptizing them" refers to "those who were made disciples". Rather, it commands, "Disciple all nations, baptizing them (nations)." Matheteusate panta ta ethne (disciple all the nations) baptizontes autous, (baptizing them). The accusative case pronoun "them" (autous) refers to "nations" (ethne), the nearest and obvious noun referent. It cannot refer to "disciples." "Make disciples" is a verb (matheteusate).

Gal. 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Baptism is a clothing - an outer cover of declaration of faith in the open. A child born needs a cloth to protect him from cold and heat. So is baptism. But lack of clothing will not make the child an unborn entity.

Acts 15:10-11 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."