Baptism
A few years ago, a member of the Church of Christ came to my door and asked if I would like to join a Bible study they were starting. As we talked, I saw she was from a particular sect of the Church of Christ which believes you needed to be baptized to be saved. I thought I’d share why that just isn’t so.
The two obvious examples in Scripture are the thief on the cross and Cornelius. The thief was promised salvation by Jesus (Luke 23:39-43). When the soldiers came to kill Jesus and the two thiefs, they didn’t need to break Jesus’ legs because He was already dead, He had already died for the thief’s sins. So, the thief was saved under the New Testament and without being baptized.
Cornelius and his family received the Holy Spirit, a sign of salvation, before they were baptized (Acts 10:44-48).
In 1 Cor. 1:14-17 Paul says he was glad he did not baptize many in the church at Corinth and that baptism is not a part of the gospel. These passages are all evidence that baptism is not necessary for salvation.
Now we come to 1 Peter 3:21 which seems to say that water baptism saves you. And, there is a very important point to make here. When we come across a passage or two which seem to contradict the teaching of the rest of Scripture, we can be sure we are misinterpreting that passage(s). In the Bible, baptism is always preceded by faith. Baptism is also used to described a number of things in Scripture besides water baptism. We are baptized into Christ Jesus and into His death (Rom. 6:3), for instance. 1 Cor. 10:1-5 speaks of the Israelites being baptized into Moses. So, baptism is often used as a description of aligning with a person rather than an act. 1 Peter 3:21, no doubt tells us that accepting Jesus, faith in Him, saves us. Water cannot do what the blood of Christ has done.
Then there is Mark 16:16 which says that those who believe and are baptized will be saved. A couple of points to make here. First, this passage of Scripture (Mark 16:9-19) is not in some of the earliest manuscripts, but it is in a few. Some scholars believe it to be an addition or “note to self” by a very early copyist who was making a copy for himself. When he lent it to a friend, the friend copied it into the text as if it were supposed to be there, and this was passed on through later copies. So, these scholars don’t believe Mark 16:16 is actually Scripture.
I’d rather stand on the conservative side, though, and accept this as fully inspired until proven otherwise. So, if we see that baptism is preceded by faith in Scripture, we should offer the same explanation here. You are not saved if you don’t believe. And if you believe, you should be baptized.
If baptism doesn’t save you, should you be baptized then? Well, it’s a command of Jesus Himself (Matt 28:16-20). And, throughout the book of Acts, we see the same pattern repeated: belief then baptism. If you have yet to be baptized as a believer, it is something you should certainly consider as a public declaration of your new life in Christ.
Luke 23:39-43 (ESV)
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Acts 10:44-48 (ESV)
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
1 Corinthians 1:14-17 (ESV)
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.
16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 Peter 3:21 (ESV)
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Romans 6:3-4 (ESV)
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 (ESV)
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Mark 16:9-20 (ESV)
9
[[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.
13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]
Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Believers Armed and Dangerous 