Baptism Unto Salvation
“And now why are you waiting: Arise and be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts
22:16). These were the words of Ananias spoken, to Saul at Damascus. I do not
know if any clearer description of baptism could be given. Saul was to have the
sins of his life washed away by the act of baptism. However, today there are
many who would claim that Paul was a saved man even before Ananias spoke to
him. Some would say that Saul was saved on the road to Damascus, as the Lord
spoke to him. They would tell us that Saul was simply baptized as a result of
this salvation. That actually with, or without, this baptism his soul was
secure simply because he believed.
In our previous discussions, we have talked
about the concept of belief only salvation. We have seen several “works” that
man must complete in order to receive the salvation of his soul. For some
reason, people do not want to see belief as a work even though it is described
as such, in John 6. People do not want to see repentance as a work even though
it bears fruit (Matthew 3), a description of work throughout the New Testament.
People don’t want to see confession as a work, even though it is done with the
mouth (Romans 10:9-10) and requires a certain form of life. But, for some
reason when we hear someone teaching that baptism is necessary for the salvation
of the soul we see a meritorious work that we engage in to earn our salvation.
When we look at baptism, it helps to notice
the broad spectrum of beliefs that are held in regard to the subject. Some
believe and teach that baptism is just a response to salvation. In other words,
we demonstrate the inward change by an outward action. We are baptized because
we are saved. Others would teach that it really does not matter if we are
baptized at all; as long as we have faith we are saved. Others, like me, would
teach that baptism is absolutely essential to the forgiveness of sins.
The first thing that we need to look at is
the Bible’s teaching on whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. If
the Bible does not say baptism is necessary for salvation, then very simply it
isn’t, however, if the Bible says that it is necessary for salvation then
clearly one must be baptized to be saved. In order to understand this, we need
to grasp what it is that causes man to need salvation. In other words, how are
we lost? Many today believe that we are lost because of the sin of Adam. We
have all inherited this sinful nature and thus we are lost. Notice that this
teaches that we are lost through no action of our own. We can not help but be
lost. According to this theology it makes sense that salvation be by grace and
grace alone. We had nothing to do with our lost state, so how could we possibly
have anything to do with our salvation. The only problem with this idea is that
the Bible nowhere teaches that I am lost because of the sins of another. As a
matter of fact, the Bible teaches the very opposite. We find that only the
guilty are found guilty before God (Ezekiel 18). In other words, I am lost
because of my own actions. Furthermore, we find in the word of God that sin is
the thing that separates me from my God. In Genesis 3, we find that sin brings
death. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. In Isaiah 59:1-2,
we find that sin causes God not to hear us or to help us. In Colossians 1:21,
we find that we are alienated from and enemies with God due to wicked works.
James says that sin when it is full grown brings death (James 1:15). Whose sin
does all of this? My sin. In 1Corinthians 6:9-10, we find that “the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul then goes on to tell us
what makes one unrighteous, and what does he say… our sins. So if it is the
sins that stain my soul that cause me to be lost, would it not follow that in
order to be saved, from the punishment for my sins, I need to be forgiven of
those sins? So the real question in salvation is; how are my sins to be
forgiven? This was the question of the men in Acts 2. Peter preached to them
and brought them to the point that they believed that Jesus Christ was the son
of God. Upon the realization that they had killed Jesus they asked in verse 37
“what shall we do?” The answer Peter gave is one that many today do not
accept. Before we look at what that answer was let us look at what the answer
was not. Notice in the text that these people already had come to the point of
belief. Peter had done an amazing job of tying the messianic prophecies into
the happenings of the day to demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth was the one the
prophets had looked forward to. It was at the culminating statement of Peter,
“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ,” that the
people were “cut to the heart.” However, Peter did not respond to their
question by saying that they had nothing that needed doing because they were
already saved. Instead, in verse 38, he gives them something to do. It is
interesting again to notice that the argument over this passage has to do with
baptism. What about repentance? I want us to notice in the passage that Peter
does not tell them that God will repent them, rather he tells them to repent.
This is something required of them to be forgiven of the sin of shedding the
blood of the son of God. Along with this Peter adds “and let every one of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” That is
right, Peter said that baptism is for the remission of sins. Some want to come
along and claim that the Greek word eis, translated here as for, means
because of. In other words, Peter was telling them to change their lives
(repent) and be baptized because their sins were remitted. The problem
with this is that the word eis never means because of. Strong’s defines
the word in this way, “1773 occurrences; AV translates as “into” 573 times, “to”
281 times, “unto” 207 times, “for” 140 times, “in” 138 times, “on” 58 times,
“toward” 29 times, “against” 26 times, and translated miscellaneously 321 times.
1 into, unto, to, towards, for, among.” Notice the forward looking
nature of the word. How can it be possible to then take this word and redefine
it in order to meet certain preconceived ideas? Compare Acts 2:38 to
Matthew26:28. "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins." Notice the phrase “for the remission of
sins.” The word for here is the same Greek word eis. Let me ask you can
we define eis as because of in this passage? Was the blood of Christ
shed because the sins of man had been forgiven or in order to
forgive the sins of man? I think we could all agree that the blood of Christ
was shed in order to forgive our sins.
Is baptism a meritorious work? No. There
is no way by which man can earn his salvation. Ephesians 2:8 makes this plain,
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it
is the gift of God." We are saved by grace through faith. In this we see both the
work of God, and the work of man. Grace is God’s part. It is only through the
unmerited favor of God that Jesus was allowed to come and die for us and that we
are able to know of His loving kindness. The question is does this grace
eliminate my need to respond? Is their nothing that God expects of me in
return? Paul says yes, faith. Someone says that this is exactly the point;
faith and faith alone. The problem with this is that true faith is never
alone. I suppose that the simplest way to demonstrate this is to look at
Jericho. In Joshua 6, the children of Israel had come to the city of Jericho.
Verse 1 says that the “city was securely shut up.” The walls were high and
thick, nearly impregnable, but God commanded Joshua to take the city. He told
Joshua in verse 2, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the
mighty men of valor.” The question is did Joshua believe God? Absolutely he
did, but how do we know? Not once in the chapter are we told that Joshua
believed what the Lord had to say, so how can we be sure? It is really very
simple; he carried out the instructions of the Lord, he obeyed. Why did the
walls fall? Was it because of grace? Was it because of faith? Was it because
of obedience? Yes! The walls fell by grace through an obedient faith. James
makes this point clear. Speaking of Abraham’s obedient faith he says, “Do you
see that faith was working together with his words, and by works faith was made
perfect” (James 2:22). We mentioned the Corinthians in 1Corinthians 6:9-10.
How did they go from a state of unrighteousness to a state of righteousness?
Verse 11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified …” That is right they were washed then
sanctified and justified (declared free of guilt). So at what point was Saul
saved? Was he saved on the road to Damascus? Was he saved at the point of
belief? Or was he saved when he “washed away his sins” in the waters of
baptism? “There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the
removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward
God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Peter 3:21).
By Shawn Chancellor
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