Foundations of Faith
BAPTISM
It was stated in the Apr97 issue of GROWING that “salvation is not produced by our works, whether our good deeds, our baptism, our confirmation, our church attendance,… or our service.” Rather, we are saved through faith by God’s grace (or favor shown to us who deserve the opposite). “By grace are you saved through faith … not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).
However, water baptism is very closely connected with salvation. Jews of Jerusalem, people of Samaria, Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius the centurion, Lydia of Thyatira, the jailor of Philippi, and others were baptized shortly after their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour (Acts 2:41; 8:12,38; 9:18; 10:44-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:5). We shall attempt to show, by studying the meaning of baptism, that it is not a requirement for salvation but an act that should closely follow our salvation.
Baptism-going down into and coming up out of the water-is the acting out of a story. First of all it is the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I am put under the water, I demonstrate publicly that I believe that Christ died for my sins and was buried. When I come out of the water, I show that I believe in the resurrection of Christ, that my Saviour is alive!
This meaning is implied in the apostle Paul’s teaching about baptism in Romans 6; but there is even more to it as we now shall see:”Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection…. If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Rom. 5:20-6:8).
One result of Christ’s death on the cross is the providing of forgiveness to sinners and deliverance from the eternal judgment that our sins deserved. Another result of His death is that we who are saved are viewed by God as being “dead with Christ” or “crucified with Christ” (Rom. 6:5,6,8; Gal. 2:20), “buried with Him” (Rom. 6:4), and “risen with Christ” (Col. 3:1; Rom. 6:5). The ceremony of water baptism is presented as a public enactment of these Biblical truths.
These concepts are not easy to understand, and well-respected Bible scholars disagree on the exact interpretation of these verses. However, it is clear in Romans 6 that our water baptism serves to remind us that we “are dead to sin” and should not “live any longer therein.”
The word “baptism” means immersion. My baptism-burial in water -is a public declaration that the old “I” that was totally dominated by my sinful nature inherited from Adam is dead and buried. My coming up out of the water is a demonstration that there is now a new “I” that is linked with the risen Christ, so that I “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
By our baptism we declare publicly that a change has taken place in our life. Others can now expect to see a positive difference in our attitude, behavior, love for God’s Word, faithfulness to our Lord, obedience to our parents, and love to our brothers and sisters. By our baptism we are really saying, “If you catch me behaving sinfully like the person I used to be, I invite you to remind me of my baptism-that I am “dead to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). (See Assignment 6)
Do not Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38 show that baptism is required for salvation? “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who believes not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). There are a great many passages in the New Testament that clearly teach that salvation is by faith alone and not of works (see Apr97). The thief on the cross was assured of being in Paradise with Christ, even though he had no opportunity to be baptized (Luke 23:43). The believers in Caesarea were baptized after they were saved and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48). The second part of Mark 16:16 says only that “he who believes not”-with no mention of those who are not baptized-“shall be damned.” And, as shown above, the very meaning of water baptism- dead to sin, buried and risen with Christ-is opposed to its being a requirement for salvation.
So in Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38, baptism cannot be a requirement for salvation, but is expected to be a public demonstration of it on the part of every believer. This was particularly crucial with the early Jewish converts to Christ. They had publicly rejected Christ and crucified Him. So if they were truly saved they would be willing to take a public stand for Christ in baptism (see Rom. 10:9).
Why do some people baptize infants? Some believe-without clear support from Scripture-that baptism protects the child from going to hell if it dies before the “age of accountability.” Others understand baptism in the New Testament to be an extension of the Old Testament rite of circumcision. Some of these view baptism as a pledge by the parents-on the ground of the death and resurrection of Christ-to bring up the child in the knowledge of God’s Word and the gospel of Christ.
It seems to this writer that persons who are baptized as infants are deprived of the distinct testimony, blessing, and benefit provided in baptism as described earlier.
What does the verse mean:”What shall they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not?” (1 Cor. 15:29)? In the history of the Church, some who have publicly declared by baptism their faith in Christ have paid for it with their lives. There were those in Corinth who did not believe in resurrection of the dead. So the apostle Paul argues:if the dead are not raised, what is the sense in becoming a Christian, being baptized, and exposing oneself to martyrdom? “Baptized for the dead” refers to new Christians filling up the ranks, taking the place of those who have died.
Running the Race
Assignment 6: Write out (a) a verse in Colossians 2 that speaks of the meaning of baptism, and (b) another verse in Colossians 2 and a verse or two in Colossians 3 that give practical applications of the teaching of baptism.