Articles
Why Baptism?
The matter of baptism and its place in God's plan for our salvation is widely disputed. Some say it is merely "an outward sign of inward grace," meaning it is simply a visible demonstration one is already saved. Others say it is "not necessary for salvation, but we should do it anyway as a matter of obedience." [Does that mean one can be saved without obeying a command of our Lord? Hmm...] Still others say that those who teach its necessity are teaching nothing less than "works salvation." To know which, if any, is correct, we must appeal to the standard for all spiritual matters: God's written word, the Bible.
If we are willing to accept what the Bible teaches — even when it conflicts with what we have been taught and what we have believed all our lives — then we can know baptism's place in God's plan for our salvation. We will not make excuses, we will not argue "But my preacher said," and we won't appeal to what many millions believe or even what our parents and grandparents believed; we will accept what the word of God says, and we will resolve to do just that. So, what does it say about baptism?
We Are Baptized Into Christ. (Rom. 6:3) Paul tells us, by Divine inspiration, that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3); if all spiritual blessings — including the forgiveness of sins — are in Christ, then we must be in Christ to have access to those spiritual blessings, right? And how is one brought into Christ? By the act of baptism! The Bible says nothing about being brought into Christ by faith alone, but Paul clearly said, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”
It is in that act that God brings us into Christ, being baptized into His death; that is an important concept we must understand, for what did His death do but pay the price for our sins? Paul would later admonish the disciples in Rome of what that union with Christ must mean: “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:5, 6).
You see, since this act [baptism] is what unites us to Christ's death, we should do well to remember that our “old man” [the sinful one] was crucified with Him, and His death removes our sins from us. That “body of sin” is eliminated that we might be raised a new man. It is in this act that we parallel the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, which leads us to the next point…
We Are Buried With Christ in Baptism. (Rom. 6:4) Paul went on to say, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” God unites us with Christ in the act of baptism, so just as Christ was raised to life by the Father, we will be raised by the Father to a new spiritual life. Jesus died, was buried, then was raised by the Father; when we are convicted of the truth that Jesus is the Christ [we believe], we die to sin, are buried in baptism where God unites us with Christ, and raised by the Father to “walk in newness of life.” If we do not die to sin, and if we are not buried with Christ, how is it that we can be raised by the Father to become this new creation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17)?
Paul adds to this thought in his letter to those in Colossæ, likening the act of baptism to “the circumcision made without hands” (Col. 2:11-13). Paul again says to those who are already disciples, “you were…buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Do you see that, here, Paul says we are raised up by God when, in the act of baptism, we have “faith in the working of God”? And what is that work of God? Paul then says, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” You see, baptism is not a "work" we do that somehow merits salvation; as Paul said it, when we are baptized, we are trusting that God will do the work of forgiving us of all trespasses [sins]. Man does no work in the act of baptism; God does it all! God is the one who forgives when we are baptized into Christ. Don't be deceived by those who say baptism is "works salvation"; those who mock this act as such are denigrating the very work of God when a man obeys.
The truth is, there is not one Bible passage that says God unites us with Christ when we merely believe; there is not one Bible passage that says the Father raises us up to walk in newness of life after merely believing. You may die to sin when you believe, but if you are not buried with Christ in baptism, the Father will not raise you up in Christ as a new creation. You are still that "old man"!
Baptism Is For The Forgiveness of Sins. The very first time the gospel message was preached, revealing to the world that Jesus was the Christ and Son of God, and that God had raised Him up to sit on His throne in heaven, when the people asked what to do, let us note that Peter and the apostles did not say, "Nothing! God has done all the work!" They did not tell the people, "Just pray the sinner's prayer and ask Jesus into your heart." No, Peter and the apostles said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:37, 38). Later that same day, when the people gathered on Solomon's Porch after seeing a great miracle, Peter told the audience, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).
Please don't say "for" means "because of" [already forgiven]; if you insist on arguing this, will you then say that when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and said, “this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28), that He meant His blood would be shed because man was already forgiven? Surely not! The fact is, there is not one translation of Acts 2:38 that renders Peter saying, "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ because you are already forgiven." Not one.
Baptism Saves Us. (1 Pet. 3:21) I am no fan of the NIV, but it actually has the clearest translation of this verse: “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Again, baptism is not an act that saves us in and of itself; as Peter said, “It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” It saves us because Christ was raised up, proving Himself to be the Christ, Son of God, and only Savior. If He had not died, baptism would profit us nothing; but He did die and He was raised, and when we are baptized into Christ, we are buried with Him and we are raised with Him. His resurrection is what makes the act of baptism of any effect!
Please consider these words seriously, for these are the words of God. It does not matter what the majority of the world believes, what your parents did, or even what you think.
Next week, we will consider arguments against baptism.
—— Steven Harper
