The Relationship of Baptism to Salvation

Transcript

GRM 579
6/28/1998
Relationship of Baptism to Salvation
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

How does baptism relate to salvation? Particularly flowing out of the issue where there are some who would teach that baptism is necessary for salvation, it is included in the gospel, if you will. In other words, you are not saved unless you believe in Christ and are baptized in water. I would understand the biblical teaching to be, you are saved when you believe the gospel. As a result of being saved by believing the gospel you are born again, you are transformed or made new. You become a child of God and, thus, you are to live in obedience to God. So obedience, of which baptism is a part, is an expression of the salvation that you have in Christ, not part of accomplishing that salvation. The distinction is crucial.

What I want to do together with you in our study now is look at some of the passages that are taken to mean you must be baptized to be saved. That faith in Christ alone is not enough to save you, you must also be baptized in water. We looked in Romans, chapter 4 this morning and there saw that Abraham believed God and God credited that to him as righteousness. So, the response that God requires of mankind, and this is not limited by culture or time, is that we believe what God has said and done. Any time we add anything to our responsibility to believe what God has said and done, then we have corrupted God’s plan of salvation.

Salvation has always been by grace through faith, all the way back to the beginning. In Genesis 15:6 we have the first clear statement, even though that’s not the first salvation. That’s the first clear statement made in such a way that that becomes foundational for expressing that truth throughout scripture. But there are passages, that if you just took them alone might seem to indicate that you must believe and be baptized in water in order to be saved. And when I talk about baptism this evening, unless I qualify, I will be talking about water baptism. There is a baptism by the Spirit occurring at salvation and really brings about our salvation. That identifies us with Christ spiritually in His death, burial, and resurrection. I’ll be using the word “baptism” primarily in our study together this evening to talk about water baptism.

Go back to Matthew, Chapter 28. There is no confusion in this passage, but it will be the basic passage from which we will move out. In Matthew 28 we have what is called “the great commission.” Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain in Galilee, following His resurrection from the dead. In verse 18 “Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” And if you’ve been here before when we’ve studied this, you remember that the basic command here is “make disciples.” That’s the imperative, the command and there are three participles that modify the command, “Go and make disciples.”

“Go” is a participle. In English we might say going, make disciples. Baptizing is a participle and we have it translated as such in English with the “ing.” In English our participles usually identify with “ing,” and “teaching.” So you have you’re to “make disciples” and really you “make disciples” wherever you’re going, wherever God sends you, wherever He places you. A part of your going is to make disciples. Then you “baptize” disciples, publicly identifying them with Christ, and you “teach” disciples. That’s an ongoing process, because you teach them all that Christ has commanded so that the maturing that goes on. So, you make disciples.

How do you make a disciple? Well, first they become believers. They’re saved by God’s grace. We’ll see that as we move through some passages. You baptize them then you continue to teach them. But the salvation is expressed in making disciples.

Now in Mark, chapter 16 this commission is expressed, but the wording is a little bit different. In Mark, chapter 16, so this would be the first passage that people who believe that baptism is necessary for salvation usually take you to, at least relating to Christian baptism.

In my discussion with the pastors this week who believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, when I asked them, when did baptism begin to be essential for salvation, they said, with John the Baptist, because John’s baptism was for the remission of sins. There is a problem with that, that we may come to a little bit later. But as far as baptism following the resurrection of Christ is probably this is the first passage people will take you to. In verse 15 of Mark 16, let me just make a note. In your bibles, if you have any kind of marking, you probably have a mark by verse 9 of Mark 16. If you have a bible with notes, it will probably tell you that some of the older manuscripts do not include from verse 9 to the end of the gospel of Mark. That’s not an attack on the inspiration of scripture, it is simply a recognition as we have determined what is the text of scripture that there are questions about the ending in Mark. But I don’t think there is anything here inconsistent with the word of God, so that’s not a point that I’m trying to make to say this passage is nonapplicable. I don’t have a problem dealing with the passage, even though there is question whether it was actually part of Mark as it was originally written.

In verse 15, Christ said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” There is the command to go preach the gospel. We saw the gospel in 1 Corinthians. Paul declared in Chapter 1, “God did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” Then Chapter 15 he says, “the gospel which I preach to you is that Christ died for our sins,” that He was buried, that He was raised, that He was seen by witnesses. The death and resurrection of Christ as payment for our sin is the gospel.

“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.” “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.” There it is, clear, bright as the nose on your face. You have to believe, and you have to be baptized to be saved. Well, if this was the only passage of scripture we had on the subject, I might say that’s a possibility. But even then, there is a question about that interpretation because the last part of the verse says, “but he who has not believed,” disbelieved as we have it, but has not believed, “shall be condemned.” It does not say he who has not believed and has not been baptized or he who has not been baptized, shall be condemned. The condemnation focuses on the one who has not believed.

So this would be consistent with what we saw about circumcision. Now remember, I’m using circumcision as an illustration. Baptism does not replace circumcision. There are major differences between baptism and circumcision and what is being conveyed there. But there are also similarities. Circumcision, for the Jews, expressed what? A circumcision of the heart that came about by the work of God as a result of their believing God. It was assumed that those who had truly believed Him and had their heart changed, would be circumcised. We refer to passages like in Exodus, chapter 12, verses 43 and 44 and verse 48, where the one who was not circumcised was cut off from the nation Israel, and was not allowed to partake of the Passover, which represented God’s cleansing. But Romans 4 made clear circumcision was not part of salvation. It was an act of obedience after salvation. It wasn’t intended to be an expression of that in the Old Testament on the part of the parent as the child, the baby, was circumcised.

Here I take it what he is saying is he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. It is assumed that those who truly believe will be baptized. I mean, if you really believe in Christ, why will you not step forward and be baptized, as He instructed, that you are to make disciples and those disciples are to be baptized. You know, just like in the Old Testament an uncircumcised Jew, was what do you call it? An oxymoron. Circumcision becomes synonymous with being a Jew, so we talk about the circumcised. That refers to the Jews. Now that didn’t mean they were all saved. It didn’t mean circumcision was necessary for salvation, but it did mean that it was generally characteristic of the Jews, and for sure, any believing Jew would have been circumcised.

Now, here, if you believed in Christ, the bible assumes you will step forward and be identified with Him. To be an unbaptized believer raises a question, how long have you been a believer? It just happened to you, I guess, couple of hours ago. Oh no, happened to me 10 years ago. Not baptized? Well wait a minute, lets back up and talk about your salvation. Are you ashamed of Christ? Are you embarrassed to believe in Him, to have people know you believe in Him? Do you refuse to be identified with Him? Oh, no, no, no, I just don’t feel like doing it. Well, we have a problem here.

So, it is assumed. There’s no doubt but that the condemnation is on the one who does not believe. That’s in the context here. The one who does not believe is condemned. And again, taken with the rest of scripture, that explanation fits the passage very well, and it also fits the rest of scripture. To try to make baptism part of salvation and necessary for salvation, would be in direct conflict with other scriptures that we looked at, some of them we looked at this morning.

Okay, look over to John’s gospel, Chapter 3. Quite frankly, when I talk to people about salvation and the relationship of baptism, I don’t think the best place to start is with these passages. Not because I want to avoid the passages, but I want to understand what the scripture says about salvation. We have to deal with these passages, but I want to deal with them in light of the overall context of scripture. John, chapter 3 and I mention it because usually those who believe baptism is necessary for salvation use John 3, but John 3 does not use the word baptism. John 3:5, Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” People who believe baptism is necessary for salvation say “born of water,” well, it has to be baptism, water baptism. There’s another passage, you have to be born of water and the Spirit. Well, I think there’s a problem if this is water baptism. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus and Nicodemus is a teacher, called the “teacher in Israel.” So he evidently was a significant teacher in the nation Israel. Jesus had said to him in verse 3, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus wants to know how can you be born again. You can’t go back to the womb, so how can you be born again? And then Jesus made the statement in verse 5. Then verse 6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Now note He makes a contrast between physical things and spiritual things. Physical birth and spiritual birth, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, you do not know where it comes from, where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” There is something in the nonvisible realm takes place in the new birth. He’s talking about being “born of the Spirit.” Now note Nicodemus said, “how can these things be?” Jesus answered and said, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?” Jesus rebukes him and says there’s no excuse for your ignorance on this subject, you’re the teacher of Israel. In other words, he would be a teacher and teach Old Testament law and so on, and you don’t understand this. You ought to be well familiar with the new birth.

Well, if we’re talking about Christian baptism, how in the world could Nicodemus be familiar with it? Where would Nicodemus get to know this? But he should know about the work of the Spirit in salvation. I think the water, in verse 5 in the context, “one must be born of water and the Spirit,” or the preposition “and” in Greek is also translated “even.” But “be born of water, even the Spirit,” because he’s talking about the end of verse 8, “everyone who is born of the Spirit.” He’s talking in verse 6 the contrast between born in the physical realm and born in the spiritual realm, the Spirit’s work of transformation. That’s supported in the context of John. Look over in John, chapter 7. You say, why would you say the water refers to the Spirit and not to physical water? Well, because of the immediate context of John, chapter 3 and the fact that Jesus uses water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the gospel of John.

John, chapter 7, and look at verse 38. Verse 37, end of the verse, “If any man is thirty, let him come to Me and drink,” Jesus said. He’s not talking about drinking literal water. “He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke of the Spirit.” The Spirit is the water that will fill you and flow from you. “And it’s of the Spirit that those who believed in Him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” So you see, to say that Nicodemus should have understood about water baptism and the new birth in the context of water baptism, would really be a problem. But he should have understood the work of the Spirit in the context of the coming of the Messiah, to produce new birth in the life of God’s people.

Go back to the Old Testament to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 44. God’s promising future blessings for Israel and just pick up with verse 3 of Isaiah 44. “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessings on your descendants; And they will spring up among the grass, like poplars by streams of water.” “I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring,” in the context of using the analogy of water, which again, particularly in Palestine, appreciation how parched the land is without the water, and the refreshing the water brings to the land and it begins to blossom and so on. So, that becomes a spiritual picture. “I’m going to pour out My Spirit on” you.

Look over in Ezekiel. You’re in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations goes after Jeremiah, Ezekiel, chapter 36. When God restores the nation and the Messiah comes to rule over them, for you see Nicodemus came and acknowledged Jesus as a great teacher, acknowledged that God was working in and through him. Nicodemus came wanting to know if He was the Messiah. Jesus addresses the issue of salvation with Him. Verse 24, and this goes back to, really, verse 22, the thought we’re picking up with verse 24, “I will take you,” talking about Israel, “from the nation and gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land, so the restoration of Israel to the land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from your filthiness and from all your idols.” They were familiar with the ceremonial cleansing that went on, where they would sprinkle water for cleansing on vessels and so on. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you.” You see, what do you mean, Nicodemus, you don’t understand the new birth, you’re the teacher in Israel, don’t you know anything about Ezekiel 36? “I give you a new heart, a new spirit, I put my Spirit within you,” you’re born again, you have a new spirit, you have a new heart, you’re a new person. “If any man be in Christ, he’s a new creature.” “Old things have passed away, behold new.” Nicodemus should have understood this from the book of Ezekiel. I don’t expect him to understand water baptism and Christian baptism and so on, but he was expected to understand the work of the Spirit in producing new birth in the context of the coming of the Messiah. He’s in the presence of the Messiah, the one who would provide the Spirit, new birth in the Spirit.

So, it would seem to me that the context of John 3, coming back there, the fact that Nicodemus is expected to know what Jesus has talked about, rebuked when he doesn’t, and Jesus is talking about being born of the Spirit. He’s contrasting it with physical birth and spiritual birth and then in the broader context where in the gospel of John in chapter 7, Jesus uses water as a symbol of the Spirit, “from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water, this He spoke of the Spirit.” The Spirit is the water. I would take it then in John, chapter 3, verse 5, unless one is born of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. And that’s consistent with the Old Testament scriptures.

Acts, chapter 2, and this is one of the more often used verses, where Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost and the people who hear him, the Jews who here him in verse 37 of Acts 2, are “pierced to the heart.” You note what he’s just done. He’s just preached the gospel. He’s preached the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The service started back in verse l4. He told them down in verse 21, quoting from the Old Testament, that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” He tells them that Jesus is the Messiah, in verses 22, 23, 24, and they crucified Him, but God raised Him from the dead. The same gospel that Paul said he preached. What was the gospel? Christ died for our sins, He was buried, He was raised. What does Peter preach? Verse 23, “You nailed Him to the cross, put Him to death.” Verse 24, “God raised Him up again.” And that’s the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture.

So verse 36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified.” Gets to be personal, you’re guilty, you’re guilty. What shall we do? “They were pierced to the heart.’ Peter said to them, “Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Again, what does he say? “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Well, seems pretty clearly stated, two things are required, repent and be baptized. I understand repentance is part of saving faith, because you turn from your sin and you turn to Christ, you don’t stiffen your neck anymore. As we saw in the Old Testament, this morning, in connection with circumcision. Why does he say repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Well, let me just say that Peter will later preach the similar message without including baptism. Over in chapter 3, verse 19, second sermon Peter preaches, and he says in verse 19, “Repent, therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away. The point that’s repeated is repent. Over in chapter 5, verse 31, Peter is preaching again. What does he say? Verse 29, after the leaders of Israel told him he can’t preach about Christ anymore, “We must obey God rather than men.” “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” The gospel is there again. What? The death and resurrection of Christ and you’re guilty. “He’s the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

So, the message of repentance comes out repeatedly in Peter’s message, but he does include baptism with the repentance in chapter 2. I think it’s the same thing. He’s calling these Jews to believe in Christ, turn from your sin, turn to Christ as your Savior. But in that context he also calls them to publicly be identified with Christ, because if you’re unwilling to identify with Him, then you’re probably declaring you haven’t believed. Just like, why would a Jew, who really believed the word of God, refuse to be circumcised. So uncircumcised became a synonym for an unbeliever, even though circumcision wasn’t necessary for salvation.

Here I call you to believe in Christ. But let me tell you, there will be none of this like we do our services today, every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around. All right, no one is looking, raise your hand, and now everybody that raised their hand come forward, I got you. Well, I don’t have any problem with a public invitation, properly done, but the real public declaration specified for believers today is water baptism. In other words, these Jews have to, if they believe this message and place their faith in Christ will have to step forward and be publicly identified with Him. The moment I do that, I will be cut off from all my family relationships, all of my social relationships, I will lose my job. That’s why poverty sweeps over the church at Jerusalem. You find Paul taking an offering for the believers in Jerusalem, it’s a Jewish city. You know, it’s a serious matter. So, what he’s really doing is putting it right out front. Calling you to place your faith in Christ. Telling you it’s a costly thing. You’re expected to step forward and be baptized in identification with Him.

If I only had Acts 2:38 I would say, well, looks like it may be possible that you have to be baptized to be saved. But with the rest of scripture, I say, well, this would be understood another way that is consistent with the rest of scripture. I don’t have to rewrite the rest of scripture that God does call us to that public statement. He says “you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Well, later on, turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 10, Peter is preaching again, lest you think you couldn’t get the Holy Spirit, unless you were baptized. In Acts, chapter 10 Peter is at the house of Cornelius. Cornelius is a Gentile, but he was a God-fearing Gentile. He was a Gentile that had converted to Judaism. He asks Peter, under the direction of God, to come and share the gospel at his house. Peter is preaching in verse 42, “that God had ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Note the issue, “everyone who believes in Him, receives forgiveness of sins.”

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who were listening to the message.” So, you see the order, Peter preached the gospel, while he’s preaching, he didn’t get a chance to give an invitation. The people believed the message and, what? The Holy Spirit fell upon them. Now what does it mean the Holy Spirit fell upon them? Well over in Chapter 11, Peter explains it to the Jews at Jerusalem, note verse 13 and 14. Peter says how he ended up at the house of Cornelius. “Cornelius reported to us how he had seen the angels standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here.”” Now note this, “and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us at the beginning,” us Jews, at the beginning, in Acts, chapter 2. “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” You know what Peter is saying? We were baptized with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, as Jews who believed. Now these Gentiles have experienced the same baptism of the Spirit that we have.

Now the order here is what I want to draw your attention to. Look at the end of chapter 10 again. What does Peter say in verse 47? “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did.” Peter said the reason that we can baptize these Gentiles, you have to understand this is a shaking concept to these Jews. Peter will be called on the carpet at Jerusalem, wanting to know why he went and preached the gospel to Gentiles. See the Jews still hadn’t grasped, even saved Jews, that God’s plan included the Gentiles at this time. Peter said I baptized them because they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So how can you refuse to baptize them in water when they have received spirit baptism. So you see the order, the gospel is preached, they believed and are baptized by the Spirit. Well, 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 13 says, “For by one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, have been all made to partake.” Turn over to 1 Corinthians 12:13, we’re a little bit of a sidetrack, but not totally, I’ve been a lot further afield than this. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” So, what happened when they were baptized by the Spirit? They were placed into the body of Christ; they were members of the church.

Now if water baptism is necessary for salvation, we have a problem here. Because there were people baptized by the Holy Spirit, and Peter said the only reason I would baptize those Gentiles with water was because they had already been baptized with the Holy Spirit. They were made to drink of one spirit. In my conversation with the men this week that I referred to, they said, well, the baptism in 1 Corinthians 12:13 is a different baptism of the Spirit than the others. They said the preposition could be translated differently. In verse l3 you have “by” one Spirit. Well you could translate that “with” or “in,” so it may not be talking about the same thing. You have to be careful. People sound like they’ve got a point. Well, you get the point, prepositions can have a, variety in their meanings. They’re not locked into one word. But my question was, Oh, you’re telling me that this preposition in Greek is different than the Greek preposition used in the other expressions, baptized by the Spirit? No, it’s the exact same preposition. Well then why would you translate it differently in 1 Corinthians 12:13? I mean John the Baptist in Matthew, chapter 3 said, “I baptize you with water, one coming after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus said in Acts, Chapter 1, “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” In Acts, Chapter 10 and 11 Peter said “the Gentiles received the baptism of the Spirit in the same way that the Jews did” back in Acts, chapter 2, all talking about the same baptism by the Spirit. Now why all of a sudden do we say that I Corinthians 12:13 is talking about something different, and they say, well, it has the expression “we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” Well, isn’t that what happens? We partake of the Spirit as He places us into the body of Christ. That fits the analogy of the Spirit and water again, you drink of the Spirit. Christ said, Come and drink of Me. What does He give us? The Spirit. He’s what we partake of in that sense and becomes a river of living water.

So you’re placed in the body of Christ. In Acts, chapter 10 these Gentiles are, and then they’re baptized. So, you can’t say the order here, what they told me was Acts, chapter 10 was an exceptional case. It can’t be a pattern. I don’t mind Acts 10 being an exceptional case, but I have a problem with them. You know, it does fit everything else we’re finding in scripture. So my understanding in Acts, chapter 2, verse 38 when Peter says, “Repent and be baptized,” he’s not saying water baptism is necessary for salvation. But he is saying if you truly repented we expect you to step forward and be baptized by water. But don’t confuse the two. That doesn’t mean that baptism is necessary for salvation.

Look in Acts, chapter 22, verse 16. This is when Ananias is sent to Paul after he’s struck down on the Damascus road. Ananias was sent to him back in Acts 9, but Paul is reiterating his testimony here before the Jews. He says Ananias comes to him, verse 12 of Acts 22, devout and comes and addresses him and then tells him God’s purpose for him, and then in verse 16 Ananias says to him, “Now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Paul is told to be baptized. He’s told to wash away his sins. Well, we must be talking about washing away your sins in water baptism. Well, if this is the only verse we had, we’d say that is a genuine possibility, but in light of the rest of the scriptures we looked at, it’s just as much a possibility, arise and be baptized, and you wash away your sins by calling on His name. That fits with what we saw back in Acts, chapter 2, verse 21, quoting from the book of Joel, “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord, will be saved.” So “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” That comes out of the Old Testament, the book of Joel. It’s repeated on the day of Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2 and here Paul hears it again, wash away your sins, calling on His name. Water baptism does portray that in your identification with Christ and you’ve been washed clean and made new, death, burial and resurrection. The washing and the cleansing are portrayed in baptism but the spiritual salvation occurred with the calling of the name of the Lord.

You realize here, there are three or four passages of scripture, there are others we’re looking at more than that, but three or four that we would say, boy, that could be tough.
But it’s not really that tough when you put it in the context of rest of what scripture says,
like in every area, the deity of Christ, you name it. There are passages that are difficult.
I sometimes say, Lord, you know, if I was writing this, I wouldn’t have had Peter say, “repent and be baptized,” because that would just resolve it. But you know if you’re truly a believer you have perception and understanding. I want to be careful I don’t make this overly subjective, but I do think that some of these things become a stumbling block if a person does not have the Spirit of God opening the blinded eyes. And it’s like Jesus speaking in parables. Why did He speak in parables? Because His intention was that the unbeliever would not understand.

Okay, look at Titus, Chapter 3. This is another passage that was quoted to me in my discussion this week. Titus 3:5, verse 4 for the context. “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing.” There’s our word. You know, some people when they read the word “washing” that means water baptism. But He explains what “washing” is here, it’s the “washing of regeneration” and renewing by the Holy Spirit. I mean, it’s explained right here. What is the washing? It’s regeneration. When you are reborn, you are washed clean, you’re made new.

That’s what Ezekiel 36 said when we went back there. “I will sprinkle clean water on you, I’ll give you a new spirit, a new heart, and I’ll place my Spirit within you.” Jesus said, “you must be born again,” “you must be born from above.” The washing of regeneration, regeneration a new birth. It’s a washing, it’s a cleansing, it’s a making new. Not so difficult. Washing of regeneration, making new by the Holy Spirit here in the context it’s plain. What happens in the context of mercy and love and kindness? We are regenerated, we are made new. It’s a spiritual work and transaction. “The Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace.” Baptism had nothing to do with it here.

One more passage on this that would fit in this pattern is 1 Peter, chapter 3. Grammatically, this is probably the most difficult of the passages to work through, but I don’t think we have a problem here. We worked through this in some detail when we studied 1 Peter, so if you want to really work through the details you can get the tape on this portion of 1 Peter. But in 1 Peter, chapter 3, look at verse 18, “Christ died for our sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” You see the gospel, there’s the gospel, “the just for the unjust.” Then he draws an analogy or a comparison with Noah and the deliverance God provided for Noah. The connection here is with the Holy Spirit and Christ was one who went and through the Holy Spirit preached in the days of Noah. Noah is called a preacher of righteousness by Peter. So while he was building the ark he was preaching God’s righteousness. Verse 20, “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you.” Oops, “baptism now saves you.” Now there is a direct statement, “baptism saves you.” So you either believe what God says and His scripture says or you don’t.

A couple of things we want to say here. “Corresponding to that,” the word translated “corresponding” is the word “antitype.” We have the antitype of what happened with Noah. The symbol is baptism now saves you. Note what he says. “Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The point is it’s not a physical action that saves you here, but with the cleansing of the inner person, the conscience, the immaterial part of the individual, if you will. So “baptism now saves you,” but we’re talking about being saved through an act of water baptism, that’s just a symbol. And baptism saves you has a symbol in that it is representative of the salvation. Look at the comparison here. “Baptism now saves you.”
Compare that with, at the end of verse 20, “eight persons were brought safely through the water.” “Brought safely through” is the same word for “save,” as you have down in verse 21, “baptism now saves you.” So there’s a connection here. Eight persons were saved through water and the symbol of that baptism now saves you.

Well, how were they saved through water? They weren’t saved by the water. They were saved, what? By the ark. The water was a vehicle of destruction, but in a sense it did cut off the unbeliever and the unrighteous from the righteous. So what God is doing? Baptism portrays our deliverance and our salvation. It’s a symbol, it’s an antitype, the way that Noah was brought through the water. So, in baptism we experience God’s salvation in connection with the resurrection of Christ, but it’s not physical washing that is the issue here. It’s the inner cleansing. Baptism simply portrays that cleansing for us, as a picture, a symbol, an antitype. So if people get up here and baptize, next Sunday night we’ll have baptism, people will what, be baptized. It’s symbolizing, representing what? Their inner cleansing which Peter refers to is “an appeal to God for a good conscience.” So it’s that transaction there, but it will be portrayed in the physical, in the same way that the situation of Noah coming through the water.

He was saved and the water saved him. Well, the water didn’t save Noah, God saved Noah and provided the ark for the salvation of Noah. But there is a picture portrayed of the salvation brought about. So that’s the idea here. It would be a very difficult passage to use to build a case for water baptism bringing about your salvation, because the water baptism is called an antitype here and corresponds to those things. So there may be some discussion on the details of the passage and again I don’t want to walk through the rest of the details in the verses I have here, and I don’t want to say that water baptism isn’t closely identified with the believer and his salvation, even as circumcision was closely identified with the Jewish believer in the Old Testament and his salvation. It was the sign of the covenant in the flesh, but it wasn’t necessary for salvation, it was the result of it.

Now I’m not trying to minimize or play down the importance of water baptism. I am saying, though, it is a horrendous theological error to say that water baptism is necessary for salvation. There are other passages, 1 Corinthians 15:29 speaks about those who have been baptized for the dead. Some groups like Mormons then want to get a genealogical list and you can get baptized for your ancestors. I take it all that verse is saying that some believers have died, and new believers have come up to take their place, have come to trust Christ and been baptized in identification with Him and taken their place. It has nothing to do with being baptized for somebody who died. That’s a total misunderstanding of God’s plan of salvation in scripture.

Infant baptism, which is not really in view with the issue we’re talking about. My understanding it has no scriptural support at all. A number of years ago I collected some writings, even of some within like a Lutheran background where infant baptism is often practiced, but even there they were acknowledging there’s no scriptural support for such practice. I don’t see baptism for infants an issue anything to support the scripture. Usually that comes for people who want to equate baptism with circumcision and say, well, they circumcised their children when they were eight days old, so we ought to baptize our children. That’s the whole thing being conveyed so it’s not a valid connection. We are not Israel. We are not a physical people. We are not operating under those guidelines. Circumcision is not a valid reason to say we ought to baptize our children in that sense. I don’t believe it can be necessary for salvation for children period.

I was baptized as an infant. I just want you to know I’m safe even if I’m wrong. Nobody in my family was saved at that time, including the preacher who baptized me. It was just a relative of one kind or another. So it may give people comfort that they had their child is baptized, but has nothing to do with their salvation. The salvation of infants is a little different subject. I believe there may be some indication in scripture, maybe I’ll just summarize this, and we’re done, that infants are saved. And again, this has nothing to do with the debate we’re involved with now over is baptism necessary for salvation. There we’re talking about adults primarily. But since many people, Lutherans, Catholics, others baptize infants, I don’t see any support for it in scripture. I don’t think anywhere in scripture it indicates that that saves anybody from anything.

Whether infants are saved, I think there may be some indication they are. When Christ uses children as an example in the gospels He always uses them in a positive way. When I use some examples I always say you see the sin nature in that baby from birth. But Christ always says “unless,” you know it’s a positive example, “unless you become like” children, humble yourself like children, that you become like this child. So He does use them in a good example.

One of the major things for me is all the judgments of scripture are based on works. Every judgment recorded in scripture is based upon works, for which we are accountable. That doesn’t mean you’re saved by works; you’re saved by grace. But the judgments are on the basis of works. In other words, your works manifest your character and infants would have no opportunity to appear at those judgments, because they’ve not done anything. The most you could say is if infants are brought up in any of the judgments, including judgments of believers at the bema seat or unbelievers at the great white throne, I don’t see infants involved in either place. So, the best you could say is if infants are going to be judged they would be judged in a different place that the scripture doesn’t refer to.

Salvation has always been made a matter of personal faith and sin is always a matter for which we are held personally accountable. I don’t see infants, let’s make it a real infant, a baby that dies three hours after birth and no opportunity to do anything for which he would be held accountable. They did not have opportunity to believe or could not have understood the gospel if it was presented. You can’t say for sure because the bible doesn’t address the salvation of infants in any direct way. But I think that perhaps the indication of scripture might be that they are covered by the death of Christ as the second Adam. In other words what I am saying is that no one is going to hell for just original sin. Again, I don’t want to get out on a limb, but in Romans 5, Christ is the second Adam. We are sinners by birth, but the sin that will send us to hell is the expression of that sin in our own sin nature, which comes from everyone ultimately. So I would have no problem if the death of Christ would take care of the penalty associated with original sins. Not double jeopardy, I’m not saying infants are saved, but I am saying that the death of Christ could take care of the penalty for original sin, and that would explain then why there are going to people from every tribe and tongue and nation in heaven. There have been tribes that come into existence, went out of existence and never heard the gospel, which usually those are the tribes that high mortality rate because of disease and that and there would be people there. So just relating that as a tangential kind of point.

I don’t see infant baptism as having any scriptural support. I realize this is the doctrine of certain churches and I think it came to Protestantism through Roman Catholicism as much as anything, at least popularized it. But it goes back early in church history, but I don’t think it has scriptural support.

So those are the passages that people will bring to you. So familiarize yourself with those passages. Those passages that could be taken two ways, that if they stood on their own you would be left with baptism may be necessary for salvation or they could be understood baptism is not necessary for salvation but is a necessary testimony of your salvation. Say which way do I go? I look at the rest of scripture and the rest of scripture is overwhelming that salvation is by faith alone and baptism is a testimony of that faith. And those passages fit clearly and simply with that understanding. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for your salvation that is a free gift given by your grace. Lord, I pray that we might have clear understanding. Lord, we realize that understanding comes only through the gracious ministry of the Spirit in our hearts and all of us would be hopelessly lost and blind to the truth if it were not for Your grace in opening our eyes and enabling us to see and understand and believe. Lord, may we keep that in mind as we have discussions with others, that we have been the recipients of Your grace. We desire to present to them Your truth in its clarity and its beauty and its simplicity, the desire that the Spirit of God would open their blinded eyes, that they too might see and believe the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, may we be careful to be bold and clear and accurate in our handling of Your word in these days. May we be prepared
for the opposing doctrines, even the doctrine of demons that would corrupt the beautiful simplicity and purity of the message of salvation by faith in Christ, that we have come to understand and believe. We praise You in Christ’s name. Amen.