A. When Christians assert the necessity of baptism for
salvation and forgiveness of sins, men often object and say that any such
assertion is an attempt at salvation by works.
1.
Christians
support their belief with the plain teachings of Scripture, such as:
a. Mark 16:16 -- "He who has believed and has been
baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."
b. Acts 2:38 -- Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
c.
1Peter 3:21 -- Corresponding
to that, baptism now saves you -- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an
appeal to God for a good conscience -- through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ."
2.
Those who object
to the teaching of salvation by baptism will counter with Ephesians 2:8-9 -- For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
3.
How can one
passage of Scripture say that baptism saves and another says that we are not
saved as a result of works? Is there a
conflict in the Scriptures, or is there a conflict in interpretations? What is the correct interpretation?
B. While it is true that we are not saved by our own
works, it is false that baptism is a work of man. In truth, baptism is a work of God that is certainly
necessary for salvation. This answer
will be demonstrated in the lesson.
II. GOD PERFORMS THE WORK IN BAPTISM
A. The person who is baptized is passive in the action of
baptism.
1.
Baptism is done
to the person who is being saved. It is
not a work of him, but rather it is a work upon him. He is not baptizing, but rather he is being
baptized.
2.
This is evident
in the many commandments and examples concerning baptism.
a. Matthew 28:19 -- "Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit..."
b. Mark 16:16 -- "He who has believed and has been
baptized shall be saved..."
c.
Acts 2:38 -- "Repent,
and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins..."
d. Acts 2:41 -- So then, those who had received his word
were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
e.
Acts 8:12-13 -- But
when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and
the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized...
f.
Acts 8:36, 38 --
"Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?"...And he
ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as
well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
3.
Therefore, a
person who is baptized in the name of Christ is not attempting to be saved by
his own works, for he is not performing a work at all. The work is performed on him.
B. The person who physically administers baptism is
insignificant in the process.
1.
The Scriptures
record many people administering baptism, and no particular requirements for
the baptizer are given.
a. In the events recorded in the passages above, the
various apostles as well as Philip the evangelist were the baptizers. It is evident in the New Testament that other
men administered baptism as well.
b. Consider 1Corinthians 1:13-17:
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of
Paul? I thank God that I baptized none
of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in
my name. Now I did baptize also the
household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ
would not be made void.
i.
Paul did not
baptize most of the Christians at Corinth, and it was of no consequence. Their baptisms were just as effective regardless.
ii.
Paul was even
thankful that he had not baptized them because of their tendency to exalt men.
2.
Therefore, the
baptizer is not attempting to save another by his own works or power. He knows there is no power in himself for
salvation, for he baptizes in the name of Jesus Christ.
C. Baptism saves undeniably (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1Pet.
3:21), but neither the person being baptized nor the baptizer are performing a
work of salvation. Therefore, baptism must
be the saving work of God.
1.
Through baptism,
God works upon a penitent, believing sinner to bring about his salvation. Notice two passages that describe the work of
God in baptism:
a. Romans 6:3-4 -- Or do you not know that all of us who
have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
b. Colossians 2:9-14 -- For in Him all the fullness of
Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is
the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with
a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by
the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which
you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who
raised Him from the dead. When you were
dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having
canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which
was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross.
2.
Thus, we see that
the work of God in baptism includes:
a. Spiritually burying the sinner who has died to sin via
repentance;
b. Spiritually raising up the penitent sinner to walk in
newness of life in which he is enslaved to righteousness rather than sin (see
Rom. 6:5-23);
c.
Spiritually
circumcising the penitent sinner as a sign of the new covenant in Christ
(compare to Abraham's circumcision in Gen. 17:9-14).
3.
Notice a few
observations:
a. Baptism puts one into Christ and into His death (Rom.
6:3). This is not something that man can
do. It must be the work of God.
b. Baptism raises one from spiritual death into newness
of life (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12-13). This
is not something that man can do. It
must be the work of God.
c.
Baptism is "a
circumcision made without hands" (Col. 2:11).
This is not something that man can do.
It must be the work of God.
d. Baptism is effective only "through faith in the
working of God" (Col. 2:12).
III. CONCLUSION
A. Indeed, baptism is a work of God, and it is for this
reason that it is done in the name of Christ.
1.
It is not the act
or work of baptism itself that saves, but rather it is the power of God that is
accessed through baptism according to His will and authority.
2.
Men could be
baptized in the name of anyone else in the world, but none of them would be
saved. Concerning Jesus, Peter declared,
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
3.
Thus, we are to
be baptized "in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matt.
28:19) and "in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts
2:38). (Note: The name of the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit are synonymous, for they are all God.)
B. Because baptism is a work of God, there is no conflict
between the teaching of salvation by baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1Pet.
3:21; etc.) and salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
1.
It is God's grace
that instructs us in the gospel, including God's work in baptism (Tit.
2:11). By faith, we believe in the
gospel, including God's work in baptism (Heb. 11:1, 6).
2.
The gospel does
not teach salvation by baptism alone, but neither does it teach salvation by
grace alone or faith alone (Jas. 2:14-26).
3.
Instead, the
gospel teaches a plan of salvation designed, executed, and delivered by the
grace of God and received, believed, and obeyed through the faith of man. This plan includes baptism as a saving work
of God.
