I once got caught up in a lengthy “blog” debate over the significance of baptism in the life of a Christian.  The person I was debating insisted that a person must believe in Christ and be baptized in water, fully emerged, by a pastor in order for the person to be saved while I insisted that baptism is not necessary for salvation but only believing in Christ is necessary.

After a few days of our debate and exchange of ideas, I discovered that he was a member of the “Church of Christ” who teaches the doctrine that both belief in Christ and water baptism is necessary for salvation.  I also discovered that he thought unless you were a member of the “Church of Christ” and baptized in water chosen by the Church of Christ and dunked by a pastor of the Church of Christ with specific words uttered by the pastor of the Church of Christ, then you were not saved but going to hell.  At this point I ended the discussion because I knew he was no longer arguing from a rational perspective that could be swayed by God’s truth but he was arguing from a “cult” mindset.

This article from “Got Questions.org” does a good job discussing the cult mentality of the “Church of Christ” concerning their false teaching about baptism being necessary to be saved.  Of course they also believe that playing a musical instrument during worship is a blasphemous act, even though many times in the Bible we are instructed to both sing and play music before the Lord in worship to Him (Psalm 33:3).  I think the Church of Christ believers are saved and have a genuine relationship with Christ but because they have a “hyper” view of unsound works and rules that a Christian must perform, they keep a Christian from enjoying the fullness of God’s love and joy.  I address the few scripture references that the Church of Christ uses to justify that water baptism is necessary for salvation at the bottom of this article but the overwhelming evidence of scripture makes it clear that the baptism that leads to salvation is a one time “Spiritual” event alone, not a combination of a Spiritual event (believing in Christ) plus a physical event (water baptism).

There are at the very least two critical axioms to keep in mind when you are pondering and interpreting God’s word and His way:

(1) God does not contradict Himself

 

(2) God does not change

It is easy to see that the tenet that baptism is necessary for salvation is contradictory to the tenet that baptism is not necessary for salvation, therefore one of these tenet beliefs is wrong, since God does not contradict Himself.  And Jesus said “I am the Truth” and by definition there can only be one thing that is true, while the other thing in comparison to it is false.  That is what truth is … it is exclusive.  If you (1) take the position that water baptism is necessary for salvation then you also (2) take the position that water baptism has always been necessary for salvation, since God does not change.  Yet, Jesus said to the repentant thief on the cross after his confession of belief in Christ, that the thief would be with Him in Paradise (the place where saved souls rest before Christ took them to Heaven during His resurrection – Luke 23:43).  I pointing this out to the guy from the Church of Christ and he said that a disciple of Jesus drug the thief, half dead, down from the cross and dunked him in water before he died.  Of course this “baptism of the thief” is not recorded in the Bible and it is ludicrous to belief that something like this happened.  The Romans didn’t bring people down off a cross until they were confirmed to be dead!  Yet, this is the kind of response you are forced to give if you have developed a cult mentality, where logic and truth are no longer on your side.

The truth is that God does not change.  The way Adam and Eve were saved, the way Able was saved, the way Enoch was saved, the way Noah was saved, the way Abraham was saved, the way Jacob was saved, the way Elisiah was saved, the way Isaiah was saved, the way Martin Luther was saved?, the way D.L. Moody was saved,  the way each person has been saved or is saved or ever will be saved is “by grace through faith in Jesus Christ“.  There is only ONE way to be saved and that is through a personal belief that Jesus paid your sin. “I am the Truth, the Way and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me”.  – John 14:6  It is critical and easy to know “how” to be saved but it is impossible and mostly a waste of time to try and figure out “who” has been saved.  Unless someone invents a “Holy Ghost” breathalyzer device, I’m going to leave this up to Jesus to sort out and use God’s discernment within me to witness and deal with people.

Some Bible Commentators suggest that God saved man differently before the Church Age because this is the “Age of Grace” and it is true that there is more of God’s grace poured out on believers during this present Church Age than any other previous Age but as far as salvation is concerned, during each Age of Man’s existence on earth God has always saved man by grace.  What God did during each Age or man is communicate His message of Grace differently in each Age but God has always saved by grace and He will always save by grace!  “Amazing grace how sweet the sound who saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see” is the song of every believer past, present and future.  If you are interested in a discussion about the Ages/Dispensations of Man and God’s grace see this article on Die2Live:  http://die2live.worthyofpraise.org/the_big_picture/

Here are some scripture references about the Amazing “saving” Grace of God.

“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.” Ephesians 2:8-9

 

Then he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15:6

 

Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  John 3:3

 

“for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved”.  Romans 10:13

 

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.“  John 3:16

There is no mention of a water baptism that caused God to reckon Abraham as righteous before Him.  That is because it didn’t  happen and water baptism is not necessary for salvation.  However, I agree that it is well documented that water baptism was usually performed after salvation during the ministry of Jesus and in the early church.  The 3,000 at Pentecost were baptized in water after they believed ( Acts 2:41).  Paul was baptized in water after he believed (Acts 9:18) .  And Cornelius and his family were baptized after they believed the good news of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 10:47).  This gives us the example of what believers did after they were saved but it doesn’t confirm or imply that salvation occurred as a result of being baptized in water.

Furthermost, there are many references in the Bible where baptism is not mentioned to have occurred after salvation, like the with the woman at the well in Samaria after she believed, there is mention made that she was baptized or that the many who believed her testimony were then baptized  (John 4:39).  Or when Paul and Barnabas preached in Iconium and a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks (Acts 14:1), no baptism is mentioned occurring.   Paul clarifies it is belief in Christ and God’s grace that completes the process of salvation to both Jew and Gentile and nothing more is necessary  “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” Acts 15:11.  And Paul further clarifies that water baptism is not essential to the salvation, moreover, Christ did not send him to baptist people unto salvation but to preach the good new of the gospel, that is what saves a person “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.” – 1 Corinthians 1:17.  

Salvation is a “Spiritual work from the heart” by a person when that person confesses his sin and need of Christ and it is a “Spiritual work in the heart” by God to make that person “born again”, eternally alive in Christ. 

How to be saved

A – Admit your a sinner

B – Believe Jesus is Lord

C – Call upon His name

(With the mind you believe with the heart you receive)

There are no “works” that man can do to bring about salvation and there are no works that man can do to become unsaved, once he has believed! 

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.   – Ephesians 2:8-9

Salvation and the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ a gift of God’s grace … the means by which salvation works and the seals the believer with the Holy Spirit is a gift of God’s grace … even the faith that causes you to turn from your sin and turn toward reconciliation with God is a gift of God’s grace.  It’s all grace brother and sister … GRACE – God’s Riches at Christ Expense.  

God has sealed you for all eternity as His and He has begun a good work in you to make you like Jesus  … and He will complete it!  (Philippians 1:6)  You can’t be unborn Spiritually any more than you can be unborn Physically.  It is a logical impossibility.  Unfortunately, your old nature remains within you and fights against your new Spiritual nature … so you must “deny self” and continue to exercise your faith in trusting God, learning about God’s way from His word and performing the good works that God has prepared for you to do.

Those who came “before” Christ was resurrected from the dead, confessed  a belief in a Christ that would come and take away their sin and those who come to Christ “after” His resurrection confess a belief in a Christ who has demonstrated His authority over death and is able to take away their sin!  The physical person is born Spiritually separated from God, with a Self Indulgent Nature (SIN), unable to please God.  Man’s chance to please God through obedience of works that leads to salvation ended with Adam’s sin.  However, man’s chance to please God with works of obedience that store up eternal rewards in Heaven “after” a man is saved is possible and essential to living a new life of faith in Christ (Matthew 6:33).

And that is what baptism is, it is an act of obedience after salvation to honor God who has saved you and to witness to the world that you are a born again child of God.  And if you are truly born again, you will want to be baptized because you will want to thank God for saving you and you will want to let others know who you belong too.  And you will want others to know Christ and be saved by Christ and have the joy of Christ within them.  And that is what baptism is, a demonstration to the world of the death of your old self and a resurrection of a new life in Christ.

John baptized people in water for people to demonstrate they were repentant of their sin but the “Spiritual” baptism of the from Jesus does the real work of salvation!

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  Matthew 3:11

“Fire” is the picture of the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in a believers life.  Fire gives off heat and light as it consumes the dross (of sin) and revels the gold (of Christ in a believer).  It was tongues of fire that lit up over the heads of the disciples when the Holy Spirit descended into their hearts at Pentecost.  It was on an altar of fire that the animal sacrifice was made for forgiveness of sin, which foreshadowed the sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God, once for all sin.  And it is with “fire” that the Lord will regenerate a new earth, free from sin.

It is the Spiritual fire of the Holy Spirit that saves the heart of sin and ignites and powers the heart of the new man of Christ to preach the gospel into the world.  Water baptism can not save a person but it is a witness to the world of the Spiritual fire of Christ that is burning in a person’s life.

– Rogersings

Church of Christ advocates point to Scriptures to justify their position that water baptism is necessary for salvation, but let’s examine the scriptures concerning baptism and see if this is so.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  (1) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, (2) baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  (3) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   Matthew 28:18-20

Here, Jesus is commissioning His Church for the work they are to do until He comes again.  (#1) Go “make disciples” of all the nations through the preaching of the gospel.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit of grace that saves a person and makes them a “born again” disciple of Jesus Christ.  We are God’s messengers preaching the gospel but it is God who has authority over every life and it is God who does the work of salvation when a person “willingly surrenders” to God’s authority over his life, by accepting Jesus has his Savior.  (#2)  after a person is made a disciple, then “baptize them in water” in the name of the Trinity.  Jesus does not say here that baptism saves a person but this this is the way a disciple will be recognized by the Church.  The Church performs the baptism to allow the person to publicly acknowledge their private decision of faith and for others to see the picture of their death and resurrection in Christ.  Baptism is not necessary for salvation in Christ but it is necessary to effectively work and grow as part of the body of Christ on earth.  (#3) after a person is made a disciple, then teach them how to live a holy life in Christ.  “Teaching” does not save a person but learning the word of God is essential for a disciple of Jesus Christ so that disciple can grow closer to God and become more like Christ.

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.”  Acts 2:38

Here, the wording of this scripture seems to support the idea that the gift of the Holy Spirit follows the act of water baptism but Peter himself had just seen and experienced the Holy Spirit fall on believers as flaming tongues of fire  without the requirement of baptism in water.  Perhaps, Peter is remembering Jesus words from Matthew 28:18 and he thinks this is the way believers will receive the Holy Spirit.  Remember, this is the first time the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in the life of a believer as Jesus promised He would.  The Helper had arrived but had not yet helped them understand the way He worked.  Even more provocative is that during the early church there were some who had believed in Jesus and they had been baptized but they did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because they hadn’t heart about what happened at Pentecost.  Later these believers are told about the Holy Spirit and they receive Him into their life by the laying on of hands (Act 8:17).

Throughout the Bible the work of the Holy Spirit is a mystery that gave visions to a few “prophets” of what God was doing or what His people should be doing.  We in the Church Age are privileged to be sealed by the Holy Spirit and have the promise from God that the Holy Spirit will never leave us or forsake us.  Yet, this is not the case of Old Testament believers.  With judges like Samson, the Holy Spirit seemed to “fall” upon them at times for power to do God’s work and then leave.  David, pleaded “take not Thy Holy Spirit from me”.  And Saul was vexed when the Holy Spirit abandoned him and was replaced by an evil Spirit.

So, the question is “When does the Holy Spirit enter into a believer’s life?”  But before we answer that question let’s consider the question “Is the sealing of the Holy Spirit necessary for salvation?”   Well, we have just discussed from the example of the Old Testament believers that this was not true.  And we see from the life of the early believers that some did not have the Holy Spirit until are are told about Him.  And how about all those through out time who have not heard the gospel message because they live in places where the gospel has not yet been preached or cannot be preached, yet because of God’s revelation to them (Romans 1:20) they are saved?  Do they have the Holy Spirit?  I don’t know.  I will ask then when I met them in Heaven but then again, it will probably not be necessary because I think the first thing we will say when we get to Heaven is “of course!“.  We will have the fullness of God’s Spirit and an understanding that we have only in part now.

For the unbeliever, the Holy Spirit convicts a person of his sin but if over time a person refuses to acknowledge and repent of his sin, his heart become “hard” beyond penetration by the Holy Spirit.  This is the second death for the unbeliever, after his physical death, he is Spiritually dead to God, eternally separated from His love.  But for the believer it is the greatest privilege to receive the Holy Spirit and it is greater privileged to be sealed by the Holy Spirit so evil Demon Spirits can not penetrate a believer’s heart and it is even a greater privilege to have a “filling” of the Holy Spirit which enables the believer to do God’s work.  Yet, even the filling of the God’s Spirit in the life of a believer on earth will not match the fullness we will have when we are absent from our sinful body and present with the Lord.

So how does water baptism coincide and effect the work of the Holy Spirit?  Well, in the case of Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit was revealed like a “dove” and God’s voice was heard “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)  Here you have the Trinity together manifested in glory for this occasion.  Yet, we understand Jesus was already filled with the Holy Spirit.  He didn’t receive the Holy Spirit by baptism, nor was it necessary for Him to be baptized since he had not sin to repent.  Baptism is an occasion to acknowledge and reveal the Holy Spirit glory of God that has Saved a person and dwells within the person … it is not the means to receive the Holy Spirit of Salvation.

The movement of the Holy Spirit is like wind and fire, unpredictable and unstoppable.  It does’t need water to work but the Holy Spirit works were God wills Him to work and He works through the preaching of the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is the Holy Spirit that fell upon those a Pentecost and later again at Caesarea where Peter proclaimed the gospel message to Cornelius and his family.  Those who were “born again” after the preaching of Peter and received the Holy Spirit of Salvation then desired to be baptized to acknowledge they were dead, buried and resurrected with Christ. 

 Acts 10: 44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.45All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,47“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

So, here it is obvious that the Holy Spirit was received by those who heard the gospel message and accepted it.  Then they were baptized in water as a matter of obedience to what Jesus had commanded them to do and as a witness of their new life in Christ.  The Holy Spirit enters a believers life when they receive Christ through the preaching of the gospel.  A believer is first baptized by the Holy Spirit of fire, then they proclaim their new life in Christ to the world but being baptized in water.

John 3:   4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Note, Jesus is emphasizing that being “born of the Spirit” is how you gain a new Spiritual life, not by means of a water baptism. The phrase “born of water” is not referring to baptism but is referring to the washing of the water by the word (Ephesians 5:26).  It is the living word of God that is like a two edge sword that is able to judge the intentions and thoughts of a man (Hebrews 4:12).  Jesus uses this phrase “born of water” to signify that “repentance” of sin by the person should accompany “belief” of the forgiveness of sin.  The O.T. law of Moses revealed to man that he was unable to keep the law.  Nicodemus, a Pharisee, would have known this all to well.  A heart of “repentance” for sin was suppose to accompany an animal sacrifice along with the “belief” that the animal sacrifice granted forgiveness of sin with God.  Repentance and Belief are two sides of the same coin, done simultaneously and they are NOT works.  This is the gospel that Jesus proclaimed.  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17  

“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” – Mark 16:16

In this passage Mark is restating the great commission that Jesus gave to His Church, which is given in full in Matthew 28:18-20.  I cover the great commission passage of Matthew 28:18-20 earlier in this article.  This instruction by Mark takes the words of Jesus to His Church beyond the intent of Jesus.  For this reason many Bible scholars believe the original writing of Mark ended at chapter 16:8 and someone else uninspired wrote verses 9-20.  I tend to believe this is what happened.  And as additional proof to this fact, the oldest “Critical Greek Text” of the New Testament from Alexandria does not contain these verses.  Read here for more information:  http://www.gotquestions.org/Mark-16-9-20.html 

1 Peter 3:  13Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just forthe unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20who 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. 21Corresponding 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, 22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Peter states “baptism now saves you” to indicate that baptism is part of the “sanctification” process of salvation, being saved from the power of sin.  Note, salvation in the Bible has three different aspects to it so you have to read the scripture to determine if the writer is talking about being saved from the “penalty of sin”, “the power of sin” or “the presence of sin”, plus there is also the case where the people are saved from physical harm by the providence of God.  Being saved from the penalty of sin occurs when a believer accepts Christ as their Savior, this is the new Spiritual birth in Christ, a one time only process.  Being saved from the power of sin is on ongoing sanctification process that a believer must participate in by doing works of faith after salvation, to be made more into the image of Christ.  Being saved from the presence of sin occurs when the believer physically dies or is raptured to Heaven to be with Jesus.  Click here to read my article on the Three Aspects of Salvation.

Noah and his family are an example of the two of the aspects of salvation.  The eight were saved from the penalty of sin when they “entered” the ark.  This was a once time process, like being Spiritually born again.  The eight were saved from the power of sin, having a good conscience toward God, by riding above the flooded water in the ark.  Trusting God while they were in the ark was an an example of the “sanctification process”, doing works of trusting God to demonstrate their faithfulness toward God after salvation.  Sanctification is a continual process in the life of a believer, where the believer is to be “set apart from the world” to live a holy life to God, growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18) .   And this is what Baptism represents, a pledge of a good conscience toward God, by doing a work of faith that God has asked a believer to do “after” salvation.

Baptism is the symbol and celebration of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior  (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12).  Baptism is an important step of obedience that every Christian should take seriously and undergo as soon as they can after they are saved from the penalty of sin.  Baptism cannot be a requirement for salvation because to do so would mount an attack on the sufficiency of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And it would draw attention to baptism as the means to salvation instead of the sufficiency Christ.  

It would cause confusion and questions that no one could answer, like was the water deep enough to be saved, was it clean enough to be saved, was the person held under long enough to be saved, was it done on the right day and time to be saved, did the person wait too long after salvation to be saved by baptism, were the right words spoken to be saved, was it the right person who spoke them to be saved, was the person being baptized alert enough and aware enough for the baptism to be effective in saving the person, or did the baptism wear off so the person lost his salvation and needs to be dunked again?  And how about a person with 3rd degree burns all over their body who wants to be saved but dunking them in water would kill them.  The scenarios become endless and ridiculous, like the guy from the Church of Christ who insisted that a disciple took the near dead body of the thief down the the cross, drug him to a body of water and baptized him right before he died so he could be with Jesus in Paradise that evening. 

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.  – Hebrews 10:11-13

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