BASIC BIBLE STUDIES
# 026
Objections to Baptism
In our previous Study we very carefully examined what Christ and His inspired apostles taught about the place of baptism in receiving the forgiveness of sins and entering a saved relationship with the Lord. We learned that baptism stands between the sinner and: (1) salvation (Mark 16:16), (2) remission of sins (Acts 2:38), (3) having sins washed away (Acts 22:16), (4) the benefits of the death of Christ (Romans 6:3), (5) newness of life (Romans 6:4-6), (6) being able to legitimately wear the name of Christ (I Corinthians 1:12-13), (7) being in the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13), (8) being in Christ where all spiritual blessings are found (Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 1:3), (9) the benefits of the spiritual circumcision which Christ performs on the sinner by "putting/cutting off the body of the sins of the flesh" (Colossians 2:11-12), and (10) being saved and having a good conscience toward God (I Peter 3:21).
In spite of the clarity with which the New Testament speaks regarding the role of baptism in salvation, there are many good, honest, devoutly religious people who simply do not believe that baptism has anything to do with being saved. Numerous objections have been raised to baptism as a condition for receiving the remission of one's sins. In view of our previous study, it is very much in order for these objections be considered in the light of Biblical teaching. Each objection will be listed below in bold and set off in quotation marks, with a corresponding Scriptural response made to each objection.
(1) "We are saved by grace, not by works." Yes, indeed, the Bible is quite emphatic in affirming: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But let it be remembered that "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11) and that Christ "by the grace of God [tasted] death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9). This does not mean, however, that everyone will be saved. Why? Because Christ is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Grace does not remove the necessity of one's obedience to the gospel in order to be made free from sin (Romans 6:16-18; II Thessalonians 1:6-10). This obedience includes the essentiality of baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Paul clearly states: "...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..." How? "...by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). What is this "washing of regeneration" by which God "according to His mercy" saves us? Elsewhere, Paul explains: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church (the aggregate body of those who have been saved from their sins--Acts 2:47, hf) and gave Himself up for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:25-26). Baptism is "the washing of water" by which God in His mercy cleanses us of our sins and adds us to the church, the blood-cleansed body of all the saved (Acts 2:47; Acts 20:28). Baptism is not set in opposition to God's grace; rather, it is when a penitent believer is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27) that he/she accesses the saving grace of God.
(2) "We are justified by faith only." Again, it is a divine truth that a sinner is justified by faith (Romans 5:1), but the careful student of the Scriptures will be hard pressed to find a passage that affirms that the sinner is saved by faith only. In fact, James declares: "You see then that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:24). By "works" James is not referring to meritorious works by which one may earn salvation (the kind of works Paul had in mind in Ephesians 2:9), but to the submissive acts of obedience with which a person complies in order to enter into a saved state and to remain in such a saved state. (Note: It is sometimes pointed out that James is talking about the faith that keeps a Christian saved, not the faith by which a sinner is justified. But remember this: Just as the faith of a Christian must be an active, obedient faith, so the faith of a sinner must be an active, obedient faith. The matter of obedience is inseparably related to both the faith of a sinner and the faith of a Christian). Keep in mind that as we learned in Study # 022, the Philippian jailer was told to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your house" (Acts 16:31). Yet it was not until the jailer had been baptized that it is said of him that he had "believed in God" (Acts 16:34, American Standard Version). At the household of Cornelius Peter declared that "whoever believes in Him (Christ) will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43), but in Acts 2:38 the same apostle commanded: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." (Acts 2:38). Faith and baptism are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it is in repentance and baptism that a sinner demonstrates his faith and receives the remission of his sins. Interestingly enough, those who contend for salvation by faith only, without baptism, nevertheless find room in their "faith only" doctrine for repentance. I have never known of a person who advocates salvation by "faith only" to affirm that the sinner can be saved without repentance. But the same logic that includes repentance in salvation by faith also includes baptism.
(3) "Baptism is for (because of) the remission of sins." As noted above, on the Day of Pentecost when the church was born, Peter instructed inquiring sinners: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The preposition "for" in this verse is the translation of the Greek eis and means "in order to." It is precisely the same word and precisely the same phrase that Jesus used in Matthew 26:28 when in instituting the Lord's Supper He said of the cup: "For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Question: Did Christ shed His blood because mankind's sins were already remitted, or did He shed His blood in order for mankind to have remission of sins (I Peter 1:18-19)? When one answers that question he also will be able to answer the question: Is repentance and baptism because a person's sins are already remitted, or is repentance and baptism in order for a person to receive the remission of sins? Bear in mind that Christ's blood was shed in His death (John 19:33-34) and that a person is baptized into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3), thus reaching the benefits of Christ's cleansing blood.
(4) "Paul was not sent to baptize but to preach the gospel." Yes, Paul said: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." (I Corinthians 1:17). Based on this statement, some have concluded that baptism is not a part of the gospel. Yet, two verses earlier Paul had explained why he had not personally baptized many of the Corinthians -- "...lest anyone say that I had baptized in my own name" (I Corinthians 1:15). Far from affirming that baptism is not a part of the sinner's response to the gospel, Paul is simply pointing out why he had not personally baptized many of the Corinthian converts. This does not mean, however, that the Corinthians had not been baptized in response to their hearing and believing of the gospel. In fact, the inspired historian Luke, in telling of the advance of the gospel into Corinth, declares: "And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized" (Acts 18:8b). That, of course, is what Christ had commanded (Mark 16:16), and that is what Paul preached!
(5) "The thief on the cross was saved, and he was not baptized." With all due respect to those who make this objection to baptism, I have to say that there is not a person on earth who can prove that the repentant thief on the cross was not baptized. With reference to the ministry of John the Baptist it is said: "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins" (Matthew 3:5-6). No one can prove that the thief was not among the many baptized by John the Baptist! In view of the wide response to the preaching of John, it is entirely possible that the thief was among those who were baptized by John. But that is beside the point. The real point is that when Christ said to the thief: "...today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), Christ had not yet died and therefore His will or testament was not yet in force. The writer of the book of Hebrews affirms: "For where there is a testament (a will, hf), there must also of necessity be the death of the testator (in this case, Christ, hf). For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives" (Hebrews 9:16-17). The thief lived and died before the new testament (will) of Christ became in force. That is why the thief on the cross, as well as all the Old Testament worthies, cannot be held up as examples of righteous people "who were saved without being baptized." They were never amenable to the New Testament of Christ requiring baptism for the remission of sins! But all people living this side of the death of Christ are amenable to His testament/will, and according to the stipulations of that will it is the person "who believes and is baptized" who will be saved (Mark 16:16). This is why all of the passages we noted in our Study last week (and reviewed in the first paragraph of this Study) are so vitally important in understanding the place of baptism in God's plan for redeeming a sinner through Jesus Christ.
If this essay has blessed you, feel free to forward it to other who may benefit from it.
Hugh Fulford