Introduction:
Let us start with looking at the teaching of the oldest church in the world, the Catholic Church (This then went on to be the teaching of the church of England, Presbyterian and many other traditional churches.) What do they teach about baptism?
Quote from Catholic creed:
“…We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
Their belief is that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, the point of salvation. However, they taught child baptism.
What is taught in most evangelical churches today?
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Based on this verse alone taken out of context, all you need to believe is to say aloud the words “Jesus is Lord” and you will be saved. This is often called the sinner’s prayer. Yet, this verse teaches something very different when it is put back into context.
Romans 10:1-14 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Putting the verse into context
In verse 1, the passage names who it is addressing: Brothers, the Christians in the church in Rome! Also, see the beginning of the book of Romans (Romans 1:7).
What is the issue being addressed here? Paul is talking to the Christians about converting the Jews; they were zealous, but their knowledge was wrong.
This is not a passage written to Gentiles about how to be saved, but to Christians about how to save the Jews. Paul focuses on getting them to believe that Jesus is Lord. Notice that there is also no mention of repentance and we know that we also need to repent to be saved (Luke 13:5; Acts 26:20-21).
What does the Bible say?
So how do we clear the issue up, well let’s take a look at what 3 people said about baptism, forgiveness and salvation.
1) What Jesus said about it?
2) What the Apostle Peter said about it?
3) What the Apostle Paul said about it?
1. What did Jesus say about baptism?
John 3:3-7 Jesus replied, “I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.
Jesus said to Nicodemus that to be born again there needed to be water present?
Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Jesus said you need to be baptised in order to be saved?
2. What did Peter say about baptism?
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Peter, leader of the early church, preached at his very first sermon that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins is what is needed to be saved, since sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2)
1 Peter 3:20-21 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 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,
Peter also teaches in 1 Peter that baptism saves you.
3. What did Paul say about baptism?
Romans 6:3-4 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
The Apostle Paul teaches that we are raised to a new life after baptism, not before. (The thief on the cross was under the Old Jewish Covenant, which is why he did not need to get baptised. At this point, Jesus had not yet risen or even died for our sins yet.)
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
The Apostle Paul teaches that we enter the church, the body of Christ, at baptism. If baptism were not for salvation that would mean we can be saved but not counted as in God’s church. Does that make sense? No!
Galatians 3:26-27 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
The Apostle Paul teaches that we are clothed in Christ at baptism, that is to say when God looks down at us he no longer sees us as sinful, but clothed in perfection and therefore able to stand in his presence.
The conversion of Paul:
Let’s examine how Paul recalls his own conversion:
Acts 22:1-15 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
We see that although Paul had:
1. A personal visit from Jesus
2. Underwent a healing
3. Was taught and knew the bible
He still did not have his sins washed away until baptism and it was there that he called on his name. Romans 10:9 refers to the same “calling on his name”, because his issue was to believe that Jesus is God, not just a man.
Conclusion:
If baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins and therefore not the point of salvation, we must be able to explain why Jesus, Paul and Peter all thought it was.
The pressure is on those who believe baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins to explain why. This was the doctrine of the early church in the book of Acts, the recorded doctrine of the early church as well as the Catholic Church. In fact, this has been taught for thousands of years throughout all churches until the relatively new teaching of simply praying for forgiveness of sins was introduced just a few hundred years ago.
We must simply get back to:
what Jesus said about Baptism,
what Peter said about Baptism,
and what Paul said about Baptism.
Ultimately, we must simply go back to what God and his word say about baptism!
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