What
God Says... |
Baptism
a
requirement for salvation?
-
NOTE:
Before you read further....
When people read the Bible, God's inspired Word - His message to
mankind, many people may have different reference points depending on
the teachings and traditions they grew up with through parents, school,
church, and friends. Before you read this particular article it maybe
advantageous for you to read through the article on God's Word first. |
In regards to baptism, there have been written countless volumes about
why, how, where and when to point out one's particular belief and
opinion. The following is simply pointing to what God says to us
through His Word;
First of all the meaning of the word Baptism or to Baptize;
Baptize;
From Strongs Greek Concordance: 907
baptizo bap-tid'-zo from a derivative of 911; to immerse, submerge;
to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of
ceremonial ablution*, especially (technically) of the ordinance of
Christian baptism:--Baptist, baptize, wash. * A washing or
cleansing of the body
911 bapto bap'-to a
primary verb; to whelm, i.e. cover wholly with a
fluid; in the New Testament only in a qualified or special sense, i.e.
(literally) to moisten (a part of one's person), or (by implication) to
stain (as with dye):--dip.
Baptism;
908 baptisma bap'-tis-mah
from 907; baptism (technically or figuratively):--baptism.
There are over 80 references to baptism in the New Testament.
Baptism
pictured in the Old Testament:
God's word tells us that the Old Testament happened to them and were written for us:
I Corinthians 10:11: Now all these things
happened unto them for
ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends
of the world are come.
Water was primarily used for drinking and for cleansing in different
sacrifices and ceremonies and when we go back in the context of this
scripture (read 1-11) we see that water played an important role both
in a natural way and pointing to spiritual truth;
I
Corinthians 10:1-4: Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be
ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed
through the sea; And were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in
the sea; And did all eat the
same spiritual meat; And did all drink the
same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that
followed them: and that Rock was
Christ.
Acts
3:22: For Moses truly said to the fathers, " The Lord your God shall
raise up a Prophet to you from your brothers, One like me. You shall
hear Him in all things, whatever He may say to you.
Moses
as an Old Testament picture of Jesus, brought the Israelites from
bondage in Egypt
to freedom in the promised land.The passing through the Red Sea for the
Israelites was a literal and
physical leaving of the old life of bondage in Egypt and entering into
freedom on the other side of the sea. They entered the parted water and
passed over to the other side. The Egyptians tried to overcome them but
was drowned in the sea when it closed in. The Israelites were safe on
the other side beginning their journey to the land of freedom and
abundance. The New Testament tells us that this was a physical example
of what happens in the spiritual world when someone believes and is
baptized. Another parallel is when Jesus went to the cross and died for
our sins. Using that, God shows us the perfect picture of what happens
when someone becomes a Christian and is baptized;
Romans 6:3: Know ye not, that so many of
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4: Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
5: For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be
also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6: Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin
might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7: For he that is dead is
freed from sin.
8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we
believe that we shall also live with
him:
The old life of sin and bondage (in Egypt) is buried (dead in the
water) and as Christ was raised from the dead, we rise to a new life in
Him.
II Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
- Now,
that is pretty clear language and easy to understand. So we see here
three pictures that portrays the same message and the fulfillment of
Jesus' "mission statement":
1. In the Nation of Israel
2. In the atonement of Jesus Christ
3. In the life of a believer
Luke
4:18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering
of
sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised.
When Jesus started his mission on earth he came to John to be baptized
and he said;
Matthew 3:15: .......Suffer it to be so
now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfill all righteousness.
He symbolically showed what would
take place and when we are baptized
we look back and identify with what did
take place - Jesus' death,
burial and resurrection. We are immersed in water (death and burial of
the old life) and rising (out of the water) to a new life in Christ.
It's a public testimony of our conversion from the old to the new.
John was baptizing unto repentance;
Luke
7:29: And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the
Pharisees and
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being
not
baptized of him.
The self righteous Pharisees and lawyers were steeped in traditions of
men and their own laws and regulations (man's opinions and reasonings)
and rejected God's word against
themselves by not being
baptized. In other words they did not
want to repent.
Jesus talked of a baptism that he would be baptized with and it was his
literal death, burial and resurrection:
Jesus called his coming death, burial and resurrection a "baptism". His
was the real deal. We publicly confess our faith in that through
baptism in water symbolizing his "baptism".
Luke 12:50: But I have a baptism to be
baptized with; and how distressed I am till it be accomplished!
Mark 10:38: But
Jesus said unto them , Ye know not what
ye ask : can ye drink of the cup that
I drink of ? and be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with ?
Mark 10:39: And
they said unto him , We can . And Jesus said
unto them , Ye shall indeed drink of the cup
that I drink of ; and with the baptism
that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
On the day of Pentecost after they had been filled with the Holy
Spirit, Peter was preaching;
Acts
2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:41: Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there
were
added unto them about three thousand souls .
I Corinthians 12:13: For
by one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Likening the circumcision (without hands) of the heart, with Baptism, calling it the "circumcision of Christ":
Col. 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10: And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13: And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14: Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Why have some people that
have been saved not yet been baptized? There
are
only three possible reasons other than a physical preventative
situation, similar to hanging on a cross or other physical hindrances. I believe first of all
because it is not
preached clearly as a commandment by Jesus ( Matt 28:19 and Mark 16:16)
and people do not take it
seriously. In the early church it was as natural as "salt and pepper".
You believed and were baptized - period. Since when did we start
personal preference and/or time delayed action. Now we do not preach
baptism, we have classes for "candidates" that "wish" to be baptized.
The second reason is plain disobedience toward God and the third
because they have
not yet been born from above - they are simply not saved - yet.
We were attending a Church in Calgary back in the 70's where they had
an altar call every Sunday night. Those who got saved were baptized
that very night. Sounds biblical to me:
Acts 2:41: Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized and the
same day there were
added unto them about three thousand souls .
Why do people wait? Why hesitate? Sounds like they're listening to the
creature: "Has God said?"
- rather than the Creator. In other words - "it's probably not that
important". In other words they have a higher regard for their own
reasoning, from whatever source that might be, than they have for God
and His word.
Baptism was usually the immediate step after believing. It was the immediate action that followed belief;
Acts
8:12: But when they believed
Philip preaching the
things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women .
Acts 16:33: And he took
them the same hour of the night,
and washed their stripes; and was
baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Acts 18:8: And Crispus,
the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his
house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
Acts 19:5: When they heard this, they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16: And now why
are you waiting? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name of the Lord .
Philip obviously communicated the right message to the eunuch, because
as soon as they passed a body of water he requested to be
baptized, right there:
Acts
8:36-38: And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain
water; and the eunuch said, See, here
is water; what hinders me from
being baptized ? And Philip said, If you believe with all your
heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ
is
the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand
still: and they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the
eunuch; and he baptized him .
From the above scripture it appears that any place where there is
enough water with or without other people present qualifies for a place
of baptism following belief. The Eunuch obviously wanted to be obedient
according to what Philip had taught him from the Word.
Paul who had persecuted the church came to Ananias who prayed for him:
Acts
9:18: And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales:
and he received
sight forthwith, and arose, and was
baptized .
The Holy Spirit poured out on the gentiles, before they were baptized;
Acts
10:47: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be
baptized in the name of the
Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days .
Other references;
Acts 16:15: And
when she was baptized, and her
household, she besought,
saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come
into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us .
Romans 6:3: Know ye
not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:4: Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
I Corinthians 10:2: And were all baptized unto Moses in the
cloud and in the sea;
I Peter 3:21: The like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the
putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good
conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ:
Mark 16:16: He that
believes and is baptized shall be saved ;
but
he that believes not shall be damned .
It seems like the most natural thing to do was to get baptized as soon
as you had believed. There was no waiting period, no special classes,
no lingering - You got saved, you were baptized right away. Why?
Because that's the commandment Jesus gave them before he left. Why
wait? Is the message not clear enough?
Peters sermon on the day of
Pentecost, which started the fulfillment of the Great Commission, has
never changed; "Repent, and be baptized
every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.........Then they that gladly
received his word were baptized.
Matt
28: 18-20: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples
of the all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
teaching them to observe all
things I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
A Word of CAUTION:
What is the qualification to be baptized? - Repentance towards God!
Acts 2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins
What is repentance?
II Corinthians 7:10: For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
BAPTISM in and of itself is NOT A TICKET TO HEAVEN....
The act of Baptism is not a ticket to heaven unless your heart is right
with God, having repented first. Simon the sorcerer believed and got
baptized but he had not repented. His heart was not right with God.
Acts
8:9: But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the
same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out
that himself was some great one:
10: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
1: And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
12: But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the
kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both
men and women.
13: Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
14: Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17: Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
18: And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19: Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20: But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou
hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21: Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22: Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
This scripture you don't hear too many sermons on;
Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Now, that does sound like you have to be baptized to be saved, does it
not? Is that not what it says? Then what about the thief on the cross?
He did not hear a typical sermon, yet he witnessed God at work and was
actually the very first convert, dying beside His Savior for crimes he
had
done. He knew that Jesus had not done anything deserving of death. He
also knew that Jesus did not belong here, he was from a different
Kingdom. He had heard; "Father forgive them for they know not what they
do". He only said to Jesus; "Remember
me when you come into your
kingdom". He did not have chance to get baptized, yet
Jesus said
to him; "Assuredly, this day you will be with me in paradise".
So is
that a contradiction then? Not at all, because it really has nothing to
do with the practical application of being immersed in water, but it
has everything to do with obedience.
Obedience to God's Word is the essence of everything. That of course
cannot happen unless faith is involved. The underlying foundational
question to be asked is this: Do you believe the first ten words in th
Bible?:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Do you believe that;
Hebrews
11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him.
And....
Isa
55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not
return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall
prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Jesus said that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one
tittle of God's law to fail (Luke 16:17).
To avoid repeating myself here, please go to God's
Word and find out if
you absolutely unconditionally believe that or not. Then come
back, and you may just look at what God says here with a different
understanding.
God says that the pharisees rejected the counsel of God against
themselves, not being baptized by him (John). They rejected what God
said for them to do through John; - "repent
and be baptized".
God
has provided the way and he says; Walk in it. When we do not, we reject
his counsel. Jesus said that the evidence of us loving him is that we
keep His commandments. As a matter of fact if we don't, He says we do
not know Him;
John 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.
I John 2:3-5: And hereby
we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He
that
says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But whoso keeps his word, in him verily is the
love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
So, the obvious question is; will those that are not baptized not go to
heaven? That can and is being discussed widely, however human
reasoning does not play a part here. What matter is faith in what God
says. He's the one that is speaking. Perhaps people who are not
baptized do not see it as necessary? How would you like to say to
almighty God, the creator of the universe that what He says is not
important? If we do that, then we have elevated ourselves above God,
and I only know of one that tried that and the end is not good. Read
more about how to respond to God's
Word.
Salvation is not about doing rituals, but faith and relationship
with Jesus Christ. Jesus says we have a relationship with Him if we keep his commandments. God
says that faith without works is dead. If
we have a relationship with Jesus it will show in our obedience to His
commandments.
Some will say that this smack of legalism, bust stop to think about it
- if you love somebody, don't ypu want to please them? If it is true in
the natural shouldn't it be even more in the spiritual for Jesus who
gave His life for me so that I will be righteous before God? If you love me keep my commandments....
He has commanded us to do two physical things symbolically and
that is communion and baptism. They are not rituals, but rather
testimonies to his
atonement that people who have been born from above identify with.
The question remains; If for reason of doubt you have not been
baptized,
maybe there are other things that God says you don't believe
either? Remember, it was the devil who put doubt in Eve's heart by
asking; "Has God said?" Are you listening to the creature rather than
the
Creator? If you have, read God's Word, and do so now.
John 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
He that believes?
Believes what?
You be the judge!
Faith is always a matter of the will. You decide whether you will
believe what God says or not. Then you choose to act accordingly.
Three monkeys sat on a fence. Two decided to jump down. How many were left? THREE!
They decided to, but did not follow with action :-)
Faith without action is dead:
James 2:20: But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:26: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Is Baptism a choice - or an act of obedience, or both?
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