Water Baptism
The Evangelical Herald -- Bible Study No. 00-02
ARE WE SAVED BY WATER BAPTISM?
To any sincere, seeker of truth, the question `Are we saved by water baptism?' will inevitably confront him. It is with a humble heart and desire to do the will of our Heavenly Father that this study of the scriptures on this subject was made. From the very outset, I determined not to be swayed by common or even unorthodox opinions, but to approach the subject with the attitude that the answer to this question must be based entirely on clear scriptural teaching -- regardless of the consequences. For such an important question as this, one must rely strongly on the Spirit of God to illuminate His Word. It is hoped that this study, approached in the right way, will help others answer this question for themselves.
The attached study table (see attachment) references many of the key Bible passages that apply to the manner in which people are saved and many where the word `baptism' is found. As in any Bible study, we must be careful to rightly divide the word. (2Tim. 2:15) Applicable to this study is the dividing of the times into the old/new covenant, pre/post Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and pre/post Pentecost -- marked in order by the coming of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
According to Professor Strong in his Greek dictionary, the primary verb of the word translated `baptize' is the Greek word 'bap-to' meaning to whelm, i.e. cover wholly with a fluid. There seems to be no equivalent Hebrew word used in the old testament; however, the idea of wholly covering with a fluid could probably be liken to bathing in water or the anointing with oil. Anointing with oil was practiced to select a person for a special service to the Lord. In the Mosaic Law, there were many laws pertaining to the cleaning of the body. These laws were given for hygienic reasons to keep God's people free from diseases. Taking the position that the Old Testament teaches us the ways of the Lord through types and pictures, we look for spiritual truths that these practices can typify. The nearest we come to the idea of purging sin from a sinner by water in the Old Testament is found in Numbers 19:9, "water of purification, it is for purifying from sin".
John the Baptist is the first New Testament Bible personage that associates bathing in the river Jordan with the washing away of sins - "I baptize you with water unto repentance" (Matt 3:11). By what authority did he do this? It is clear that John was prophesized that he would be the one to prepare the way of the Lord so that Christ could be revealed to Isreal (John 1:31). It is not so clear why he immersed with water those who confessed and repented of their sins. From the Hebrew scriptures, we can only assume it was an act associated with the cleansing of all that is sinful.
Were those baptized by John saved from eternal condemnation by their immersion into the water? From our present perspective, we know that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. Since these people were not asked to believe in Jesus, we can only conclude that unless God dealt with the pre-cross, chosen people in a different way to give them life eternal, they could not be saved since Jesus was unknown to them. The benefit of their repentance in water baptism was their heart preparation to accept the Savior when He would reveal Himself to them.
To further complicate the issue, Jesus comes to John to be baptized! Now we know that Jesus had no sin, since He kept the law perfectly - so it is evident that His baptism was different then all others. Different in purpose or in what it accomplished. What was the purpose of Jesus' baptism? According to Jesus' own words, it was "to fulfill all righteousness". According to John, God used the occasion to identify to him the Messiah. How did Jesus "fulfill all righteousness" by being baptized? We can only conjecture that all that the law required for righteousness, Jesus fulfilled - so then, cleansing by water was part of the law. It also may be said that Jesus used this occasion to set an example for all his disciples to do as they publicly proclaim their own beginning of their ministry in the spirit filled life.
We also see baptism being performed by the disciples of Jesus (John 4:1,2). Was this baptism the same as John's? Because these baptisms were taking place before the death of Jesus and towards the end of the Jewish era, we can properly conclude that these baptisms served the same purpose as John's (i.e. preparation for receiving the king of the Jews as the chosen ones to bless mankind).
In the great commission of Matthew 28:19, Christians are commanded to baptize all nations. What is this baptism, what is its purpose, and when does it take place? All these questions are related to the big question, are we saved by water baptism? Considering that this commission was given after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, we know that the disciples now had a better understanding of Jesus' ministry (i.e. the eternal aspect of the kingdom). From John the Baptist words in Matthew 3:11, we know that there are two baptisms, one is an immersion in water and the other is an immersion in the Holy Spirit. Which one was Jesus talking about in the great commission? It is obvious from Acts 19: 3-5, that it was not John's baptism of washing away sins by water; yet, it is equally obvious that water was involved in the baptisms of the New Testament.
The overwhelming evidence in the scriptures points to "belief" in Jesus as the criteria to be reconciled to God and be saved from eternal destruction. Belief to the Christian is more than an intellectual acceptance that Christ exists since the devils believe and tremble. It is that and the complete trust that He is able to save us on the basis that the Father accepted him through the merits of his sacrifice. In the great commission, we are told to make disciples first, indicating that those who would become disciples needed to believe in their master first. In Acts 19:2, these disciples already had believed before they were baptized in the name of Jesus. In Acts 8:12, the Samaritans believed in Christ before they were baptized. The Caesarian gentiles received the Holy Spirit before being baptized (Acts 10:44-48).
When the Jews who saw the Pentecost manifestation of the Spirit were convicted, they asked Peter "what shall we do?" Peter responded and said, "repent and be baptized every one of you 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 time sequence is: 1) Repentance - the about turn away from sin - a mental acknowledgement of our life separated from God by sin - remorseful for sinning and 2) be baptized in the name of Jesus. To repent requires a mental acknowledgement or belief - in the existence of a personal God that we, as His creatures, have wronged by living against His will. This is consistent to believing first. Baptism means immersion in water and rightly comes after belief, but the key emphasis seems to be the phrase, " in the name of Jesus". Without the name of Jesus, water immersion was the equivalent of John's baptism. To be baptized in the name of Jesus means complete trust in who Jesus claimed He was: the Messiah, the anointed one of God, the son of God, and the Savior who accomplished our salvation by the shredding of His blood for the remission of sins.
Yet, we can not deny that immersion in water is a practice that occurs many times in conversion accounts in the book of Acts and Acts 2:38, in particular, definitely is associated with the remission of sins. In the book of Hebrews chapter 9, verse 22, we read, "without shedding of blood is no remission". As the context shows, it is Christ as the true sacrifice who shed His blood for the remission of sins. What then, is there a disagreement in the scriptures? Is it Christ's blood that remits sin, or is it water immersion that remits sin? We know that apparent contradictions in God's word means that further study needs to be done to harmonize His word.
We can safely say that physically immersing the body in John's baptism did not wash away a person's sins. Rather it was the mental acknowledgement of sin, faith in God's mercy, humility in obedience and a heart condition to desire not to sin that was accounted as worthy for forgiveness. In like manner, baptism in Jesus' name deals with proper faith, mental attitude and heart condition. In Christian baptism, a higher level of mental submission is required as seen in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Paul tells us in Romans 6:3-8; that our submission is unto death of self. In the Gospels we know that Jesus taught just that - the total surrender and self-denial if we would be His disciples.
From all this, we can only conclude that even as John's baptism by water immersion was an outward and necessary obedient act of faith in God's mercy; so Christian baptism is an outward and necessary obedient act of faith in what Christ has done for us. When did Christ do this for us? When He died in the cross for all men. When was his death's merits applied to us? When we first believed (made a mental acknowledgement in his existence and ministry) in Him, repented of ours sins and submitted ourselves to Him in faith. This process or experience is in the mental and spiritual plane - it can not be seen. Water baptism is then a fitting physical reality that illustrates the spiritual covenant between our God and us. It is a physical sign and testimony that God has chosen us to be His children much as circumcision was a sign the God had chosen the Israelite child to be His. As such, the Christian comes to baptism not as a required requisite for salvation, but as an obedient disciple who desires to testify that he is now a child of God.
Those coming to baptism must have experienced the power of forgiveness, the death of self ( i.e. death to earthly goals, interests, fame, power), and the resurrection to newness of life. The scriptural evidence is overwhelming that this occurs when a person first believes and trusts in the reality of who Jesus is and what He did for him on the cross. This is a mental exercise in faith. This all-important experience is personal in nature - it is a covenant between God and man. There is also abundant scriptural evidence that the physical sign of this covenant is baptism by water immersion since it illustrates the believer's death, burial, and resurrection in immersing himself in Christ Jesus. Baptism also serves the purpose of anointing or the selecting of the believer into the body of Christ.
My understanding from the standpoint of a born-again experience, spirit led wisdom, and the study of God's written revelation is:
1. Christ is the Messiah, the chosen one who took away the sins of the world by his sacrificial death, burial and resurrection
2. This message must be preached to all the world
3. Those who accept the message are led by the Spirit to repent of their sins, die to self, and be resurrected to newness of life
4. They become disciples of their Lord
5. These new creatures in Christ must be baptized by water immersion as a public testamony to their spiritual covenant
6. These baptized ones become part of the universal body of Christ
7. They continue to grow spiritually unto maturity and
8. They bring fruit by bringing others into the body
May the Spirit of God lead us in faith to humbly accept the understanding of water baptism that He individually reveals to us in our spiritual growth as we continue to study to honor our God.