Baptism Now Saves

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.(Mark 16:16)

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 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:(I Peter 3:20-21)

Today in our local church, we celebrate the hopeful end of a long draught… the first baptism in more than a year and a half. True, our two baptisms amount to a “cloud the size of a man’s hand” but we humbly rejoice! As it is written,”despise not the day of small beginnings”.

In contemplating baptism, I have been meditating on the scriptures above. In what sense could it be said that “baptism now saves us”? I know that it is faith in Jesus’ blood that has procured the pardon and status of righteousness that I needed in order to “flee the wrath” of a righteous and holy God!

The Christian author Watchman Nee, an early but profound influence on my discipleship is helpful here. In the book “Love Not The World” , Nee points out that the word “salvation” is used not in a general but in a specific sense.

Nee points out that every detail of our sinful and God estranged existence has been answered to by the work of God in Christ. For example, because of our spiritual death, God gives eternal life. Sin has ruined the old creation, but God makes a new creation. Since man is under a just but severe condemnation, through Jesus, God offers man justification by faith. Redemption is multi-faceted.

Another facet of man’s ruin is the fact that he has been born and raised, in this world. The term “the world” , in the new testament usually refers to God estranged humanity as it has organized itself, independently of and to the exclusion of the only true God. It is the greek word “Cosmos”, meaning ‘the order” or “adornment”.

Thus salvation is not so much a personal question of sins forgiven or of hell avoided. It is to be seen rather in terms of a system from which we come out. When I am saved, I make my exodus out of one whole world and my entry into another. I am saved now out of that whole organized realm which Satan has constructed in defiance of the purpose of God.(Watchman Nee,”Love Not The World”,Christian Literature Crusade)

* It is already under a judgment- Jesus said, Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.(John 12:31) The sentence has already been passed, the world is already judged by God , the Lord is uncompromising in his resolution. As in the days of Noah, the execution of the sentence hangs over the world like a cloud, the day of Divine vengeance draws near!

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright(Psalm 11:5-7)

* The real ruler of the world is Satan- In the scripture above, Jesus referred to ‘the prince of this world’, who would be cast down, at the judgment of this world. Jesus would later proclaim that in the coming of Judas ,’the prince of this world comes….’. Who was he referring to? Satan, the real ‘god’ of this age, and the mind behind the ‘world system’.John, the Lord’s apostle warned us that “the whole world lies in the wicked one’s power”.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (I John 5:19 NASB)

* The world hates Christ- If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you ( John 15: 17-18)

Don’t let the world deceive you with it’s platitudes about Jesus as a ‘good man’ or a philosopher, the world hates the real Jesus of the Bible. He offends them because he tells them that they aren’t right, and that they need to be saved, and worse yet, that they can’t even save themselves!

The world has crafted another christianity that is more to their liking, but it is anti-christ.They hate the real Christ and would crucify him again if given a chance.That is why the world has always persecuted christians wherever possible.

* The love of the world and the love of the Father are mutually exclusive - John reveals this truth to us, in this admonition of his epistle;

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (I John 2:15)

Therefore we are “saved” out of this world! In this sense do Peter and Mark proclaim that “baptism saves”, or that “he that believes and is baptized will be saved”. In baptism, we are stepping over the line of demarcation, exiting the doomed world, even as Noah did , through the water.

Remember that Israel never really left Egypt until she crossed the Red Sea. Egypt went in with her, but never came out the other side as she did. There is no real leaving of the ties of this world, without a valid new testament baptism whenever possible.

Two brothers, left the World today, calling upon Jesus! They went from one Kingdom to another, they crossed the Red Sea! They passed through the flood of Judgment into the Kingdom of Light! They justified God! Hallelujah!!

Baptism is not a requirement for salvation. It is a public statement of that internal belief and faith. Historically it was in baptism that repentance and faith in Christ were proclaimed. Recognized as the first Christian act.

To understand the interpretation of baptism and its importance in your Christian walk, you have to know the historical background of it. It did not begin with the first century church, or at the time of Jesus. Undeniably some form of water immersion was required in Judaism going back to the Levitical cleansings of the Old Testament. It was Jews, not Christians John was baptizing, prior to Jesus stepping into the water.

Jesus’ baptism may be viewed as a complement and fulfillment of John the Baptist’s work. John declared to the crowds that he baptized in water, but the Messiah to come would baptize the people in the Holy Spirit and in fire

Baptism was an integral part of the overall experience of becoming a Christian in the earliest periods of the church. It was associated with being united with Christ.

I am in my 50’s and a Christian, but have never been baptized by water. But I have complete confidence that if I passed away tonight, Jesus would welcome me home. His dying on the cross for me is sufficient. When he said “It is Finished” that is what he meant.

I’ll deal with the question of Holy Spirit baptism at a later time. For now, I Corinthians 1:17—

It is sometimes claimed that Paul rejected any role of baptism in salvation when he wrote to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 1:17. He says in this passage:

“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom,lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

I should be pointed out that Paul is not saying that he had not been authorized to baptize, or that baptism had no place in his ministry. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. When Christ gave the “Great Commission” to the original twelve apostles, he commanded them to baptize (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul himself did personally baptize some people:

“...I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius...I did baptize also the household of Stephanus...” (I Corinthians 1:14,16)

One needs to realize that I Corinthians 1:17 is an idiomatic phrase. The words “not” and “but” are used in other places in a similar way. For example, in John 12:44 we read,

“And Jesus cried out and said, `He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.’”

Jesus is not saying that those who do believe in him do not believe in him. He is simply emphasizing that those who believe in him are not believing in him only, but also (or even especially) in God the Father.

In a similar case, in John 6:27, Jesus says,

“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life...”

Jesus is not trying to tell the people that they should give up their jobs and no longer work for their food. In II Thessalonians 3:10 we are told just the opposite. Jesus is simply trying to impress upon the people that they should work not only for physical food, but also (or even especially) for spiritual food.

In I Corinthians 1:17, Paul was trying to tell the Corinthians that his primary purpose as an apostle was not to be the one who conducted the physical act of baptism. His primary purpose was to preach the gospel. His efforts would be successful regardless of whether he, or others, did the actual baptizing. He was sent not only to baptize, but also (or even especially) to preach the gospel.

Finally, I Corinthians 1:17 should be viewed in light of the context. Starting with verse ten, we read,

“I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, `I belong to Paul,’ or `I belong to Apollos,’ or `I belong to Cephas,’ or `I belong to Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius; lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanus. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.)” (I Corinthians 1:10-16)

There was division in the church at Corinth. People divided themselves into groups, at least partly, it seems, on the basis of who taught and baptized them. It is in this context that he says that he was glad that he had baptized only a few, and that he was not sent to baptize. Paul did not say that he was glad that only a few had been baptized, but that he was glad that he had personally done the baptizing in only a few instances.

In a discussion of this sort, there are various issues to be dealt with. I will try to address things one at a time. For now, let me address the question of the thief on the cross:

One of the examples often given to support the view that baptism is not for the remission of sins is the example of the thief on the cross. This incident is recorded in Luke 23:39-43:

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, `Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, `Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, `Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.’ And he said to him, `Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

This is given as an example of salvation without baptism. Two points need to be made, however. First of all, none of us can know whether the thief had been baptized before or not. John the Baptist had been baptizing a few years earlier. Matthew 3:5-6 says:

“Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan...”

Who can say that the thief was not one of these?

Whether the thief was baptized or not, though, is just a side issue in the argument. The main point is that the thief lived and died under the Old Covenant. Today we live under the New Covenant—the New Testament. Under the Old Testament law, people were commanded to offer animal sacrifices and do a variety of other things that we are not required to do today. Likewise we are commanded to do things today that those under the Old Covenant were not commanded to do. Failure to distinguish between the authority of the two covenants can cause a wide variety of religious error (e.g., sabbath day worship). People need to realize that the Old Covenant is not in effect today as a legal system.

“...by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross...” (Ephesians 2:15-16)

“...having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)

The Old Covenant with its written code was taken away with Christ’s death on the cross. The book of Hebrews speaks at length about the authority of the Old Covenant being replaced by that of the New:

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: `The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach every one his fellow or every one his brother, saying “Know the Lord,” for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’

“In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:7-13)

“When he said above, `Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, `Lo, I have come to do thy will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:8-10)

The Old Testament is not our authority in religion for today. Likewise, the New Testament was not the authority for those living in Old Testament times. The New Testament did not go into effect until after the death of Jesus.

Today, if a person makes out a will, or testament, that will does not go into effect until after the person dies. For example, if I make out a will and promise to leave John Doe $100, the will does not go into effect until after I am dead.

“For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.” (Hebrews 9:16-17)

Mr. Doe could not legally come wrest his money from me before my death.

Not only is the death of a person necessary for a will to go into effect, but there is usually a brief period during which the will is probated. For example, if I will John Doe $100, and he hears on the news that I have died, he cannot come over and break into my house and start looking for the money. Likewise, the church came into being, and the New Testament came into force, on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.

The thief on the cross may well have been a case of salvation apart from baptism. But that has no more relevance for us today than the story of Abraham, or of Moses, or of David. They were not baptized either, but they did not live under the New Covenant. Zaccheus is sometimes given as a case of salvation apart from baptism, but the same situation applies there. He was not living under the New Covenant.

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