Expert: Ernie Laurence, Jr. - 5/28/2008

Question
i have visited sites concerning baptism, and im really confused... please help... i can't seem to find what's wrong or what's right because you all have good answers....

http://www.allaboutgod.com/is-baptism-necessary-for-salvation.htm

http://www.carm.org/questions/baptnec.htm

http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5367

Answer
[Please note that ALL CAPS is for emphasis only.]

Let me begin by saying that ultimately our answer comes from scripture, not from the opinions and interpretations of men.  Ultimately you must read God's word and "study to shew thyself approved unto God" (2 Tim. 2:15).  However, I will do what I can to guide you in what I believe to be the right direction.

First let me respond by saying that immersion in water is absolutely necessary for the remission of sins, that is, salvation.

Let's see what the Word of God has to say about it then we can examine those websites in light of that standard.  I'll not go into every verse at this time, but provide a few.  If you would like to discuss others, please feel free to do so.

John 3:3,5

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  ... Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

Jesus here speaks of spiritual rebirth (vs. 3).  Nicodemus, confused, asks about physical birth, which is the same confusion that most people have about what Jesus said here.  Jesus responds again by speaking of that spiritual rebirth and says that except a man be born (again) of water and of the spirit (spiritual rebirth, not physical) he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (the church).  

Don't get confused because a lot of translators like to capitalize "spirit" whenever they can do so.  Unless you see "Holy" or "God's" in front of the word "spirit" almost always the word should not be capitalized.

1 Peter 3:20-21

"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:"

Peter here explicitly states "baptism doth also now save you".  It does not get any more clear than that.  But what kind of baptism and what does the surrounding context mean?  I posted verse 20 to show that Peter is directly equating the baptism he is talking about to water by stating that "eight souls were saved by water."  The flood was a type, that is to say a figure or a pointer to the reality or antitype that is NT water immersion.  By the waters of the flood, eight souls were saved from a sinful world while the sin itself was destroyed.  So to, we are saved by the waters of NT baptism while the sin is destroyed because it is in the watery grave of baptism that we contact the blood of Christ (1 John 5:6,8; Romans 6:3-6).  We see this in the full statement of Peter without the explanatory parenthetical statement -- "baptism doth also now save you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" because as Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected, so we too die, are buried, and are resurrected.

But what of that parenthetical statement that gives so many so much trouble?  Gregory Koukl on his website is one of those who has trouble.  He says that the statement in parentheses means that baptism is "an appeal to God for a clean conscience", but that is not what the statement actually says.  Here it is again:

"not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God"

The first part about the putting away of the filth of the flesh simply means that this water immersion is not about taking a bath.  It is the second part that Mr. Koukl gets wrong.  The ANSWER OF a good conscience (Greek -- epirotema) is not the same thing as an "appeal" FOR a good conscience.    

It is important to note that there is a difference between conscience and soul.  Paul had a good conscience in persecuting the church (Acts 23:1), but it was improperly educated.  A conscience properly educated by the gospel gives us the power TO BECOME the sons of God (John 1:12).  

But a good conscience alone does not save.  A properly educated conscience demands something more.  Water immersion is the answer to that demand.  That is what Peter says here.  The water immersion that saves by the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not the taking of a bath, but that action that is the answer to the demand (Grk. epirotema) of our good conscience before God.  Why?  Because the good conscience (one properly educated by the gospel) knows that water immersion is absolutely necessary to save us, to give us a clean soul (one free of sin).  Here again we have the spiritual rebirth by water as Jesus spoke of in John 3.

Romans 6:16-18

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

This is the most powerful passage (for me) concerning water immersion for salvation.  No one who is a nay-sayer of water immersion for salvation has ever even attempted to answer this passage.

Here Paul speaks of obedience and he says that obedience is UNTO righteousness.  Many will say that Paul taught that works don't save, only grace (through faith).  But that is simply not true.  Read Romans chapter 1-2 and look at how many times Paul speaks of obedience.  Paul, when he spoke of works not saving, spoke of works of THE LAW, which is a reference to the Mosaical Law.  Paul was saying that obedience to the Old Testament could not save.  But obedient faith to Christ is absolutely necessary, just as James wrote in James 2:14-26.

Paul goes on to say that the Roman Christians had been the servants of sin, but they had OBEYED from the heart that FORM, or pattern, of doctrine being THEN made free from sin.  It was at the point of obeying that pattern of doctrine that they were made free from sin, not before.  And through that obedience, they were made servants of righteousness.

But what was this pattern of doctrine?  It was baptism that he had just finished speaking about in earlier in the chapter (vs. 3-5).  The pattern to obey is that which was shown by Jesus Himself in His death, burial, and resurrection and we do this through baptism.

The questions that nobody can answer are:  

1. "Can you show me where baptism IN the Holy Spirit is a command?"
2. "Can show me how to obey baptism IN the Holy Spirit?"  

You see, baptism IN the Holy Spirit is never commanded in scripture nor is it a command we could obey.  Only water immersion is a command that humans can obey...and it was commanded by Jesus in the gospel accounts and all over the book of Acts (e.g. Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38;  10:48; 22:16)

The objection was raised on one of these sites that Jesus did not baptize anyone (John 4:1-2) and Paul baptized only a very few (1 Cor. 1:10-17).  They asked: "If water baptism were necessary for salvation, wouldn't Jesus have baptized?"

It's a misleading question.  Let's look at Paul's statements first then we'll look at what Jesus did and why.  In Paul's statements to the church at Corinth he chastises them for dividing over stupid things like who converted them (Paul, Apollos, Peter, etc.).  He goes on to say that he is happy that he was not the one that baptized them "lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name" (vs. 15).  Paul is NOT saying that baptism isn't important.  He is saying that WHO baptizes is unimportant.  We are all baptized into Christ.  Who holds you so you don't slip and fall in the river is completely irrelevant.  The Holy Spirit is the one by whom you are actually baptized (1 Cor. 12:13) and He is the only one that matters.

I could ask this...who baptized the first person to become a Christian?  Logically one must say it was a non-Christian.  But didn't Christ baptize the disciples?  That brings us to John 4.

The passage in John 4 plainly teaches that Jesus did not baptize anyone, only his disciples did.  So that question is answered leaving us right back to a non-Christian baptized the person who became the first Christian.

Next we must note that the baptism that Jesus' disciples did before the death of Jesus was the same type that John's was.  It was a baptism of repentance looking forward to the cross.  As I have already discussed, Romans 6 shows us that we must be baptized according to the pattern Jesus gave us in order to be set free from sin.  Before his death (as in John 4) Jesus had not died so that could not have been the pattern they were baptizing people by.  In reality, John 4 is completely irrelevant to the topic of salvation by NT (New Testament) baptism because it isn't talking about an event that took place during the time that the NT was in effect.

Well, I have given you quite a bit here so I'll stop for now.  Please feel free to ask whatever you wish about these comments or other passages or if you have a specific point you'd like for me to respond to from those websites.

In Truth and Love,

Ernie