Baptism – Not An Absolute?

Introduction

Riches eternal and blessings supernal. I’ve always loved that part in verse two of the song that we have just sung. Are you partaking? Are you receiving the benefits of what we just sang? Blessings supernal, riches eternal. If so, we are indeed most blessed. Good to see you today. What is it about Decker Prairie that makes us different from other religious groups? Oh, to be sure there are other groups like us, but what makes us different from the garden variety of churches that are out there today that provide a caring, loving, peaceful atmosphere in which to worship God. There is something very distinctive about us. And I want to preach something today that makes us distinctive. We’re not just another garden variety church going people. We’re distinctive because we preach and proclaim the truth of God.

We believe truth matters. We not only proclaim the truth, we are intent, and we encourage every person to practice the truth, because it is the truth that saves and sets free. John chapter 8 and verse 32. And here’s the part that really makes us distinct, about which a lot of people would balk. And that is that we hold people accountable to the practice of this message. We hold each other accountable. And frankly, that’s just not for a lot of people. But so much is at stake. Everything, actually. This lesson, as I mentioned to you, is distinctive. It’s a lesson that could not be preached in most pulpits in our area or throughout the world. And it is the result of an article that was written recently in our local newspaper, one of our local newspapers that someone, I can’t remember who it was, might have been Bert, as I was walking out, I can’t remember, handed me the Magnolia Tomball Paupourri.

Now, here in the sticks in Tomball, Texas, we say potpourri. But it was in the Magnolia Tomball Paupourri with this headline, as important as baptism is, it is not an absolute in pursuit of salvation. Well, that headline will certainly capture our attention, won’t it? What role does baptism play? And I want you to know that I would not feel comfortable preaching this lesson if I did not also reply to the writer, Scott Wall, or at least I attempted to do so at the email address that was provided. He received the same material that I’m presenting to you this morning. So far I have not received a reply, but I’m hopeful that I will.

1. Theology Talking, Not Scripture Talking

Perhaps, Scott, there is another explanation. Perhaps, and is not baptized is not in the second part of the verse, is that it is pointless to speak about baptism if a person does not believe. That may well be the reason why baptism is not bound in the second part of the verse, because an unbeliever will not submit to baptism in the name for Jesus. And whatever Jesus’ reason was for not including baptism in the second part of the verse, doesn’t change what the first part of the verse is saying. He concludes, as a result of this, it seems to me to overwhelmingly point to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for us rather than on anything that we can do to add to what he has done.

So baptism then is something we do as a result of a belief, and therefore it is an essential because we know that the finished work of Jesus cross would eliminate us having to do something. Look, folks, that is theology talking, that is not scripture talking. If the oft-repeated phrase, the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, settles everything in religion, then why is it that not all men and women are automatically saved? Why? If it’s all about the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, then salvation was signed, sealed, and delivered for every person. Why not? And what are you going to do with other passages of Scripture like Acts chapter 10, verses 34 and 35 that says God is not a respecter of persons and he doesn’t show partiality?

That is, the gospel is available to everyone, and that message was preached to the first Gentile who embraces the message of salvation. God is not partial to the Jew over the Greek. This salvation is open to all. Titus 2 and verse 11. A grace that was brought to every person is now being preached to the first Gentile who will embrace it. And he says, God is not a respecter of persons. He does not show any partiality, but what? How many times have I quoted for you, and Mike’s mentioned the verses I quote a lot, Acts 10, 35? Because it’s important. In every nation, he who fears God and does what is right accepted of him. If there was never a time, if there was ever a time to talk about the finished work of Jesus on the cross, and that means everything signed, sealed, and delivered for eternity, why not there?

Why tell Cornelius at the beginning of that message, in every nation, he who fears God and does what is right is accepted of him. Apparently, there is still something that man must do in order to be saved and receive all the benefits that come from the great things that Christ did in providing the grace of God unto man. And again, the question is asked three times. You’ve been schooled in this, right? Three times the question was asked in the book of Acts, what must I do to be saved? And not on any of the three occasions when that question was asked was the response by the preacher of truth. Oh, you don’t have to do anything, because the finished work of Jesus on the cross settles everything.

In every one of those instances, the audience or the person was instructed to do something. And one of those occasions is Acts chapter 2, where Peter and the other apostles, after admonishing their audience to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, very consistent with Mark 16. Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And then he says, What? Save yourselves. I love that verse. It often gets over with in Acts chapter 2, 40 and 41. Those that gladly received the word were baptized and were added that day about 3,000 souls, but it says, save yourselves from this perverse generation. That sort of sounds like something they’ve got to do in order to be saved.

2. The Thief on the Cross

Well, you know what the next argument is, right? Before I ever put it up there. Can you guess it? Sure you can. Thief. Scott further contends in the article, this is certainly good news for you and for me. And especially for the thief on the cross, that he would be with Jesus in paradise for his belief. And presumably, he says, the thief did not have a chance to get down from the cross and be baptized. And so because the thief wasn’t baptized, all that he said about Mark chapter 16 and baptism not being in the second part of the verse, we see that baptism isn’t really relevant, regardless of what the first part of that verse is actually saying. Believe, baptized, saved. Regardless of what that’s saying, we know that’s not the case because of the thief on the cross couldn’t have been baptized.

3. Make Disciples, Baptizing Them: Grammar and Nature

No one had been baptized in the name of Jesus when the thief on the cross was saved. Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins. He told a paralytic, your sins are forgiven. Take up your palate and walk. Jesus could forgive sins at any occasion that he wanted to. He states that. But he had not yet arisen from the dead. And baptism in the name of Jesus is in likeness of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And that hadn’t happened yet. And because he rises to walk in newness of life, we can rise to walk in newness of life when we are baptized. So the thief didn’t need to be baptized. He lived under a different covenant. And many of you have heard those arguments before. Well, Scott’s next argument proceeds from Matthew 28, 18 through 20, particularly verse 19, where Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And he says, I want you to notice the order. He said to go make disciples first. Then he said to baptize them.

I hadn’t heard that argument before. That’s an interesting one. You heard that one before? Well, there are two significant problems with this argumentation. And they are. Number one, grammar.

And number two, the nature of the baptizing that’s taking place. Notice that go and make disciples of all the nations does not conclude with a period. But there is a comma there. The sentence is not complete. Making disciples involves the act that Jesus goes on to describe. And furthermore, he says that this baptizing, which is involved in the making of disciples, is in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which means in the direction of.

4. Christ Did Not Send Me to Baptize

It has to do with movement into a thing or moving toward the direction of. And I’ll tell you what baptism does according to this passage. On the basis of all that God is, of all that God has said, and all that God has done, and all that God has promised, we by our baptisms are coming into a relationship with God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We come into him, or as we say sometimes, just into Christ. This passage speaks of all three members of the Godhead. Baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Well, there’s another line of argumentation that would then follow in the article. And that is 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 17. See? Baptism isn’t an absolute. Because Paul said, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.

And so he would say, just as Paul separated baptism from the gospel, we should be careful as to what we might want to add to the gospel as well. First of all, baptism is not something that I might want to add. The fact is, it is something that God commands and teaches in his word. And if the words were simply taken at face value, Christ did not send me to baptize. The question should be raised, why did Paul do any baptizing at all? If you’re just going to take it at face value and understand it literally, if Christ did not send him to baptize, he was not obedient to what Christ instructed him to do because he did baptize, and this text says he did. Look at verse 14.

He said, I thank God, and that’s an interesting thing when you consider what follows. I thank God that I baptize none of you. Except, and there’s some exceptions, Crispus and Gaius. That’s a very odd statement. He says, I thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius. But you have to go on reading in verse 15 that no man should say, you were baptized in my name. That’s the baptizing Paul was not sent to do was to create some kind of party that would follow Paul and say, I am of Paul, or as they say earlier in verse 12, I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas. And others were saying, I am of Christ. And the group was divided over these parties that it developed.

And he said, I don’t want to be a part of anything like that. He said, now I did baptize also the household of Stephanus. Beyond that, I don’t know whether I baptized any other, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, which is going to be his theme throughout the rest of the chapter, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. The point is, not that Paul did not baptize. These words cannot be taken literally. In fact, the statement is really elliptical. And I would have to go off into a very long explanation of what that is, but a short explanation will have to suffice for now. Maybe on Sunday mornings we start talking about figurative speech in the Bible.

In the next quarter, we can talk about the many ellipses in Scripture. And I know that’s a big word, and you say English isn’t my thing. But let me tell you what elliptical statements do. They omit certain words that would actually give the full sense of what’s being said, but it’s done for effect, like all figures of speech. And when an ellipses of this kind is used, what is actually negated in the first part of the verse is actually affirmed as being so. But the second part of the verse is being emphasized more greatly. I did not come to baptize, but to preach. That’s the emphasis. And the word that you supply in a lot of cases, all ellipses are not the same, but the word that you supply is the word merely.

I did not come to baptize merely, but to preach the gospel. So we said, how do you know this is ellipses? If it isn’t, if it isn’t a figure of speech, then Paul is denying the thing he’s just said. Christ did not send me to baptize, but I baptized a few people.

That he is not negating the importance of baptism altogether. And something struck me as I was studying this week that I hadn’t really thought about. You want to know what an illustration of 1 Corinthians 1 is? The eunuch and the nobleman in Acts chapter 8. Here’s this Ethiopian nobleman riding along the road, reading the Old Testament, not understanding what he’s reading. And God sends Philip to him. And what does Philip do? He preached Jesus to him. He did not send him to baptize but to preach.

And what does the eunuch or the nobleman respond as they’re traveling along? It must have involved water. It must have involved baptism in the name of Jesus, as he preached Jesus to him, because the very next thing the text says in verse 36 is the nobleman brings it up. He says, Look, water. He doesn’t say, look, the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. He says, Look, water, what prevents me from being baptized. Do you believe with all your heart? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They go down into the water and he baptizes him, and they come up out of the water, and he was baptized in the name of Philip. That’s not what it says. Philip was snatched away, his work was done.

5. The Essential Role Baptism Plays: An Appeal

He came to preach. The preaching involved baptism for the remission of sins. The nobleman understood that, said, I want to be baptized. He was baptized. Philip is snatched away, and he went on his way rejoicing because the eunuch had been baptized in the name of Jesus unto salvation. There were some other verses quoted, but these are the essence of his response that baptism is not an absolute. Now I want to make three quick points about this. Number one, I want to talk to you about what the Bible actually says about the essential role in God’s salvation. Baptism plays by grace through faith.

Only by his grace have I gained the opportunity and the knowledge of his plan that saves sinners. Baptism is no substitute for repentance and confession. It is equally important, these two things are. Equally important acts of faith that coincide my conversion in the Lord. Repent and be converted, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts chapter 3 and verse 19. The role baptism plays is that of an appeal. 1 Peter 3 and verse 21, Peter says, Baptism doth also now save you. Again, whatever you’re going to do with Mark 16 and 1 Corinthians 1 17, and Matthew 28 19 has to harmonize with the rest of Scripture. And 1 Peter 3 and verse 21 says, baptism doth also now save us.

Not the removal of the filth of the flesh. It’s not getting water off the outside, not getting dirt off the outside of your body like taking a bath would. It’s not the removal of filth from the flesh, but it’s the appeal to God, the New American Standard says, an appeal to God for a clean conscience. That is, we come to God asking him to do what he’s promised to do, and that’s to cleanse us from our sins. It’s a step of faith. Whereas sin on my account convicts me, I appeal to God to cleanse my conscience, and I trust him to do so. Immersion in water reflects the inward cleansing that is taking place.

It fits nicely with the concept, doesn’t it? Just like Naaman the leper was cleansed of his leprosy by dipping in water seven times in the Jordan River. Not anything special or magic about the water. In fact, Naaman said, I’ve got better rivers than this. Than this dirty, murky Jordan River. The rivers of Damascus are better, but that’s what he instructed you to do. It’s not about the water per se and its cleanliness. It’s what God does by our faith when we submit to his instruction. And water represents the inward cleansing. And so Ephesians 5 and verse 26, when it speaks of the church, those who have come into a relationship with God who have done the things that they’ve been instructed to do, how did they get into that state?

By the washing of water with the Word. Those two things working in concert. We’re born of incorruptible seed, that is the living and abiding word of God, 1 Peter chapter 1. That’s how we’re born again, washing of water with the Word. Our bodies washed with pure water. And that whole context, and let me just say about these verses. I’m giving these, this is the short version on all of this. But each of these verses are in a context, which even more richly point to the significance and role that baptism plays in our salvation. In Hebrews 9 and 10, it speaks of our conscience being sprinkled clean. And the conclusion of that thought comes at the end of chapter 10 as he speaks of our bodies being washed with pure water.

And then there’s Romans 6. Again, I’ll tell you what people do who make these arguments. Let me tell you a verse that was not addressed in the article. It wouldn’t be addressed. It’s Romans 6. Where baptism is speaking of a burial where we have died with Christ and we rise to walk in newness of life. There can be no newness of life without baptism. It is the washing of regeneration. And renewing by the Holy Spirit, Titus 3, 4 and 5. We are buried with him in baptism. And again, all of these contexts are rich. Having been buried with him in baptism, and then I have these two words underscored, you may have them already underscored because I’ve told you to do this before. But if you’re visiting, you need to underscore, in which, this is what the New American Standard says, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were raised up with him through faith and the working of God who raised him from the dead.

And I like Colossians 2 in verses 12 and 13. At 13 says, you were dead in your transgressions and sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you were dead, but he made you alive, having forgiven us all our transgressions. The previous verse explains that.

That’s where the appeal comes in. I believe that in this act God is going to cleanse me of my sins. And he is causing me to be raised to walk in newness of life and likeness of Jesus’ resurrection. Because I’ll tell you what happens. When somebody is baptized into Christ, when we’ve seen this take place, and wouldn’t we love to see it this morning? When someone comes up out of the water, you know what happens? Sirens go off. Have you noticed that the sirens that go off? And then the voice that comes down from heaven like Jesus when he was baptized, and the thunder rolls outside. Well, no, there’s not any of it. There’s not any visible indication of what’s taking place. But you want to know why people who come up out of the water show a sense of relief and joy, like the eunuch did in Acts chapter 8, because they know that they’ve done what the scriptures say.

And that they made the appeal to God and God has cleansed them from their sins. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Again, a wonderful context there. Acts 10 48. Corneas, though he had spoken in tongues already, was ordered to be baptized in the name of Jesus. And he heard words by which he was saved. Acts 11 and verse 14. And then there were those individuals who’d already been immersed, but they were immersed into John’s baptism, which was not baptism in the name of Jesus, because again, Jesus had not been raised yet from the dead. And so Paul told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus. In Acts 19 and verse 5. Well, that’s a lot of evidence, folks, for the essential role that baptism plays in our salvation.

Now the last two points quickly.

6. Why Put It on the Periphery?

For some, why do people want to put it on the periphery of God’s plan? Important, we don’t want to belittle it because there’s a lot about it in the New Testament. In fact, a lot of it connected with the word saved. But we don’t want to belittle it, so it’s important, but it’s not essential to say. Why is that? Like I said, it’s their theology talking, not the scripture talking. It is not an absolute because it does not fit their theology or their tradition. And that’s how you get to outlandish conclusions. Like on the sign that I mentioned before that was outside of a church in Baytown. Sherry calls me on the phone. I’m working in my office in isolation, and she interrupts my isolation and says, You’ll never believe what I saw on the sign.

It says, baptism does not save you. That’s it. What? You mean the exact opposite of what I read in 1 Peter 3 21? Somebody put on the sign outside of a church building? Yes. How do you come to do such outlandish things? Your theology. They draw conclusions, secondly. And this is the thing I would hold people accountable to. If what you’re saying about these three passages that you quoted and answered, if that’s what they’re saying, then you have brought the Bible into conflict with itself. In one place you’re saying it’s saying baptism isn’t essential, yet these other passages say that it does. The Bible can’t be in conflict with itself because it comes from a God of truth. Everything has to harmonize.

Because it actually opens the possibility that I have to do some things in order to be saved. And I’ll tell you start reading the book of Hebrews. And there’s all kinds of warnings to believers about having an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. You know, we’ve got the one saved, always saved issue that comes into all of this. But you read the book of Hebrews, we’ve got people who are warned about neglecting their salvation and receiving severer punishment. And if every sin received just recompense in the Old Testament, how much more now? The Hebrew writer says, don’t drift away from this, Hebrews 2, 1 through 3. I’ll tell you, when you go down the road that I have to do some things in order to receive the grace of God and to stay in the grace of God, 2 Corinthians 6, 1 and 2, a lot of people don’t want to go down that track.

And finally, people believe baptism is not an absolute because they have not received the love of the truth so as to be saved. And that’s the real track. They have been deceived. And we wonder how many, how can so many people be deceived? Because as we’ve been studying on Sunday morning, that’s the devil’s business. That’s what he’s good at. Is deception. It’s the deception of wickedness. I read articles like this, and I’m going, this guy’s sitting there at his computer and writing all this out because he’s he’s trying to quote help people, and I really believe he thinks that. But he is deceived. He has not received the love of the truth. I don’t want to be like that. And we have to work and strive in our understanding of Scripture so that we’re not like that, because the devil wants to deceive us too.

And that’s why sometimes we find ourselves inconsistent with the message that we read and teach and what we practice in our lives. And the devil wants us to feel good about that. Because he wants us to be deceived in any way that we can be deceived and not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 10 and 11. One more point. In the role of being baptized, and I mentioned this under point number one. We cast ourselves on the mercy of God. Far from meritorious, our baptism into Christ merely places us where we must be so we can cast ourselves ultimately on the mercy of God. Some people think if you teach baptism is essential to salvation, that you’re removing grace and mercy out of the equation.

Conclusion

Oh, no. It’ll still be by the mercy of God that I’m saved. Paul says that in regard to Onociferis. And 2 Timothy chapter 1, I pray for mercy on him and mercy on his house on the last day. Here’s a guy who has been baptized into Christ, and he’s going to need mercy, and so are we. I haven’t merited anything. I’ve just placed myself where God has instructed me to place myself that I might receive one day the mercy of God, and I need his mercy. No less today than I needed it when I submitted myself to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins. This is an urgent appeal. This is an essential appeal to remedy the condition of your soul if need be, if sin is on your account.

It is only the truth that cleanses and makes free. And you have heard this morning the truth of the New Testament that can save your soul. And if you’re subject to the call of our Lord, won’t you respond while we stand and sing?