Lk 23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,
saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked
him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly,
for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing
wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him,
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Those who deny the necessity of baptism for
salvation today often point to the thief who died beside Jesus as an example or
pattern to prove their point. Many overlook Jesus’ own teaching elsewhere and numerous
other New Testament passages that connect baptism with salvation. They seem to think
that the entire question is answered by this simple statement: “Well, the thief
on the cross wasn’t baptized!” They may go on to stress their conviction that,
because we are saved by grace through faith, even God cannot require that we
meet any conditions.
A quick mention of the Passover will remind
us that God’s conditions do not contradict His grace. According to Ex 12:1-13, the
Hebrews were required to take lamb’s blood and put it on the two doorposts and
the lintel of their houses. God would “pass over” every house where He saw the
blood. The posting of the blood was required. It was a condition of their
deliverance. Yet it did not earn their deliverance or contradict the fact that
God saved them by grace.
Yet many teach that teaching the necessity
of baptism as a required condition contradicts grace. One well-known author
writes regarding this thief:
Self-righteousness
means that human beings can do something to merit favor from God. Since this
thief was nailed to a cross, what acts of self-righteousness could he do? He
could not join a church, do good deeds, or even be baptized. He was in a
helpless position. We also are in a similar helpless position since we are
incapable of doing any sort of righteous act to merit God's favor. God sees our
acts of self-righteousness as a filthy garment, if we are using them to gain
favor from Him (Isa
64:6).
He is saying that, if baptism were necessary
to receive salvation, then it must be an effort to merit or earn God’s favor. It
must be an act of self-righteousness. That author has concluded that, since we
cannot earn God’s free gift by our own meritorious deeds, God cannot require baptism
as a necessary expression of faith. God certainly required the Passover blood to
be put on the door. Why could He not require other expressions of faith, such
as baptism?
So, based on clear biblical teaching, we
must challenge the popular belief that baptism is not essential. We will seek
to show that baptism, like repentance or even faith, earns nothing. It is
neither self-righteous nor meritorious. It is rather a necessary expression of
faith which God requires of those who wish to receive His free gift. It is
similar to the Passover observance in that baptism applies the blood.
Before we do that we must insist that the
thief was saved by grace and not his own merit. He was forgiven by the blood
Jesus shed, as a free gift of God. He knew that [1] he was guilty, [2] his
death was near, [3] he could not undo his sins, [4] he could not earn
forgiveness, [5] Jesus was innocent and undeserving of death, [6] there is a
life beyond this life, [7] Jesus was the King who would enter His Kingdom, even
though He would die, [8] Jesus had the power and mercy to “remember” him when
that time came, and [9] it was not too late to ask.
Of course, since that thief knew about Jesus’
claims and His Kingdom, it is quite possible that the thief had heard Jesus’
teachings in the past. He may have been among the multitudes who actually were
baptized – by John the Baptist – for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4-5). It
is also true that Jesus forgave some individuals directly and personally while
on earth (Mark 2:5; Luke 7:48-50; John 8:10-11), before His death and resurrection.
The thief was not the only one. Such granting of forgiveness was certainly His
prerogative.
However, let’s go back for a moment. Jesus’
promise to the thief came only in response to the thief’s request. The thief asked.
Was that really necessary? It was. If he had
not asked, Jesus would not have promised him, “Truly, I say to you, today you
will be with me in Paradise.” His asking Jesus to remember him did not
contradict grace. His question was not meritorious or self-righteous. He did
not think he was contributing to his salvation; rather, he was confessing his spiritual
bankruptcy and his need for the salvation that he could not earn!
Our point is simply this. Once Jesus gave
the Great Commission, one thing is abundantly clear in Acts and in the New
Testament letters. In the new covenant era, lost sinners are to repent and be baptized
to ask God for the free gift of eternal life by His grace.
Mk 16:15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the
whole creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned.”
Ac 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Ac 16:30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and
your household.”
32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his
house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he
was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he
rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
Ac 22:16 “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.”
In fact, the New
Testament even describes baptism as “an appeal
to God for a good conscience.” Scripture makes clear that it is Jesus Christ,
not we, who can provide this free salvation for which we ask when we are baptized.
1 Pe 3:21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt
from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels,
authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Ironically, many who deny the necessity of
baptism still instruct others to pray the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” to ask
the Lord for salvation. This is ironic for three reasons.
First, they see no contradiction between salvation
by grace and the importance of asking. They would never think that the “Sinner’s
Prayer” is an act of self-righteous merit or that it contributes in any way to
the price of salvation. Nor do they think that repentance, which the “Sinner’s
Prayer” also expresses, earns God’s free gift. Since baptism in the Bible is
simply the way God has directed that we ask for salvation, how could it
contradict grace, if the “Sinner’s Prayer” does not?
Second, the “Sinner’s Prayer” is not found
in Scripture. No one in Acts or elsewhere was ever told to pray this prayer in
order to receive salvation. Rev 3:20 is not written to the lost but to those in
the church in Laodicea who had excluded Him. How could people ignore the
consistent examples of baptism in Acts and substitute something for which there
is no biblical example?
Third, what they ascribe to the “Sinner’s
Prayer,” the Bible ascribes to baptism. Baptism is not an act of self-righteous
merit. It does not contribute in any way to the price of salvation. It is an
expression of faith, from a broken, lost sinner, that asks Jesus in effect, “… remember me when you come into your kingdom.” If it’s OK to say, “God will
do this when you pray this prayer,” why is it not OK to say, “God will do this
when you repent and are baptized?” Strange, isn’t it?
So the question is not just, “Are we saved
by grace?” The answer to that question is a resounding, “Yes!” The question is
rather, “Are there any conditions we must meet in order to receive God’s grace?”
The answer to that question is also a resounding, “Yes!”
Do you need to be baptized? Let’s ask this
first. Do you know, as that thief did, that [1] you are guilty, [2] your death is
coming, [3] you cannot undo your sins, [4] you cannot earn forgiveness, [5]
Jesus was innocent and undeserving of death, [6] there is a life beyond this
life, [7] Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom, even though He died, [8] Jesus
has the power and mercy to “remember” you in His Kingdom, and [9] it is not too
late to ask?
If so, then yes! You need to be baptized.
Ac 22:16 “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.”
Cory
Collins
1 comment:
Great points, well said. Thanks!
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