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October 1, 2005, Vol.4, No.19. Baptism Part 3 Keith Sharp Mr. Lane comments on the baptism of John: He could only baptise with water but they needed more - to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Sin does not lie on the surface where the water falls, but in the heart which only the Spirit can wash. The Holy Spirit cleans the inner nature (35). No, water cannot cleanse the heart, and the washing of dirt from the body is not the significance of baptism (1 Peter 3:21). But John’s baptism, just as New Testament baptism, was "for the remission of sins" (Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38). No amount of rhetoric will change this fact. When we are baptized in water the Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts of the stain of sin (John 3:5; Titus 3:4-7). The author adds, "... baptism is compulsory and obligatory, just as the Lord’s Supper is." (46) That is certainly true! The word "compulsory" means "demanded, directed, or designated by authority." (Webster, 468) "Obligatory" means "demanded or required by existing obligations esp. of a moral or legal nature." (Ibid, 1556) How can one fail to obey what God commands and be saved? (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9) Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. On this passage, Mr. Lane argues: And although salvation may appear to be made dependent on baptism as well as belief (‘he who believes and is baptized shall be saved’), this is clearly not an absolute condition, since it is ‘he who does not believe’ who is condemned, not ‘he who is not baptised’. (50) Either the Lord Jesus made baptism a condition of salvation or He did not. If the Lord Jesus Christ made baptism a condition of salvation, it is an "absolute condition" of salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9). In Mark 16:16, where did the Lord put baptism, before salvation or after? He put it before salvation and linked it to "believe" with the coordinate conjunction "and," which joins words, phrases and clauses of equal and like rank. He placed "be baptized" as coordinate to, equal to, "believe" as a condition of salvation. Does the fact He didn’t say, "He who is not baptized shall be condemned," eliminate the necessity of water baptism for salvation? Why not believe and obey what the Lord did say, instead of constructing an argument on what He didn’t say? I certainly don’t want to stake my hope of heaven on what Jesus didn’t say. Suppose a health teacher informed her class, "He who eats and digests his food will live; but he who does not eat will die." Would that mean digestion is not an absolute condition of living? No, the teacher would simply be dividing the people into two categories: those who eat and those who don’t eat. One can’t digest food if he doesn’t eat food. In Mark 16:16 Jesus divided people into two categories, not three. It’s not believers, baptized believers, and unbelievers. It’s baptized believers and unbelievers. One who doesn’t have enough faith in Jesus to be baptized is classified as an unbeliever by the Lord. There is no such thing as a sincere, penitent believer who will not be baptized (Mark 16:16). If a car dealer promised, "He who believes and is baptized shall receive a new car, but he who does not believe shall not," how many folks would refuse baptism? If we can see it for a car, why not for eternal life? The saved believer is the baptized believer. Baptism is the response of faith that results in salvation. I stated earlier that I believed both Protestants and Catholics are wrong on how to be saved. This is a prime example of the point. Catholics teach, "He who is baptized is saved and should believe." Protestants teach, "He who believes is saved and should be baptized." Jesus declared, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." I hope you will join me in rejecting both Protestant and Catholic doctrine and accepting the doctrine of Christ. (2 John 9-11) Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. On Acts 2:38, Mr. Lane teaches: When they inquired what they must do (verse 37) Peter’s reply was: ‘Repent and be baptised’ (verse 38). Both these terms are important and both are necessary.... Obviously the command to baptise is secondary to and dependent on the command to repent. Even so Peter demands it in his call for a response. (62-63) If baptism is "necessary," how can it be unnecessary to salvation? Which is it? It can’t be both. "But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No." (2 Corinthians 1:13) Yes, baptism is dependent on repentance. It would be a waste of time and a blasphemous fraud for an impenitent sinner to be baptized in the name of the Lord. But why does this make baptism subordinate to (less important than) repentance? Faith is dependent on hearing (Romans 10:17). Is faith subordinate to (less important than) hearing? The Pharisees ranked God’s commands in order of importance, loosing some and binding others. This made their worship vain (Matthew 15:1-9). Jesus taught we must keep all God’s commands (Matthew 23:23; 28:19-20). The command to "be baptized" is connected to "repent" by the coordinate conjunction "and." Rather than being subordinate to (less important than) "repent," "be baptized" is coordinate (equal or like in rank) with "repent." Both are joined to "the remission of sins" by the preposition "for." Whatever repentance is for, baptism is for. If repentance is unto and necessary to forgiveness of sins, so is baptism. The prepositional phrase "for the remission of sins" is precisely equivalent, both in English and Greek, to the same phrase in Matthew 26:28. Jesus there declared, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Did Jesus shed His blood on the cross to show our sins had already been remitted or unto the remission of our sins? Baptism is for the same purpose. Mr. Lane adds concerning the 3000 on Pentecost, "Although the whole process took only a short time, the marks of discipleship were plainly present before baptism was administered." (64) What marks of discipleship? Before Peter preached to them they were devout Jews (verse 5). After Peter proved to them Jesus was Lord, "they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (verse 37) It is truly implied that they believed Peter’s message and thus did indeed believe that Jesus is "both Lord and Christ." (verse 36) But were they at that point saved and disciples? Were they saved disciples by faith alone? They had not yet repented, for, in answer to their inquiry, "what shall we do?", Peter commanded them to repent (verse 38). Were they saved disciples before and without repentance? (Romans 2:5) Peter also commanded them to "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." (Acts 2:38) Were they saved disciples before their sins were remitted? Luke further records, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." (verse 40) All who "gladly received his word were baptized." Were they saved disciples before they "gladly received his word"? Only the baptized "were added to them." To what were they added? "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47b) All the saved were added by the Lord to the church. Were they disciples before they were saved? Saul of Tarsus persecuted "the church." (Acts 8:1) But the people Saul persecuted were "the disciples of the Lord." (Acts 9:1) According to the inspired account, to be disciples of the Lord, to receive the remission of sins, to gladly receive the word, and to be added by the Lord to the church, people must "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Those who have not been "baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" are not "disciples of the Lord." Mr. Lane’s own words imply this truth: In verse 41 we are told that those baptised were ‘added’, which can only mean what the same term means in verse 47 - that they were received into the church, that is, the whole invisible body of Christ in general and the Jerusalem church (the only local church yet in existence) in particular. (65) This is precisely correct. But the people Jesus saves are those who compose His spiritual body, the church (Ephesians 5:23; 1:22-23). Only the baptized are members of that body; thus, only the baptized are saved.
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