Baptism: Optional or Essential?
This morning I intend to share six reasons why I believe baptism is essential to salvation
– and not optional. Next week, Lord willing, we will notice six more reasons. Notice, if
you have the chart, “What Twelve Churches Believe about Baptism,” that half of the
churches do not believe that baptism is essential to salvation – Baptists, Assemblies of
God, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses. We will
show that though their denominational machinery officially rejects baptism as being
necessary for salvation, notable scholars within these denominations, acknowledge
legitimate evidence in support of the requirement of baptism for salvation. Before we
embark on this all-important study, please enjoy our song…
1.
Jesus issued the Great Commission not the great suggestion in Matthew 28:19.
You have to gut the great commission to make baptism merely an optional ritual. Listen
to what Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” To suggest that
disciples of Christ can be made without baptizing them rips the heart out of the Great
Commission. Some would have us believe that it is equally acceptable to read this major
doctrinal statement, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The problem with that
abridged version of the Great Commission would involve eliminating one of the central
tenets of Jesus’ teaching in the same verse where Jesus says to “teaching them to observe
all things.” Interestingly, at least eight translations says “teaching them to obey all
things,” two say “teaching them to do all things” and one says “teaching them to keep all
the rules I have given you.” Wouldn’t it be inappropriate in this highly significant
context, as Jesus utters some of His final words before his ascension, to eliminate Jesus’
teaching that disciples are made by baptizing them?
In addition, baptism is separated from all the other commands (the all things) that Jesus
said Christians were to obey. This elevates baptism above the other unmentioned
commands as a distinct step in becoming a disciple.
We see this distinction even more clearly, when we notice that Jesus says to baptize “in
(into) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This unique phrase
has special significance. In the Scriptures, we find nothing else that we do “in(to) the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Jack Cottrell, Professor of Theology at Cincinnati Christian University explains that this
phrase “into the name of” in Greek, the original language, “was a technical term used in
the world of Greek business and commerce…to indicate the entry of a sum of money or
an item of property into the account bearing the name of its owner.” Cottrell continues,
“It’s use in Matthew 28:19 indicates that the purpose of baptism is to unite us with the
Triune God in an ownership relation; we become his property in a special, intimate way.”
So, since we are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit and in this was become his children and citizens of His kingdom, it becomes
obvious that baptism is essential not optional.
2.
This truth is augmented by the words of Jesus in Mark 1615-16, "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be
saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Baptism is an integral part of the
gospel. “Did you catch that? Immediately after Jesus introduces the idea of preaching the
gospel, He presents the fundamental message of the gospel: “he who believes AND is
baptized will be saved.” We need to recognize that this cannot be harmonized with “he
who believes and is NOT baptized will be saved.”
3.
What we learned in Matthew 28 and Mark 16 is further validated by Jesus in
His conversation with Nicodemus in John 33-5. As beautiful as the truth of verse three is,
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God,” unfortunately, some preachers do not continue to verse five. Listen. “Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into
his mother's womb, and be born? 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.”
Born of water as a reference to baptism here coincides with Romans 6:4 that associates
baptism with newness of life and Titus 3:5 that says we are saved with the “washing of
regeneration.” The Amplified renders this passage the “[bath] of the new birth.” Other
translations have “washing of rebirth,” “bathing of regeneration” and “bathing of a new
birth.”
Some deny that baptism is being taught here. Influential 19th century Baptist preacher,
John Graves criticized another Baptist preacher’s handling of John 3:5. He wrote in the
Tennessee Baptist, “If Brother Vaughan convinced us that “born of water” refers to
anything but the baptism of one previously born of the Spirit, we never knew it…It
means nothing else, and no Baptist that we ever heard or read of ever believed otherwise
until A. Campbell frightened them away from an interpretation that is sustained by the
consensus of all scholars of all denominations of all ages.”
William Wall, famous for his eighteenth century work, History of Infant Baptism, wrote
of this passage, “There is not any one Christian writer of any antiquity in any language
but what understands (born of water) of baptism. And if it be not so understood, it is
difficult to give an account how a person is born of water, any more than born of wood.”
Later, Wall continues, “I believe (John) Calvin was the first that ever denied this place to
mean baptism. He gives another interpretation, which he confesses to be new.”
In recent years, some have said that Jesus was referring to the amniotic fluid of physical
birth. That is quite a stretch. Dr. Robert Atlas, the head of obstetrics and gynecology at
Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, says that amniotic fluid "consists of
electrolytes, similar to what is in our own blood. The baby then begins to urinate, and that
becomes one of the big components of the fluid in the cavity…Greenish-yellowish
amniotic fluid is called meconium and is a result of fetal feces being passed…”
Of course, the phrase “born of water” is NEVER used in the New Testament to refer to
physical birth. Actually, the phrase “born of FLESH” found in the next verse is the
phrase used to describe physical birth in other Scriptures. But Jesus didn’t say, “Except a
man be born of flesh…” He said, “Except a man be born of WATER and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” All admit that twenty times the word “water” is
used to refer to baptism. And think about it; wouldn’t it be rather peculiar for Jesus to
say, “Unless a homosapien is born he cannot be saved.” Born of water refers to water
baptism.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, acknowledged this very truth.
Although their denominations deny that baptism is essential to salvation, the following
denominational scholars recognize that being “born of water” was a reference to baptism
- Methodist scholars: Joseph Beet, Joseph Benson, Adam Clarke, Pope, Summers and
Sutcliffe; Presbyterian scholars: Dods, Knapp, Lightfoot, Macknight and Schaff;
Lutheran scholars: Lange and Meyer; and Baptist scholars: Beasley-Murray, Graves,
Hovey, McLean, Dale Moody and Willmarth.
4.
The evidence that baptism is essential to salvation only gets clearer. In Acts 2:38,
Peter preached to the heart-pricked Jews seeking forgiveness, “"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.”
Unfortunately, the obvious connection between repentance and baptism with the
remission or forgiveness of sins is denied by some in hopes of sustaining their
denominational stand that baptism is not essential salvation. One attempt to reject the
obvious truth here involves inserting the meaning “because of” in place of the word
“for.” This error is exposed when we notice the same exact Greek wording is used in
Matthew 26:28: Jesus shed His blood “for the remission of sins.” Obviously, Jesus did
not shed His blood “because of” the remission of sins, but in order that we might obtain
the remission of sins. So, we should also read Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized for (in
order to obtain) the remission of sins.”
Many denominational scholars downplay the role of baptism, but out of scholarly
integrity admit the force of this passage.
Methodist Commentator Joseph Benson
tells us on Acts 2:38, "Repent of your sins, and they shall not be your ruin; believe in
Jesus and be baptized in that faith and you shall be justified."
Presbyterian Professor of Theology of Princeton Theological Seminary, Joseph
Alexander, says in his commentary of Acts 2:38, "The beneficial end to which all this led
was the remission of sins. The first Greek noun derived from a verb which means to let
go, is applied by Plutarch to divorce, by Demosthenes to legal discharge from the
obligation of a bond, by Plato to the emancipation of a slave, and to exemption from
punishment, which last is its constant use in the New Testament. The whole phrase, to (or
towards) remission of sins, describes this as the end to which the question of the
multitude had reference, and which therefore must be contemplated also in the answer."
Baptist President of the American Bible Union, Thomas Armitage, says in his History of
the Baptists, "Peter offered them salvation through the blood of Jesus...and urged them
to...enter the new kingdom by faith and baptism."
Baptist Professor of Greek Seth Axtell, writes, "The preposition eis in Acts 2:38 may be
rendered by several prepositions...The noun which it governs denotes the object or end
toward which the action expressed... the result of which he would attain who should
repent and be baptized."
Thomas Dill, Baptist Professor of Greek says of Acts 2:38, "Repentance and baptism are
plainly expresse, and faith in Jesus is distinctly implied as the conditions on which the
sinner may hope to enter...the remission of your sins."
5.
In Acts 22:16, after Saul of Tarsus believed in Christ, demonstrated repentance
through fasting, and prayed as a sinner, he went to Damascus where he was told by
Ananias, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your
sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Baptism cannot be separated from the remission of
sins.
In fact, the teaching here, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins," is almost
identical to the relationship between baptism and the remission of sins presented in Acts
2:38 - "repent and BE BAPTIZED...for the remission of sins." These similarities are not
just coincidence.
As Jack Cottrell points out, the phrase "wash away your sins" is an imperative, a
command. We know that it is the blood of Christ that washes away sins, so why is Saul
commanded to wash away his sins? The only way to make sense of this is that God
required Saul to do something himself (to be baptized) before God would apply the
cleansing power of the blood of Christ. The writer makes the same point in Hebrews
10:22, "having...our bodies washed with pure water." In Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul Christ
cleansed the church "by the washing of water with the word...that she should be holy and
blameless."
6.
The apostle Paul hits the topic of baptism again in Titus 3:5: “Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…” As we noticed earlier, the
parallelism between this passage and John 3:5, are striking. A wide range of
denominational scholars recognize that this salvation passage includes a reference to
baptism. One truth that she should be becoming increasingly clear is that it is not merely
a matter of church of Christ members forcing water baptism in all of these passages.
·
Methodist Professor of Systematic Theology, Joseph Beet, writes in his book,
Christian Baptism, "The passage just expounded (Acts 22:16) sheds light upon Titus 3:5.
Long after his own baptism at Damascus, St. Paul wrote to his Gentile convert, God
saved us by means of the laver (or bath) of the New Birth. And we have no need to deny
a reference her to the rite of baptism."
·
Lutheran Professor of Theology, Gotthard Lechler, acknowledges, "In these words
baptism is unmistakably designated as an actual and operative means of grace, since God
delivers souls through it, and makes them partakers of salvation."
·
Methodist Commentator, Adam Clarke, says of this passage, "Undoubtedly the
apostle here means baptism."
·
John Calvin says, "I have no doubt that he alludes, at least, to baptism..."
·
Presbyterian James Macknight writes in his commentary, that "baptism" is "called
the bath of regeneration."
·
Alva Hovey, Baptist President of Newton Theological Institutions, writes, "Paul
had in mind baptism as representing and confessing the divine change called
regeneration. Hence he teaches that men are saved by an outworking, obedient life, given
and preserved by the Holy Spirit.
We’re out of time, so we’ll have to pick up right here next week. If you would like to get
a copy of this message, get a pen and a piece of paper and we’ll tell you how after our
song…
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