Articles
What Does Baptism Do?
A friend of mine has undergone a period of midlife soul-searching. As a result, he has changed some fundamental views of Scripture and was recently rebaptized in association with a branch of a mainline denomination. In correspondence with him he made the following observation:
“(Abraham) was saved by his faith. Because of his belief he was counted righteous. Did Abraham also obey God? Of course, but it wasn’t his obedience that saved him; it was the faith driving the obedience. I believe the same is true with baptism. I believe we are saved by grace through faith. We’re baptized not to be saved, but as evidence of our faith. In fact, if one says he has faith – yet refuses to be baptized (or anything else Christ commands) – he obviously doesn’t have real faith at all. Real faith is obedient, but our obedience springs from love and gratitude for our Savior, and is not a way to ‘earn’ a relationship with him (emphasis his).”
How would you answer this? Much of what is said above I would agree with. Can you spot a flaw in his thinking? The one sentence that stands out is: “We’re baptized not to be saved, but as evidence of our faith.” Let’s examine that.
This assertion is jarringly contradictory to Peter’s own words: “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ …” (1 Pet 3:21). Calvinists bristle at this passage precisely because it ties baptism to salvation, and they are very creative in figuring out ways to circumvent Peter’s statement.
But what does a good conscience have to do with baptism? The writer of Hebrews says that the only things that cleanses the conscience is the sacrifice of Jesus: “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (9:14). It seems fairly obvious that the cleansing of Jesus blood is tied in some way to baptism. Yet my brother went on to say, “I already believed my sins to be forgiven, but I wanted to make a public declaration of my faith in the blood of Christ – and not my own works.”
If God offers forgiveness by His grace, through the blood of Christ, and He conditions that benefit on a command to be baptized, how could it possibly be construed as one’s “own works”? It is not the act of baptism itself that cleanses the conscience; the blood of Jesus does that when we obediently carry out the instruction of the Lord.
My friend admits that if anyone “refuses to be baptized … he obviously doesn’t have real faith at all.” But the point he misses is that God Himself commands baptism, not as a work of merit, but as required action in order to enter a relationship with Christ. And this is where his argument misses an essential element of baptism. Scripture, not some sectarian legalist, singles out baptism as fundamental to entering into Christ:
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (the passage doesn’t end here). For as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:26-27). My friend thinks he was in Christ before being baptized, for he says his sins were already forgiven. But he again runs afoul of an apostle’s specific words. It is faith in Christ that compels us to follow His command to be baptized (Mk 16:16) thus “putting Him on.”
One final observation: error is supported by terminology that isn’t Biblical. Nowhere does Scripture speak of baptism as a “public declaration of faith.” It speaks of the Lord’s supper in these terms (1 Cor 11:26) but not baptism. Other statements of Scripture corroborate the role of baptism in securing redemption, not merely declaring that it has been done. For example, Ananias’ words to Paul, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Ac 22:16). Clearly, Paul’s sins weren’t forgiven before baptism.
While it is true that baptism does make a public declaration of faith, that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to establish a relationship with God wherein forgiveness via the blood of Christ is “applied” to the soul of man, thus cleansing his conscience. It is so easy to deceive ourselves when we get away from what Scripture actually says.
