by Tom Wacaster
So far as this author
knows the generally accepted position among the protestant denominations is
that baptism is an act of obedience that follows salvation rather than one that
precedes salvation. In other words, most religious folks who claim to be of the
"Christian faith" have come to believe the commonly held position
that they were saved at the point of faith, and then, at some convenient time
to both candidate and preacher, they were then baptized as a "symbol"
of their salvation already received at the point of faith. But the question we
want to raise in this article is this: "What does the Bible say about
baptism?" More specifically, what does the Bible say with regard to the
purpose and design of baptism? Closely associated with this question is another
one: "Must a man believe the truth, and obey the truth, with regard to
this subject, if his baptism is to be accepted by God?" I want to address
this second question first. Must a man believe the truth, and obey the truth,
with regard to the matter of baptism in order for his baptism to be accepted by
God? In this connection, please consider the words of our Lord: "If ye
abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31 -32 ASV). We learn (1) that
being a disciple involves abiding in the word of Christ. Those who teach error
concerning baptism are not a disciple of Jesus. But notice carefully the next
verse: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
In light of our Savior's words, can a man believe error, embrace error, and
then obey error and expect to be free from his sin? If so, then error is as
powerful as truth in accomplishing the desired end. Does that make sense to you?
Yet there are some who will tell you that it makes no difference why you were
baptized so long as you were baptized. The Bible is clear in teaching that it
is essential that my obedience to the Lord be what He says to do, in the manner
in which He says to do it, and for the purpose He said to do it. We come, then,
to our second question: "What does the Bible say about baptism?" More
specifically, what is the relationship of baptism to forgiveness of sins? I
will focus on just one scripture, enough to convince any honest soul as to the
importance of baptism and its purpose. That scripture is Mark 16:16: "He
that
believeth and is
baptized shall be saved." Please notice the following: The simple subject
is "He." The predicate is "shall be saved." The qualifying
demonstrative pronoun is "that" — setting forth the characteristics
of the "he that shall be saved." The "he that shall be
saved" is the "he that believes and is baptized." It does not
say "he that believes shall be saved"; neither does it say "he
that is baptized shall be saved"; but "he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved." The language simply could not be any clearer.
Each responsible person reading this article must now consider the impact of
our Lord's words upon their individual situation. Please consider the following
three sentences, each of which represents a definite theological doctrine, none
of which can be harmonized one with the other.
"He that is
baptized and saved, shall [later] believe" — this represents those who
hold to infant baptism. The infant child is baptized and thus saved from
"original sin" [a false doctrine in itself], then later comes to
believe.
"He that believes
and is saved shall be baptized - this represents the majority of the protestant
denominational world, i.e. one is saved at the point of belief and at some
point in time subsequent to his belief and salvation, is baptized.
"He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved" — This is the truth so stated by our Lord.
Such a one believes, obeys by being baptized, and thereby is saved from his
alien sins upon completion of both belief and baptism. This squarely places
baptism between an individual and remission of his sins.
You, dear reader, fall
into one of these three categories so far as what you believed and/or did. Did
you believe and obey truth? Or did you believe and/or obey error? It is
unfortunate that the religious leaders of our generation have denied the very
thing our Lord commanded in order to receive salvation. If you were baptized as
an infant, you were not baptized according to truth (option #1 above). You had
no sin for which to be forgiven, nor did you believe, a prerequisite to baptism
as per Acts 8:36-37. If you were baptized because you had already been saved,
you believed a lie, and you obeyed a lie (option #2 above). If you have not yet
been baptized for remission of sins (Acts 2:38), then we plead with you to
believe the truth of Mark 16:16, and submit to its teaching. There is too much
at stake to do otherwise. Our Lord's command is clear and concise. May we have
the courage to obey in loving faith, for only "he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved." It really is that important.