Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: June 1, 2008
BAPTISM – A DISCUSSION (Part 2)
[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]
You wrote, "In Acts 16 the Paul and Silas told the jail keeper to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course they then instructed him to be baptized and would have gone on to disciple him."
My reply: You are correct in the above statement. When the jailer at Philippi asked, "Sirs,
what must I do to be saved," they replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:30-31).
Remembering that all of the Bible on a given subject must be taken before we draw a
conclusion, we ask, "Why did not Paul tell him the same thing Peter told the Jews on
Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38)? Notice the following:
On Pentecost, Peter preached to several thousand Jews. They were convicted of sin and
cried out, "men and brethren what shall we do?" Now, there is the same question the
Jailer asked, and here is the answer Peter gave: "Repent and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." (Acts 2:38) Why the difference?
Both Peter and Paul are inspired apostles so why are the inspired answers not the same?
We shall see soon.
Now shift the scene to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road. Let Paul tell his own story in
Acts 22. He is on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus when Jesus stops him on that
highway. A light shines about him and he falls to the earth. Hearing a voice saying, "Saul,
Saul," he asks, "Who art thou Lord?" Jesus replies, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou
persecutest," whereupon Saul asks, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" To this, Jesus
replies, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:
16; 22:10).
Saul arose and went into the city, a believing, penitent man and for three days he waited
in blindness, fasting and praying, and waiting for one to come and tell him what to do.
When Ananias came, he told him to "arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
Why the three different answers to the same question? It can be illustrated this way: If I
ask someone in my home town how far it is to Oklahoma City, they will tell me it's 115
miles. If I travel 30 miles toward Oklahoma City and ask someone else, they will tell me
it's 85 miles to Oklahoma City. If I travel another 40 miles and stop to inquire about the
distance to Oklahoma City, I will be told it's 45 miles. Three different answers, but all
correct. The answers to my question about the distance to Oklahoma City are based upon
my location along the route when I asked.
That's the same reason for the three different answers to the question, "What must I do to
be saved?" Those answers were given to sinners who were at different stages in
understanding the way to salvation in Christ.
Those Jews on Pentecost believed in Jesus before they asked their question. Their belief
came through Peter's preaching. That's what Paul later said in Romans 10:17: "Faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." They had already passed the point of
belief on the road to salvation, and needed only to "repent and be baptized" (Acts 2:38).
When Ananias came to Saul of Tarsus in Damascus, Saul was already a believer in Christ
and was a penitent man. That's obvious from his three days of fasting and praying. He
didn't need to be told to believe or repent, as he had already done so. He only needed to
complete his obedience by being baptized and that's what he was told to do (Acts 22:16).
When the Philippian jailer asked the same question of Paul and Silas, he hadn't even
begun the journey. They could not tell him to repent or be baptized because he was a
heathen who knew nothing of Jesus Christ. His journey to salvation had to begin with the
first step which was belief. That's why the next verse says, "And they spake unto him the
word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." Since "faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17), the jailer could not very well believe until he had
the gospel preached unto him. When they preached to him "the word of the Lord," he then
indicated repentance by washing their stripes and was baptized the same hour of the night.
So all these cases refer to the starting point in salvation, but the terminating point is the
same — baptism. If this isn't the case, then the Bible contradicts itself and it certainly
couldn't do that and be the word of God.
Summing it up, the unbeliever was told to believe. The believer was told to repent. The
penitent believer was told to be baptized. Therefore, before salvation is reached all of these
must be done as we advance from the first condition until the point of salvation is reached.
Christ requires faith, repentance, and baptism. (Jn. 8:24; Lk. 13:3; Mk. 16:16). To ignore
one of these items is to ignore them all. One who is baptized but has never believed or
repented cannot be saved. One who believes but refuses to be baptized cannot be saved.
One who believes and is baptized but never repents of his sin cannot be saved.
You wrote, "Baptism is very important but it is not essential to salvation. If it is essential what
becomes the focus? A physical act I must perform and not Christ's shedding of blood, death, and
resurrection. Those are the essentials to salvation."
My reply: If faith is essential to salvation, what becomes the focus? Isn't that a mental act
one must perform and not "Christ's shedding of blood, death and resurrection?" What of
repentance? Is that required for one to be saved? Isn't that something one performs?
Does Christ's blood cleanse those who are not in Christ? Paul says we have redemption
through His blood, but that is only in Christ (Eph. 1:7). Baptism is the transitional act that
puts one into Christ and into His death where His blood was shed for our sins (Gal. 3:26-
27; Rom. 6:3-5).
You are correct in saying the death, burial and resurrection of Christ are "essentials to
salvation." No man could ever be saved had Christ not paid the price for our sins which
God's justice demanded. That's the grace of God that reaches down to save us. But in
order for that grace to be appropriated, man must reach up to God in faith. That's what
Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-10.
We are saved by the grace of God through faith. God's grace means nothing to the person
who will not believe in Christ and His atoning work, repent of his sins and be baptized into
Christ to receive the benefit of that atonement. God's grace provides and man's faith
appropriates the blessings of grace through obedience.
You wrote, "Baptism is an outward sign of what happens spiritually. It is also a command of God
so all those who believe in Jesus should then be baptized. If it was immensely important to be
completely immersed I believe God would have made that as clear as the way to salvation is."
My reply: There is no scripture which says "baptism is an outward sign of what happens
spiritually." You correctly note that baptism is "a command of God," but you said earlier "it
is not essential to salvation." Can you name other commands of God that are not
essential to salvation? What of repentance? What about faith? If I can ignore one
command of God as "not essential," why can I not ignore all of God's commands and still
be saved?
As for God making it clear that baptism is "immensely important," 1 Peter 3:21 does
exactly that. "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, (not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Peter says "baptism doth also now save us." Who am I
to argue with the inspired word of an apostle of the Lord?
You wrote, "It is my opinion that sometimes people hold on to baptism, or baptism of the Holy
spirit, or a certain translation of the Bible, or the gift of tongues, or conservative dress, etc. to be
able to say 'I am more holy than you.'"
My reply: How right you are in that opinion! Many people have an arrogant attitude toward
others and, like the Pharisees, want to make a public display of their religion. That's sad,
but true. On the other hand, I find many people who have a genuine love for the Truth and
are willing to discuss it and obey the Lord from a humble heart. You evidently have a love
for what is right, or you would not have taken the time to discuss these things. I
appreciate your demeanor and your frank discussion of spiritual matters.
Yours Sincerely,
Jerry Brewer, Editor
The Gospel Preceptor
— via “The Gospel Preceptor,” www.gospelpreceptor.com