Monday, January 26, 2009

The Truth and Salvation (Part III)

As mentioned previously, many in our religious world stop at confession as a means to salvation. That is, they would have us believe that all you have to do is confess your faith in Jesus Christ and you will be granted salvation. This is usually couched in language such as "accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior." Undoubtedly, one has to accept that Jesus is the only means to salvation, as is revealed by Peter in Acts 4:12: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” However, doesn't this also mean that we can only come to salvation by the means that HE has prescribed?

The Truth reveals to us that Jesus never said that all one has to do is confess Him as Lord and Savior in order to receive salvation. Furthermore, the apostles never wrote by inspiration that confession is all that is necessary. The condition of being lost means that one is still "in his sins" and that his sins have separated him from God. It was through the shedding of the blood of Christ that forgiveness of sins was made available to mankind. So, how is this blood applied or where is it contacted so that man's sins are taken away? It is on one "landmark event": baptism in water.

Again, many in our religious world today will tell us that baptism is NOT necessary for salvation. They will tell us that baptism is recommended, but that it is merely an "outward sign of an inward change." That is, they would have us believe that salvation has already taken place and that baptism is merely a "declaration" of salvation. But is that what the Truth reveals about baptism?

The word "baptize" or a derivative thereof (baptized, baptizes, baptism) in reference to water baptism occurs more than 60 times in the New Testament. This volume alone should indicate to us that baptism is important to God. Let's look at what Jesus Himself said about baptism (emphasis mine):


  • Mark 16:15-16 - And He said to them, “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.

  • Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Each of these passages is a different account of "The Great Commission." Did Jesus give the disciples the option of baptizing those that they taught? Did He minimize baptism in any way? No, in fact, Jesus says in Mark's account that baptism precedes salvation ("will be" = future tense). We see that baptism is an outgrowth of true faith. If one does not have the faith Jesus requires, he will not even consider baptism. These two passages alone should suffice for the true believer to be convinced of the necessity of baptism for salvation. However, God has given us further instruction in His Word about the importance of this event.

No comments: