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Today we'll be searching out the Scriptures for a Biblical position on water baptism and exactly what it has to do with our salvation. For this discussion we're not going to dwell so much on the form of baptism, that is, immersion verse sprinkling verses pouring. Baptism is symbolic. It is an outward act of our inner belief and convictions concerning The Faith. (In all likelihood it was full immersion although some valid points may be made for the other methods. At our Fellowship we do full immersion baptism. "Baptize" is the Greek word "Bap-tid-zo": Strong's Grk Reference #907 meaning "immerse") In this study we will be primarily concerned with the purpose and effect of water baptism according to what the Scriptures teach. Does water baptism "save you", and does it "wash away our sins" as taught by some of the dogmatic churches of the world? These certainly are important questions to ask in light of all the differing opinions surrounding the subject of baptism. If we examine denominational church history, we'll find that most Protestant institutions still carry doctrines influenced by centuries of Roman papal decrees. The Protestant break from Catholicism was not a 100% clean break. Neither was this possible due to the fact that the first Protestants were at one time Catholics themselves raised on the hellfire doctrine of eternal torment and salvation by baptism. No matter how good Protestant intentions might have been, we have to consider that Romanism was steeped in the mystery rites of Babylonian doctrines, which would inevitably have a certain influence on the Protestant beliefs, even with their breaking away from the Papal church. Some churches today still teach the Roman doctrine that you can't be a Christian without being water baptized, and that you are lost forever if you happen to die before being baptized --- even if you trust and believe in Christ as your Redeemer and King. Religious history shows that such a doctrine is a hold over from the Papal domination of Europe, where a person had to be water baptized into Catholicism or supposedly they were going to suffer "the pains of eternal damnation". Water baptism was the beginning of a control factor whereby the priests exercised influence over a persons entire life. However, The Scriptures are clear that even though water baptism is a necessary part of obedience to Christ, that singular particular act of obedience is not the origin of one's salvation. A person does not receive the gift of eternal life at the time of water baptism. The first thing we have to do in order to unravel the mess that has been made out of the water baptism doctrines, is to define what we mean by the word "SALVATION". There are Scriptures taken out of context that would appear to say we are "eternally saved" by the sacrament of water baptism. The Roman interpretation of sacraments led Catholicism to a powerful religious and political reign over Europe which lasted well over a thousand years. A person wasn't "saved" from so called "eternal hellfire", unless they were water baptized by the priest, which made one's eternity dependent upon their dedication to the Roman Church. Now in order to see the fallacy of the doctrine that one is saved by water baptism, we have to first define the terms "salvation" and "saved". Exactly what are we getting saved from? Certainly not from the Babylonian myth of eternal flame and torture, because as you know from our other studies, the word "hell" simply means "the grave" in the original Bible languages of Hebrew and Greek. Matthew 1:21 in referring to the Messiah's arrival, tells us, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Romans 6:23 explains "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Master. The TRUE ETERNAL SALVATION given to us by Christ, as taught in the Scriptures, is that of RESURRECTION back from death when He calls us forth from the grave. Christ said in John 5:28, "The hour is coming in which all those that are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth." The word salvation means "to have safety." Its the word "sode - zo" in the New Testament Greek (at Strongs Concordance # 4982). The Scriptures teach that we can be "saved" or more properly "safe" in a variety of applications. We can have salvation (or safety) from disease, from an enemy, from a disaster, or even safety from death. Eternal salvation... that is being safe from eternal death, comes through Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, as we see in John 6:46; John 11:25, and many more Scriptures. That's the area of salvation we're most concerned with today. So first and foremost, lets have the Bible answer the question, "When were we saved?" namely, "when did we receive eternal salvation?" The water salvationists teach that you don't have salvation until you do the physical act of either getting immersed in water, or by sprinkling, or by infusion, which is having water poured on you. Quoting I Peter 3:21, some churches teach that you aren't a saved Christian until you are Baptized. Part of that verse says, "Baptism does also now save us". We'll be examining that verse during the contents of this study. However none of the Scripture verses which have the words "saved" or "salvation" in them can be understood, without first understanding that there are particular kinds of salvation mentioned in the Bible, as well as different times for those salvations. As Christians we have been saved, we are being saved now, and we shall be saved through the ongoing plan of Yahweh's all encompassing salvation. When we comprehend that the Bible reveals different types of salvations, and different time periods for these salvations, we'll quickly see how this clears up some of the Scriptures concerning water baptism as it relates to the words "saved" or "salvation". Let's read from II Timothy chapter one , the words of Paul the apostle; "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Master, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," (v.8,9) (the old English word "hath" means "already has" saved us) Verse 10 specifically explains that this is referring to our salvation into life eternal. "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" The Word of Yahweh teaches that the true believer was saved to eternal life before the world was even formed. Yahweh Almighty does not think with a finite mind as we do. His design for our eternal life was established in His mind outside of the phenomenon we call "time". So it is senseless to say that we "get saved" when one supposedly "accepts Jesus Christ" or when a person gets water baptized. We had already received eternal life in the thoughts of Yahweh Almighty before time began. His thoughts are true reality and we are simply playing them out on our level of existence, (with a partial limited allowance of free will, another topic). When Christ came He manifested that eternal salvation which the Bible says was given to us as a free gift from our Creator and Father before the world began. We're going to come back to this particular salvation in just a minute, but let's touch base with the several other salvations which apply to us as we travel on through life and toward the resurrection. Lets go over to the book of James where its talking about our Christian character and disposition in our present life time. James chapter one: "James, a servant of God and of the Master Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:1-4) This entire chapter is talking about things pertaining this life right now, and it's an exhortation to live our lives by the standards of the Written Word , that we may receive blessings. Dropping down to verse 19 we see how the Word affects our present attitude and demeanor: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." (v.19-21) The word soul here is "psuche" in Greek and it corresponds to "nephesh" in Hebrew. (Strong's # Heb.5315; Grk.5590) It simply means your created mortal life here and now. It means your personal self. It doesn't have any connotation of an "immortal ghost like being". Even in our English language, if you know someone who's a very nice person, you might say "he's a gentle soul". Or if someone has a series of bad circumstances, you might say "I feel sorry for that pour soul". You're simply referring to the person himself or to the person's life. What James is telling us here, is that if you use the Written Word as your guideline in this age, and engraft it into your life ( your soul) you are being saved right now from the influence of the world with blessings from on high. This is not talking about eternal salvation. Obedience is the process whereby we are presently SAVED in this age, that is, being constantly "made safe" in relation to our standing with our Heavenly Father. James then continues in verse 22 explaining more about this type of salvation: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:22-25) Thus the Bible teaches that we are saved now (present tense) by living in the Word for the receiving of blessings in this age. King David said in Psalm 34:6 " This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" Psalm 7:10 "My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart." Psalm 106:47 "Save us , O Yahweh our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks to thy holy Name." Deut.33:27,28,29 "He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee --- Israel then shall dwell in safety --- Happy art thou, O Israel: .-- O , People saved by Yahweh" The Scriptures declare that our present lives "are saved now", that is --- in a state being made safe, by our obedience to the Word. We believe the commandments of Yahweh, and then we do the action that follows the belief. In this sense we are saved, in other words, "being made safe" in a variety of applications during this lifetime. Additionally, we "will be completely safe" (that is we shall be saved) at the end of this age when we experience our resurrected bodies being likened unto Christ. Lets view Romans chapter 5 verse 1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Master Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Rom.5:1-9) This wrath refers to the judgment age of The Almighty which follows our resurrection when Christ returns. (see I Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Mat.24:30) In light of all this we must be specific whenever using the term "saved". Do we mean "saved from eternal death"?, "are being saved now"(blessed in our obedience in this age)?, or "shall be saved by a new body of divine life" at the consummation of the age? Therefore, lets consider the primary question of this study once again: When is a person saved to eternal life? --- at water baptism? The Catholic church and a few other denominations hastily assume "that's when one becomes a Christian and achieves salvation". But Scriptures teach that water Baptism does not save us, if we are referring to salvation into life eternal. Being saved to eternal life is a gift of Yahweh as it says in Romans 6:23 & Ephesian 2:8 & 9 "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God". Even the faith itself which produces salvation is gifted to us by God Almighty. (Rom.12:3) Man's ego has trouble understanding that he can't do anything to earn a free gift. We can't say that we chose Jesus Christ for salvation or that we chose baptism for our salvation, because as soon as we do, it means that we have something to do with our salvation --- and salvation wouldn't be a free gift any longer. Christ said in John 15 :16 "I choose you, you don't choose me". Now let's make this train of thought a bit more personal. When did Jesus Christ chose you to salvation? Was it when Yahweh Almighty looked down and saw that you were being baptized as some teach? or was it before that? Was it when you came into belief and repentance? or was it even before that? Lets go over to Ephesians chapter one and see exactly when our salvation began in the eyes of Yahweh Almighty, as that's the only standard we can rely on to give us the proper perspective of the might and power of Yahweh's plan of salvation for His children. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Master Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Master Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:1 - 6)
The question isn't "When did you accept Jesus Christ, or when were you baptized?", rather the the question is ,"When did Yahweh the Everliving accept you into His family?" Paul explains here that The Almighty accepted us into His family even before the world began. That's when you received your salvation. It was done in the mind of our God and Father before He started all the wheels in motion to bring about the physical universe. To each believer the manifestation of that eternal salvation begins to show itself when the Holy Spirit imparts belief to him/her in this age. That's what most people refer to as "being converted", but it is actually the point in time where Yahweh gives a person THE AWARENESS OF THE SALVATION THAT ALREADY IS! And that's when most people mistakenly think they chose to be saved. Yet we didn't have anything to do with that either. Christ said in John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him". "You mean to say that I can't do anything to achieve eternal salvation?" That's what the Scriptures teach -- its a free gift! BUT, Yahweh does expect something from us when He makes us aware that He has given us this greatest of all gifts before we were even born. He expects us to thank Him and to be obedient to Him as a person constantly maturing in the faith. Baptism is one of those steps the believer takes in showing obedience to our Father. And, yes, Baptism is extremely important to our Christian life. We are to be Baptized --- but that's not when one is saved to eternal salvation, and it is also not when one is endowed by the Holy Spirit into becoming a converted Christian. The Holy Spirit is imparted into the heart and mind, in this age, at the moment of believing, not at water baptism although the two events may happen simultaneously. We're going to read the Scriptures concerning that in a few minutes. First, let's turn to Jeremiah chapter one, as we find out precisely when it was that Yahweh Almighty chose Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. Then the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew (of) thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Yahweh GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But Yahweh said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." Jeremiah was neither yet circumcised under the covenant to Abraham, nor was he baptized in water, nor did he yet come into the understanding of "belief" while in the womb. Still The Almighty not only accepted him into His chosen family, He appointed him to be a prophet among the people before he was even born from his mother. Jeremiah was chosen to salvation plus given his calling long before he even existed. Lets go to II Thessalonians chapter two in the New Testament: "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of Yahweh, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." (V.13) When was the beginning? We know that Gen 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth" and John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Whenever that was it was long before our existence. Looking forward to the glory of Christ coming upon our weak mortal bodies, we shall be saved in resurrection from the weak mortality of our flesh. That is a salvation. But we already have been chosen to eternal salvation by the blessings in Yahweh, as He chose us when? The Bible testifies, "in the beginning." That's another type of salvation. In addition to those salvations, we are saved ( or kept safe 'sode-zo' as it says in the Greek) in this age by obedience to the gospel and the love of the Holy Spirit. Baptism enters into this area of obedience along with other encouragements from above, so that we are in a state of "presently being saved," by our standing within the Kingdom. Therefore lets keep in mind that when we are using the term "saved" we can't just lump that word into some vague church definition and simply say that "baptism saves us" by quoting a half verse of Scripture. (I Pet.3:21) We must define our terms. What exactly are we being saved from, when we are speaking of "getting saved"? We are compelled to read a chapter before a particular verse or after a particular verse, in order to get the proper meaning of the words being used --- as it relates to any one particular verse. Among some denominational churches there are a few scriptures taken out of context to teach that we have remission of sins by water baptism; and that we also receive the Holy Spirit making us a Christian by water baptism. So lets read those verses, then we'll go back to cross reference the Scriptures, and see what the teaching is from the Word of Yahweh. We'll first go to I Peter 3:21; then to Acts 2:38. These are the predominant verses used to show that a person is "saved" when they get baptized, that a person receives the Holy Spirit upon water baptism, and that a person has remission of sins through water baptism. I Peter 3:21 reads: "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:" Acts 2:38 reads: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
It is incorrectly taught, by picking these two verse out of context, that you don't receive the quickening of the Holy Spirit into your heart until you are water baptized. Then we're told that since the Holy Spirit only comes upon a person through the process of water baptism, this means that you're not even a Christian until you have someone baptize you into their church. This smacks of an intentional "religious fear factor" held over from the Roman Catholic domination of Europe in the middle ages. When you hear of any creed promoting a "do it or else" ceremony with the threat of damnation for those who won't "do it", please realize that such a trick is based upon "guilt trip psychology" and has been a ploy of religion for centuries. Most of the confusion about what is taking place in Acts 2:38 centers around a shallow understanding of the works of the Holy Spirit. According to writings of the Apostles, there's a great deal of difference between the anointing or pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and that of the quickening of the heart by the essence of the Holy Spirit unto eternal life. The poured out anointing of the Holy Spirit is for Kingdom works, usually for the power to witness as a testimony for Christ, although in the days of the Apostles it was also for a manifestation of instant healings, miracles, or some other divine work. However, the seed essence of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary to be raised up from the grave in the day of Resurrection, is given upon belief in a small measured amount. This is Scripturally called "the earnest of the Spirit". Turn to II Corinthians 1, Paul mentions something very important to us here about how we are established in Christ: "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." (II Cor.1:19-22) In other words, the things of God Almighty given to us in Christ aren't "maybe" (they're not yea or nay) , but they are definite, they are "yes". The word "anointed" is the word "kree-o" in the Greek and it means "to rub heavily or smear". It's a heavy dose of the Spirit. Paul uses this same word in Acts 10:38 when he said that "Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power and went about to do good." The Holy Written Word of Yahweh teaches us there's a notable difference between the earnest of the Spirit whereby we are "sealed", and the heavy anointing of the Spirit for works in the Kingdom. The word "earnest" is the Greek word "ar-hrab-ohn,"(Strong's Greek dictionary reference at # 238) and it means "a partial security for what is to be purchased later on". Today we call it a down payment. It's just a little portion of the full actual payment that is to be given later at an appointed time. This little bit of the Holy Spirit of the essence of Yahweh is given to His chosen ones upon initial belief. That's when the Spirit is imparted from above thus making an Adamic Israelite aware of the salvation which was already given before time began. With this imparting of "THE EARNEST OF THE SPIRIT" the believer now begins to gravitate toward the things of our Father through Christ. However water baptism itself does not cause the implanting of the "earnest down payment". A person most certainly can be a Christian before they are water baptized. Believing within the heart in a reliance upon Jesus Christ for eternal salvation is the real fruit of value. Furthermore Yahweh Himself is the one who plants the fruit of belief within our hearts to whomsoever He chooses. Let's retrace the first chapter of Ephesians once again. We covered the first six verses previously. Lets start at verse 5 and continue on as we get a bit more insight into this "down payment" or the earnest of the spirit given when we believe the gospel of Christ. Remember that here in Ephesians we noted that Yahweh predestinated us before the world began and there and then adopted us into His family. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:" (Eph.1:5-9) The word 'mystery' is a bit misleading as translated into the English from the Greek. In the Greek its the word "moos - tay- ree- on " (Strong's Grk.#3466) and it literally means "a secret that has been kept silent". There's a great deal of difference between a mystery and a secret. A mystery is an unsolved problem which requires a lot of expended energy and time to solve. Sometimes a mystery is never solved. A secret on the other hand is something we don't know about, but as soon as someone whispers it in our ear, we have a total understanding immediately ... it's a revelation. It's not something we have to work at to find out. This is what Paul is saying here about the simplicity of the Gospel. The simple "secret" which one didn't know until the Holy Spirit revealed it, is that Jesus Christ died on the cross and redeemed Israel back into the good graces of Yahweh. The blood of Christ alone has brought us into the Kingdom. This is a simple secret. It is not a mystery. Yet how many people don't have that secret revelation held in its proper perspective, and are trying to figure out some way to get into God's Kingdom either by confession to a priest, by going to church every Sunday, or by getting water baptized in an attempt to bring down the Holy Spirit? Now let's read carefully the next four verses: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory." (Eph.1:10-14) Note that Paul clearly states here that it is when we believe that we receive the Holy Spirit which was promised to us. This is the down payment of our redemption that enters our hearts and makes us a true living Christian who trusts in and follows Jesus (Yahshua) the Messiah. It should also be pointed out that the word "after" is used twice in verse 13 (above) in the King James Version Bible, but it was not in the Greek manuscripts. A translator added it to the English text. This is pointed out because those who teach that water baptism gives a person the Holy Spirit just might say , "well they heard the Word , then after they believed they must have got baptized to receive the Holy Spirit". That of course would be manipulating the Scriptures to make them fit a denominational doctrine. In order that the Bible student may further reinforce the fundamental divinely ordained principle that our "down payment" of the Spirit to life everlasting is imparted upon belief and not upon water baptism, the reader should study the above verses from a Greek Interlinear Concordance Bible (check your library). The more literal Rotherham Version has these verses as: "In Whom ye also hearing the word of the truth, the glad message of your salvation, in Whom also believing, were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, the Holy Spirit. Which is an earnest (down payment) of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the acquisition; unto His glorious praise." (Eph.1:13,14) Baptism Continued Next Article >>> |
