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Continuing on with Part Three of our lesson on water baptism, lets go to Romans 6 which is the so called "source" that supposedly shows that the act of water baptism itself is where we must go to contact the blood of Christ for remission of sins. By remission of sins it is meant a forgiveness of, and pardon from sins. Remember that in Part Two we studied how Paul already said in Romans 3:25 that remission of sins is by faith in Christ's shed blood, and that Peter likewise said in Acts 10:43 that remission of sins is by belief in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Does Paul then contradict those two statements of truth by now saying that water baptism gives us remission of sins and is a "special formula" to contact the blood of Jesus? No he does not. So let's see what Paul is really telling us here in Romans 6, verses 3 through 6:
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (Rom.6:3-6) Now, reading these verses it becomes evident that the word "blood" is not even mentioned here as it is in Romans 3:25 where Paul specifically teaches that "remission of sins is by faith in the blood". In fact the word "water" is not even used here in Romans 6:3-6 either, and for good reason. Paul is using a play on words but is careful to not state that water baptism somehow uses the blood to wash away sin. Water baptism is only symbolic of the real baptism which is to be BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST AND INTO HIS DEATH by our life's testimony of full repentance. Paul is portraying an illustration and drawing from the two different baptisms to make a point. Symbolic baptism, i.e. water baptism, may indeed be likened to our being buried with Christ and arising in a new life, but the real baptism of BEING BAPTIZED (IMMERSED) INTO CHRIST is a conviction of the heart and a lifestyle where we no longer serve sin habitually. Paul correlates the two baptisms together, so let's highlight these verses with Paul's play on words here by notation: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ (immersed and are one with Him) were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism (symbolic water) into death that like (it's a symbolic likeness) as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (the real baptism into Christ ruling our life)" (Rom.6:3,4 -- notes inserted) The only way we might infer an indirect reference to blood in Romans chapter 6 above, is by the use of the solitary word "crucified" in the first half of verse six. But then we are speculating and really stretching things to interject an interpretation. If we want to stop there at verse 6 and censor the rest of what Paul continues to tell us, then we could have our own interpretation. We could stretch the whole context here and say, "well .. there was blood at the crucifixion, and the word "baptism" is used in verse 4, so maybe water baptism contacts the blood of Christ." Such assuming is a complete violation of 2 Peter 1:20 which reads, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy (preaching) of the scripture is of any private interpretation." However, if we let Paul explain himself and give him a chance to speak, we see that the last half of verse 6 through verse 22, shows that Paul was admonishing those who were already Christians about living an obedient Christian life, and that this particular chapter it is not a discourse on supposedly becoming a Christian by water baptism. In verses 11 , 12 , and 13 we see the message of Paul here as he explains what it means to be baptized into Christ. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Master. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." (Rom.6:11-13) To summarize this entire chapter, Paul is simply saying "Remember that Christ died a horrible death for you, so you should be honoring that by changing your lifestyle, if indeed you claim to be Christian." Paul never even remotely suggests the idea that this chapter is instructing nonChritsians how to contact the blood of Christ by water baptism and somehow get the Holy Spirit into their heart by such a process. This chapter is talking about being baptized INTO Christ as Paul remarked Israel was baptized INTO Moses. (as discussed in Part Two of this lesson concerning I Corinth.10:1) Romans 6 is not instructing specifics about being immersed in water, which is a symbolic profession of our faith. Furthermore, this particular discussion by Paul says nothing about the poured out blood of Jesus Christ. If there would be any outward sacrament whereby we contact the blood of Christ, the entire Bible from Genesis through Revelation reveals that it would be through the Passover celebration, called by some churches "holy communion". It's at Passover we partake of the bread and wine representing the broken body and shed blood of Yahshua, not at water baptism. With the drinking of wine at the last supper our Saviour said "This cup is the New Testament in my blood."(Lk.22:20) Yet even Christ Himself told Paul "This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." (I Cor.11:25) Important as it is Christ taught us that the Passover bread and wine is categorically a memorial showing only figuratively His shed blood for our redemption. The Apostles were never commissioned by Christ to travel about and teach that the New Testament sacraments are something other than symbolic memorials, thus deny the very words of Christ. That includes water baptism as well as the bread and wine communion. They are both symbolic sacraments. Partaking of the wine at Passover is symbolic of our faith in the blood of Christ; and getting water baptized is a faith remembrance of Christ's burial and resurrection as noted in Colossians 2:11 & 12, and Rom. 4: 9-12 where it tells us that Abraham was of the faith before the rite of circumcision, just as Christians are of the faith before the rite of water baptism! Christ said in John 6: 27 - 29 "Labor not for meat that perishes but for that meat which endures unto eternal life ...this is the work of God, that you believe on Him who He has sent" John 20:31 "But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His Name." Romans 3:23 - 26 "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ---whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood .... that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus (Yahshua)." These and other Scriptures proclaim that it's by faith in the heart where contact is made with the blood of the Lamb of Yahweh for eternal life, and not by any outward act which men can observe. Yahweh looks on the inside, man looks on the outside. That's why so many men have confused water baptism with something that it is not. It is not a church declared method by which we can pull God down from out of heaven. It is a symbolic act professing the earnest of the Holy Spirit within a person, who made him/her a Christian upon belief. We touched briefly on I Peter 3:21 earlier where it says in part that "baptism doth also now save us". Just as we saw that other Bible verses don't contradict the teachings of Jesus and Paul about salvation to eternal life being by faith freely given to us, we're also going to see that Peter never contradicted Christ and Paul when he wrote "baptism doth also now save us". (Also please review the different "salvations" contained in the Bible discussed in the first half of Part One of this study.)
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; [ "spirits in prison" not to be reviewed in this lesson, but it doesn't mean that Christ went to some after death abode to preach to ghosts of men} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 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." (I Pet.3:18-21) Peter likens baptism to the flood of Noah ,who was saved by building the ark and going through the flood. The eight souls obviously weren't saved "by water". They were saved through the water. The Greek word for "by" in verse 20 of the KJV is "DIA" (Strong's # 1223) and can be translated at least nine different ways including either "by" or "through" depending on the clear context of the sentence. Once again, the sacramentalists have mistaken what type of salvation Peter is referring to here. Does it say anywhere in this chapter that this is talking about salvation to eternal life through the fee gift of the earnest of the Holy Spirit ,which earnest down payment will quicken our dead bodies on the day of resurrection? Absolutely not! Peter never says here "you have to be baptized to become a Christian for eternal salvation". Let's consider this. If water baptism is likened to the flood of Noah's day, and if we are not Christians before we are baptized, then it means that Noah wasn't in Yahweh's faithful family before he went through the flood. If we're drawing the connection between baptism and the flood, then according to the sacramentalists, Noah had to be an unregenerated man void of the Holy Spirit, outside of God's graces, and was never in The Almighty's family until Noah got his baptism of going through the flood. I think we can see the foolishness of that line of thinking. Long before the flood ,Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah walked with God. Peter himself in II Peter 2:5 says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness who led an exemplary life, and Noah was led of the Spirit to labor for over 100 years in preparing the ark before the flood came. Noah believed the Word of the divine warning in total faith, and Noah most certainly was in Yahweh's family before his baptism into the flood. In fact he went through the flood because he was a man of God, not to become a man of God. Likewise an individual now goes through baptism because he is a Christian, not to become a Christian. Baptism symbolizes our new life of repentance and obedience in Christ our Salvation. Baptism is an outward profession of the faith that's in the heart... just as Noah obeyed because of what was in his heart. And by being obedient to profess your Christian faith by baptism, it is one way you are presently being saved (made safe) from the power and influences of the world system. The reference to Noah's family getting "saved" in verse 20 wasn't referring to their eternal salvation. It was their being brought into a certain type of safety or deliverance by following obedience to Yahweh. Another extremely crucial point to realize about verse 21 here in 1 Peter chapter 3, is that denominations which teach that you are not a Christian until you go to their church and get baptized, always remove the word "also" from that verse of Scripture. They intentionally misquote I Peter 3:21 to simply say " Baptism now saves you", instead of "baptism is now saving you also", as it reads in the Concordant Literal Greek New Testament at page 543. Check Strong's Concordance and you will see that the word "also" is in the original Greek text of that verse. The Holy Spirit was very precise with every single word inspired into the Scriptures. The omission or addition of even a single word by men can drastically change what the Holy Spirit has imparted to us in the Holy Word. If you are to say that "baptism now saves us", that by some stretch might appear to make baptism the sole means of our salvation. It could be baisedly misconstrued mean that Baptism alone now saves you. Yet if we say that "Baptism also saves us", as written by Peter, we would not be excluding the truth that all forms of obedience to Yahweh, work to bring us into a closer relationship of safety with Him. Whether it is deliverance from sickness, or from the ways of the world, persecution, an enemy, or some other trouble, we must be in good standing with our Father to beseech Him for that kind of salvation or deliverance. "Being saved" to deliverance in this age is through the many tests of obedience which we are to follow. What is your standing with your Maker? Now do you understand why we are commanded to be water baptized? It is a form of obedience by which we symbolically make the profession of faith openly, concerning that which we hold in our heart privately. However, baptism is not the only thing that Yahweh Almighty looks for to "save us" in this age. As Peter certainly showed us, obedience by Noah saved his family. After which Peter explained, "Baptism also now saves us". In other words, Baptism is also a form of obedience. But there are many qualifications of obedience that Our Father looks for to save us, not baptism exclusively. This is what Paul meant when he told the Philippians in 2:12 "work out your own salvation (or deliverance) with fear and trembling" "do ALL THINGS without murmurings and disputings". Baptism isn't the only way, (to the exclusion of all others ), whereby you get saved (safety) in the here and now. Many Scriptures testify to this truth. Psalm 7:10 "God saves the upright in heart" Psalm 34:18 "Yahweh saves such as be of a contrite spirit" Psalm 18:27 "For thou will save the afflicted people, but will bring down high looks" Prov. 28:18 "Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved" Isaih 30:15 "In returning and rest shall ye be saved" Ezekiel 18:27 "When the wicked turn from his wickedness he shall save his soul alive" Ps. 37:40 "Yahweh shall save the righteous because they trust in Him" Jude 22,23 "On some have compassion, others save with fear" James 5:15 "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and Yahweh shall raise him up"
We could draw upon more quote examples, but suffice it to say that baptism is not the only word used in conjunction with the words "saved or salvation" in the Scriptures. All the good works in divine obedience help bring us into a good standing of safety and deliverance from adversity. Therefore .. yes ... baptism also saves us, because it's pleasing to Father to see us testify to the faith in that manner. But it's only one of nearly 20 other acts of obedience mentioned in the book of 1st Peter that are also works of righteousness whereby we are "saved" (made safe). The reader might want to go through the whole book later and count them as they include, but are not limited to: chapter 4 v. 7 "be sober and watch unto prayer" v 8 "have charity" v9 "use hospitality" v 11 "speak as representing God" v 13 "rejoice in your sufferings" v 14 "be happy if you are reproached for Christ's Name" v 15 "don't suffer as a murderer, thief, or evildoers" v 16 "dont be ashamed to suffer as a Christian" After putting all these righteous obedient acts (including baptism) together in order from chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 4 verse 17, Peter then says in 4:18 , "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" Peter doesn't say "if the baptized scarcely be saved" does he? No, Peter was careful with the wording he used, so as not to imply that baptism alone and exclusively results in being saved in this age. To be in a standing of deliverance or safety now, we must "work out our own salvation" as Paul told us, with diligent obedience on all fronts, baptism being just one of the many. There's not one verse in the entire book of 1 Peter that says we become Christians by water baptism, or that we receive the free gift of the earnest of the Holy Spirit to life eternal by water baptism. Peter never contradicted the meaning of the words "salvation" and "saved" as taught by Christ and later Paul the Apostle. Always keep in mind that we must read and study the chapters before and after a single verse, especially when we're searching out a position of doctrine. In conclusion, we want to review our study on baptism by listing the key points: 1) Sacraments are symbolic in nature and could never be the means whereby we secure life eternal. 2) Salvation to life eternal was ordained for the elect of Yahweh before we came into existence. 3) This eternal salvation is a free gift given to us, and revealed to us in this age by faith within the heart, that is, our inner most consciousness. 4) Being water baptized is a New Testament commandment that we are to obey as sons and daughters of Yahweh Almighty in Christ. 5) Water baptism is an outward profession of our inward faith, trusting that Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected for us. 6) By making this outward profession of our faith and by keeping that faith we please our Heavenly Father and come into good standing through obedience, whereby we are now made safe or saved in this present age. 7) This type of salvation applies to the present deliverance we need to overcome the world, in our struggle here and now. 8) Along with baptism, there are other requirements as well which our Father expects us to keep whereby we become safe (or saved) in this age. 9) We become converted to be active Christians, not by water baptism, but by the essence of the Holy Spirit dealing with our heart upon belief. This is called the "earnest of the Spirit", and is a small spark of eternal life used by Yahweh to bring us forth from the grave at resurrection. 10) The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the empowerment poured out upon the elect to witness for Christ's Kingdom. This particular endowment of the Spirit may come upon belief, or by the laying on of hands,or at the time of water baptism, or at the time of a gathered assembly. Prayerfully this lesson into the meaning of water baptism and the various baptisms mentioned in the Bible has enabled the reader to better understand the faith once delivered to the saints. May Yahweh bless your witnessing for His Kingdom! Glory be to Jesus Christ, King of Saxons! |
