Apologetics for the Masses #506 - Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

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Topic

The Protestant Facebook page - Advanced Apologetics - tackled the subject of Baptism vis-a-vis salvation. This is what they said.

Introduction

Several months back I came across a Protestant Facebook page called "Advanced Apologetics". On this page there was a post by one of the members who goes by the name of "Questions to Eden". The post was titled, "Baptism Does Not Save". Here's the link to that post: Advanced Apologetics. In that post, Eden (I'm going to shorten his title) "explained" seven Bible verses that he said Catholics use to argue for the necessity of Baptism to salvation. I am going to reprint his entire post here, and let you guys chew on it for a few days to see what you come up with as to how you would respond.

Then, on Friday, I'll send out my response to what Eden said in his post about those seven Scripture verses. I gotta say, though, that if that is what passes for "Advanced Apologetics", then I would hate to see their "basic" apologetics.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

Eden (from the Facebook page, "Advanced Apologetics")

Is Baptism Required for Salvation?
I want a stern warning for this post. Too many people love to read and respond out of context. This post is not saying do not get baptized, but rather that salvation by baptism is unbiblical. If you are saved by faith in Christ, then you live by His commands (mentioned later in the post). Being baptized is the action following Faith, so please, if the title angers you or perhaps the opening paragraphs do, be patient and read the entire post before responding or coming to a conclusion. This is also one single post, so not every single question about Baptism is answered. Only answers concerning the posed question are provided, so if you read this and want to know more, there are plenty of resources shared on this page to help you, you can also message the page directly if you want 1 on 1 interaction. I am happy to answer any questions sent to the page! God bless you all and enjoy the article!

Baptism, a hot topic among Christians and Catholics alike, has been plaguing debate among believers. Some say it is required for Salvation, others say it isn’t. Some say you must baptize your babies so they’re saved, and some say otherwise. I want to cover some common verses that people use to justify salvation by Baptism, and that adding Baptism to Jesus’ sacrifice is work-based.

A quick Google search of “Verses that say Baptism is required for Salvation” results in a list of some verses, as well as some articles listing pretty much all similar passages. So here are 7 common bible Verses that “justify” salvation by baptism:

1) Mark 16:16 - “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Some say that this verse is claiming that you must be baptized to be saved, and if you aren’t then you are condemned to hell. Notice that this verse does not say “whoever is not baptized is condemned” but rather it says “whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This verse says that whoever does not believe in Jesus Christ is condemned, and you have to think about the time and culture. The Church was outlawed and persecuted, so Believers needed a way to know who was Genuinely Born Again. This identification with Christ was Baptism, to go further, the context doesn’t even suggest this. Jesus is commanding the Disciples to preach the Gospel and that Whoever Believes and is baptized is saved, but does not include baptism in the requirement for non-condemnation.

The Authenticity of this verse not being found in some early manuscripts calls for using these verses to base any doctrine on in the first place. So these verses do not affect already established doctrine: that being faith alone saves without baptism. The manuscripts without verses 9-20 seem to have left room for the verses, indicating a knowledge of their existence. This verse is found in every other manuscript, so this concern is insignificant to begin with.

2) John 3:5 - "“Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
The claim here is that water baptism is being born again. This verse is often used by practicing Catholics or those who support work-based faith. But to gather that from this verse is to be dishonest to the context. The word baptize is not even found in this verse, the only idea of it comes from the mention of being born of water. The context is Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus about being Born Again. In this conversation, Nicodemus gets confused because he thinks Jesus is referring to Physical Birth. So Jesus had to clear up his confusion, so He got His definitions straight and created a division between being Born Again and Physical Birth. He refers to what Nicodemus says as water birth, and what He says as Spiritual Birth. So the water birth in this verse is Jesus agreeing with Nicodemus, but expanding it with Spiritual Birth. Jesus pretty much says “Yes, a person must be Naturally born (to be in existence) as well as Spiritually Born again to be saved”. Being Born of the Spirit refers to when the Father draws a person by the Holy Spirit to Faith in Christ and a Loving relationship with Him. Moreover, John 3:6 clears this up by saying “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” which makes it obvious that Baptism is not the topic.

3) Acts 2:38 - “And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The Context has people asking Peter “what shall we do?”. They were not asking what to do about salvation, they already believed and had Faith in Jesus, what they were seeking was what to do now that they were saved. Peter then tells them to get baptized FOR the forgiveness, not in the sense to “get” forgiveness, they already had it, but because of the forgiveness they have received. It was Peter pretty much saying, “Join Me in the Church now that you are my Brothers and Sisters.”

The wording here is similar to “taking ibuprofen FOR back pain”. I didn’t say to take ibuprofen to get the back pain, but because it is already there. An example of this is what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance”, the repentance wasn’t done by the baptism, it was because of the repentance that already took place. He then says in the rest of the verse that Jesus is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit instead of water. This right here just put baptizing by the Spirit above water, which reveals that it doesn’t have the power to save, only God does. We are to be baptized following Faith in Jesus, it should take place after the acceptance and forgiveness of sin by Grace through Faith. To identify yourself with His Body, The Church.

4) Acts 22:16 - “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
This verse does not say rise and be baptized To wash your sins, but the wording uses the Greek word “Kai” which translates to “and”. Kai is used elsewhere in the NT, and it connects the nouns in an additive sense, not a causal sense. In Matthew 1:2 “begat Judas and(Kai) his brethren;” so “and” here is connecting baptism and washing, not expressing that baptism causes the washing of sins. “To” would be a word used to express that baptism is the precedent/cause or source of the washing of sins.

5) Romans 6:3-4 - “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
The word Baptism originates from the Greek word Baptizah (ßaptisµa) which simply means immersion. Biblically speaking, the immersion doesn't really have to be water, this can be found in other verses like: Mark 1:8, where the immersion is by the Holy Spirit; Luke 12:50 where Jesus refers to His sacrifice as His Baptism; and 1 Corinthians 10:1–2 where the word is used to describe the immersion of Moses and the Israelites in clouds. This verse talks about immersion, all of us who were immersed in Christ (Faith) were also immersed in His death (death of the old Man). Death is our rejection of self (Luke 9:23).

6) 1 Peter 3:21 - “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Since it says baptism corresponds with being saved, baptism is required for salvation… Is the claim of people who use this verse, which debunks itself. The Context is drawing this to Noah’s flood. But the flood in Noah’s day wasn’t salvation, it was judgment. So this can't be using water as a means of salvation, it doesn't logically follow from the comparison. The Ark was the Salvation of the Flood: So being immersed in Christ, He is now our Ark that saves us from judgment, just like Noah’s example. To read this and conclude Baptism for Salvation is to kind of read your meaning into the text (Eisegesis). Any Eisegesis, Honest or not, must be confirmed by Honest Exegesis. When this is done here, we see how unbiblical the doctrine of salvation by baptism really is.

Not to kick him when he’s already knocked out, but the verse says that this immersion is not to remove dirt from the body but to train a good conscience out of Love for God. That is: affirming Jesus' sacrifice, and by identifying with Christ and living by His will, you slowly train yourself to be more Christ-like, which is the ultimate Good!

7) Galatians 3:27 - “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
This verse is not speaking about Baptism as a requirement for salvation. Notice how it says, following Baptism, that one has “put on Christ”. This wording illustrates that through faith in Jesus, a person becomes part of the Church, and baptism is the public identification with Christ and the Church. Even then, this verse is saying that all immersed in Christ, have put Him on, which supports this idea. This act of baptism shows a person's decision to live according to Jesus’ teachings and a willingness to leave their old ways behind in favor of God’s Will.

[The Example of the Thief]
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39–43).”

Here we have an example of someone being saved without the claimed baptism. The Thief on the Cross had no physical ability to be baptized, he also was wicked enough to have deserved his position. But here, he humbles himself and admits what he deserves, that which Jesus doesn’t. Instead of mocking Jesus, or baiting Him to use His divinity, the Thief asked Jesus if He could remember him. Through this simple request of humility Jesus responded with “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

[Adding Baptism to Salvation Makes it Work-Based, and That is Unbiblical]
Some of you may read this, and still not be convinced. You may think that this isn’t that important, or that I may be digging too deep. That baptism isn’t a work because God is still the one saving. But I have to ask you: Doesn’t the existence of a Gap of time between initial commitment to Jesus, and Baptism signify, and require that you must act on behalf of God to enable God to fulfill the promised salvation? In other words, don’t you still have to act? This makes salvation Jesus’ Sacrifice, plus what you do. It makes it 50 percent God’s offering, and 50 percent your actions. This by definition is not Grace, you don’t pay halfies on a free gift. “For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8–9.)”

I pray that this post can clear up any confusion you have about the state of your salvation. If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He Died for Sins, and that God has forgiven you, you are saved and forgiven. Works are the fruit of our salvation, not the root of it (James 2:14–26; John 15:5, 8; and more).

Closing Comments

So, did his post "clear up any confusion you have about the state of your salvation"? Take a few days to think about how you would respond to any one, or all, of his arguments. As I said above, I'll be sending out another newsletter on Friday with my responses. I'll also be posting my responses to the "Advanced Apologetics" Facebook page to see what kind of push back I get from over there...especially from Questions to Eden.

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