Having established in the scriptures God’s plan of salvation which consists of man hearing the word of God, believing in Jesus and His resurrection, repenting of the sinful life he has lived, confessing (acknowledging) Jesus Christ as the son of God, and being baptized for the remission of sins, we now want to note and answer a few objections given against the necessity of baptism.
What about the thief on the cross
Mark 16:16 does not say, he who is not baptized shall be damned
The word "for" in Acts 2:38 means "because of"
Paul said he was not sent to baptize in 1 Corinthians 1:17
One argument that is made is that baptism is a work and since salvation is based upon our faith and "not of works lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9), then baptism cannot be a part of God’s plan of salvation. This argument was dealt with in an earlier lesson (Lesson 11, Is Salvation By Faith Only?, paragraph 3). Please refer back to that lesson for a more thorough answer. The works that do not save refers to mans works, that is his own ideas. Anything that God tells us to do is not a work of man and even when he does obey it, he still has no right to boast in it.
What about the thief on the cross?
Another argument that is given is to refer to the thief on the cross to whom Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:40-43). It is noted that he was not baptized, but he was saved. I will readily agree with the fact that he was saved because the Bible says so. But there are some other factors to consider. #1 - How do you know he was not baptized? In verse 42 we read the thief had an understanding about the kingdom of Christ, indicating that had been taught. How do you know that he was not baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 3:3) or even one of Jesus’ disciples (John 4:1-2)? We do not know because we are not told so. And because of this, I will not say that the thief was baptized. But it is possible that he was. But even if he was not baptized there are other points to consider. #2 - Jesus while upon the earth had the authority to forgive sins at will. He did it on several occasions (Matt. 9:2,6; Lk.7:47,48; John 8:11). Why could He do this? Because He was God upon earth. And only God can forgive sins at will. But what does that have to do with us? The only way we can know how our sins are to be forgiven is to find it in God’s word. And in God’s word we are told to be baptized to be saved (Mark 16:16). #3 - Another reason worthy of consideration is the fact that Jesus forgave this man’s sins BEFORE he died upon the cross. That means that the thief was under a different law than we are. He was still subject to the Old Law. We are in the final dispensation that began WHEN Jesus died upon the cross. (see lesson 4, The New Testament is our Standard of Authority). Thus Jesus forgiving the thief on the cross has nothing to do with the way we are saved.
"Mark
16:16 does not say, "He who is not baptized shall be damned."
Their appeal of this argument is to the fact that while Jesus mentioned both belief and baptism in the affirmative, he mentioned only belief in the negative. Therefore, he was not teaching baptism as necessary. This argument is grasping. The grammatical makeup connects both belief and baptism to being saved. To remove either step would make the formula incomplete. Just because He did not mention baptism in the negative does not mean it is not necessary. Perhaps, Jesus was pointing out that if one will not believe in Him, there is no sense in one being baptized, which is true. Belief must come before baptism. No matter what man says, it does not change what Jesus said on this occasion.
"The word "for" in Acts 2:38 means
"because of".
Acts 2:38 teaches that the remission of sins (having your sins removed) requires baptism. Some who reject the necessity of baptism dismiss this text by saying the word "for" in the expression, "Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, FOR the remission of sins; ..." means "because of". They might appeal to other passages such as Romans 3:23, "FOR all have sinned and fall short...". The problem with this argument is that it does not agree with the original language. The Greek word used for "for" in Ac. 2:38 is "eis", which is a preposition that ALWAYS points toward something. Appropriate words would include unto, toward, into, to, etc. It is in this way that the word "for" is used in Ac. 2:38 and that points to the necessity of baptism in order to receive the remission (forgiveness) of sin, which is the ONLY way one can be saved. Incidentally, the word "for" in Rom. 3:23 (and every other text where the word "for" means "because"), is "gar", a totally different Greek word.
"Paul said he was not sent to baptize in 1 Corinthians 1:17."
1 Corinthians 1:17 says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
preach the gospel...". It is reasoned that in this Paul was saying that
baptism is not necessary, because Paul did not do it. But there are some things
go consider about this text. #1 - The context tells us why Paul said this. It
was because these brethren were divided. People were putting credence in the one
who baptized them, rather than in Christ. Some said they were of Paul, others of
Apollos, others of Peter, and still others of Christ. (1:10-13). Thus his
thankfulness for not baptizing most of them was NOT because of its necessity,
but their attitudes. #2 - A study of Corinth indicates that they were baptized.
First of all our in our text Paul states that he DID baptize some (Crispus and
Gaius, and the household of Stephanas - 1:14-15). But considering the tone of
what he was saying, he seemed to indicate that the rest were baptized also. Thus
pointing to its necessity. Also note Acts 18:8 which says, "and many of the
Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized..." Thus rather than
refuting the necessity of baptism, this text teaches the need for it.
There are many objections that are made. These are but a few of them, but just as God’s word shows these answers to be without merit, a thorough and honest study will answer all of them. Just weigh any objection that is made against what Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:20-21, and numerous other passages say about the necessity and importance of baptism. Then decide for yourself if God really means what He says. If in your study you have come to the conclusion that you are not a Christian and you need to be baptized for the right reason, then please contact us. We will do all that we can to assist you. And please, don’t wait until it is too late.