DO WE TRUST BAPTISM OR THE SAVIOR?

Edward Fudge, a brother from Houston, Texas, wrote a letter to the editor of the Christian Chronicle in November, 1995 in which he asked the following question, "Do we always make it plain that one is justified in God's sight by trusting in Christ and what he has fully accomplished for us sinners - a faith expressed and embodied in baptism - so that we do not end up trusting in our own obedience instead of the Savior's?"

Edward has a good point. Most of the religious world fails to understand that our faith is expressed in the act of baptism. According to commonly accepted theory, "baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace." Many of our neighbors believe that baptism is a seal which confirms our salvation. The Bible never speaks of baptism as a seal of confirmation. The Holy Spirit is our seal (Ephesians 1: 13).

In the New Testament baptism precedes blessings that come from God. It comes prior to the new birth (John 3:5), salvation (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21), remission of sins (Acts 2:38), rejoicing (Acts 8:36-39), sins being washed away (Acts 22:16), the new life and freedom from sin (Romans 6:3-6), entrance into the body of Christ (12:13) and putting on Christ (Galatians 3:27). As an older preacher once said, "Those truths are 'un-get-aroundable' and 'un-go-overable.'"

Critics often accuse us of thinking there's some power in the water that saves us. Of course there isn't. Peter set that issue to rest when he said that it is ". . . not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21). Baptism is the divinely appointed avenue through which we place our complete confidence in Christ. I once talked with a man who had never been immersed. He said, "My wife has been immersed, but I can't tell that she's a better person than I am." Another man told me, "I went into the water a dry sinner and came out a wet sinner." They missed the point. Baptism does not change one's character. The word of God teaches us how to live and the Holy Spirit enables us to live God honoring lives. Baptism is a response to the word of God and it marks the time when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Because most others either refuse or misunderstand the Biblical teaching about baptism, we run the risk of trusting in our baptism to save us. If we're not careful, we'll display an attitude of superiority based on our baptism. We must never forget the fact that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only power on this earth that brings salvation (See Romans 5:9). Our trust is in Jesus, his love, his sacrifice, his provisions for salvation. His provisions of salvation include baptism, but baptism never stands alone.

-Norman Bales-