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BAPTISM AND GOD'S UNIVERSAL GRACE

1. A black eunuch heard about Jesus and eagerly sought to be baptized (Acts 8:34-39). 'Half-caste heretics' joyfully received the gospel and were baptized (Acts 8:5,8,12). Despised Gentiles eagerly sought God's will and were baptized (Acts 10:33-48). Women as well as men, Jews and Greeks, 'all nations' were granted the privilege of entering into God's grace in Jesus (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:5,38,41; 8:12 and elsewhere). From every social, economic, moral, religious and ethnic background they came with one thing in common-they needed the grace found in the Christ who died and rose. Baptism says Christ's death is for all! No exceptions!

BAPTISM AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

2. Holy Communion (the Eucharist or Lord's Supper) bears witness to the atoning death of Jesus Christ. But Paul insists that when the followers of Christ experience this communion by eating and drinking the bread and wine, they "proclaim the Lord's death until he come" (1 Cor 11:26). The Supper says Christ is present, alive and sharing himself with his followers. It looks forward to his return as well as backward to his suffering. Baptism shares these same perspectives with the Supper. It looks back to his redemptive suffering, it proclaims his present life (Colossians 3:1-3) and it proclaims the hope of a coming resurrection when our bodies will be fashioned for another phase of living (Romans 6:4-5 with 8:11).

IS BAPTISM MERELY A SYMBOL?

3. Baptism is a 'symbol' of course. A rich and varied one. It pictures and mirrors much that is central to the Christian faith. To insist that baptism is 'symbolic' is not the same as saying it is 'merely' symbolic. For those who think it is 'merely' symbolic, baptism reflects like a mirror but it 'does' nothing, it is not 'for' or 'to' anything. This view says its purpose is exhausted by 'mirroring' things that have all been accomplished without it. But is this view supported by the words of Scripture? Baptism's nature and purpose is to be determined by what the Scriptures themselves say about it.

4. The 'merely' symbolic view of it says that it is 'an outward sign of an inward grace' (an already accomplished inward grace). This means that baptism mirrors (among other things) the union with Christ already experienced by a person before and without baptism. This would mean it is a sign of regeneration, forgiveness and such which have taken place prior to and without baptism.

5. The 'merely' symbolic view, taken in light of 2,000 years of Church History, is a very modern view and it tends to make baptism a 'take it orleave it' ordinance; 'a fine thing if you feel the need for it'. This is certainly not what you'd get from the New Testament.

BAPTISM: A 'CONVERSION' BAPTISM

6. In the New Testament writings, baptism is 'conversion' baptism. The men and women who were baptized were baptized 'to,' 'into,' 'unto' or 'for' something or someone. An examination of the words of the New Testament itself will show this. Let me underline those words.

7. Women and men were told to be baptized 'unto the forgiveness of sins' (Acts 2:38). By faith men and women were baptized 'into union with Christ Jesus' (Galatians 3:27). Believers were baptized 'into Christ' and 'into his death' (Rom 6:3,4). When puzzled that some believers had not experienced the Holy Spirit, Paul asks them 'Unto what then were ye baptized?' (Acts 19:3-following the King James version and others rather than the NIV which is usual in these studies). When he discovered these believers needed to be rebaptized, Paul baptized them 'into the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 19:5). Christ commands his followers to make disciples of all the nations 'baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matt 28:19-margin). When speaking of the Jews' commitment to Moses as leader at the Red sea, Paul likens it to 'Christian baptism' and says they were 'baptized into Moses' (1 Cor 10:2). These are some examples; there are manymore.

8. In the New Testament believers are baptized because they wish to have sins forgiven or washed away (Acts 22:16) or to be saved (1 Peter 3:21). They wished to take on them the name of the blessed Trinity or (as in other texts), the Lord Jesus (Matt 28:19; Acts 8:12,16). This was true even of those who received the Holy Spirit under extra- ordinary circumstances (Acts 10:47-48).

9. For many of those who practice 'believer's baptism,' baptismremains 'merely a sign' of what has already been accomplished. For them, those being baptized are being baptized because they have already died and been raised with Christ. The question is: Is this what the words of Scripture say? This view may be perfectly acceptable but is it what the New Testament teaches?

10. The Romans 6 texts are very clear. Those who were baptized were 'baptized into (to) death' (6:4). Whatever we might say or think we shouldsay, Paul says NT believers were 'baptized to death' and were 'baptizedinto Christ' (6:3). It might be all right for us to take the view that those who were baptized had died and been raised with Christ before and without baptism. But it surely can't be right for us to say that that was what the Spirit said through Paul in Romans and elsewhere. If we are to honor the biblical teaching on this subject (which is what we all wish to do), we have no choice but to abide by the words of Scripture and make them our faith and practice.

11. (To take these texts seriously and yet apply them to unconsciousinfants who have no faith has additional problems. To make baptism a sign of the infant's already accomplished death and resurrection with Christ prior to baptism only makes matters worse. These problems are well known to serious scholars within those confessions and they continue to wrestle withthem. Many who practice infant baptism admit the NT texts on baptism can't apply to infants but they insist there are good 'theological' reasons for infant baptism.)

12. New Testament writers had no difficulty in believing that baptism was for 'believers'. They taught and practiced it as scores of texts show. Nor did they have the slightest hesitation in saying that baptism was a 'conversion' ordinance, a rite of 'initiation'. Baptism was 'into' death, life, Christ, the name of the blessed Trinity, the name of Jesus Christ. It resulted in forgiveness of sins, the washing away of sins, the receiving of the Holy Spirit and salvation.

13. New Testament writers never spoke of baptism apart from repentance and faith. They knew nothing of 'magical water' or 'automatic' blessing if the ordinance was performed. Without faith nothing was gained at baptism but as faith's expression, baptism was where people died and rose in union with the blessed Christ. It was by faith they put on Christ when they were baptized and it was by faith in God they were raised with Christ in baptism. (Be sure to read the texts cited on all this. Rom 6:3-7; Col 2:12; Gal 3:26-27.)

BAPTISM AND 'LEGALISM'

14. 'Legalism' stresses the 'keeping of rules' and holds that 'keeping to the rules' obligates God to extend a right relationship to the rule-keeper. Its usual form acknowledges that there is grace with God but it insists that grace is secured by virtue of one's success in keeping the laws. Some form of legalism was opposed by Paul (especially in Rom- ans and Galatians) when he speaks of 'justification by works' (see Rom 4:1-8, for example).

15. No biblical writer will accept that we are right with God by virtue of our moral performance. All the virtue, all the merit is on God's side. And we are either right with God by his saving grace or we are not right with him at all! There is no 'salvation by works'!

16. Believer's baptism is a strong denial of a 'works salvation'. Titus 3:4-7 relates baptism to God's saving grace in the clearest possible terms. "When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, so that having been justified by his grace..." (See John 3:3,5.) Baptism, the washing of rebirth, is faith's appeal for God's grace and mercy. Like faith which motivates it, it has no saving power. It confesses its abject need and powerlessness and trusts God to effect the new birth, the renewal by the Holy Spirit.

17. Since believer's baptism has been ordained by God, since it was preached and taught by apostolic witnesses, since it was eagerly sought by those who longed for a gracious rescue from their sin, since it calls us to Christlike living and has such a witnessing power for Jesus Christ--since all this is true, we ought to humbly and gladly and bravely make it our teaching and practice. It is no insult to God to accept his gift of life in Jesus Christ by trustingly being immersed into union with that blessed Christ (Gal 3:26-27).

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