In the previous article I dealt with the subject of whether or not the church of our Lord was only ‘a part of the whole’; or, if the church was the kingdom of God here in this life. The following paragraph is contained in the same material given to the members of the “Newcomers Class’ in an area congregation that is conducted on Sunday mornings.
“Humbly entering the waters of baptism reminds us that we are saved only by grace through faith, and not by anything we can do on our own. Our belief is baptism by immersion, and is our way of participating in the death, burial , and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:1-5) and symbolizes the burial of the old self and emerging of a “new creation” in our own lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). To be baptized is a way of publicly proclaiming that your life is being caught up in a bigger story, and furthering your commitment to be a daily disciple of Christ.”
For the most part, I find no fault in the preceding statement; however, what is not mentioned is of great concern. But before I deal with that which is absent from the statement, I want to examine more closely some of the ‘beliefs’ contained therein.
First of all, the New Testament does indeed teach that we are “saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). And it is “through whom (Christ, RE) also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…” (NKJV, Romans 5:1, 2). We are not saved by the works of the Law of Moses or any law/works devised by the wisdom of man (Ephesians 2:9). However, any directive from the Lord that is required of men in order to receive the forgiveness of sins would not be counted as being “anything we can do on own.”
Biblical and saving faith is one that obeys. Hebrews 5:8, 9: “Though He was a Son, yet He learn obedience by the things which He suffered, And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” A vibrant, active faith is one that is submissive to the will of Jesus Christ who said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16). It is worthy to note in the preceding paragraph found in the ‘handout’ in their Newcomers Class, baptism is not mentioned as a command in order to receive forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And that absence arouses my curiosity as to why these brethren baptize an individual.
Do these brethren teach that baptism is essential for the forgiveness of sins? If they do, how is it that they believe a person is a part of the kingdom of God by only believing in the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and accepting Jesus as being their Lord without being scripturally baptized? Is there not an inconsistency in what they practice and in what they teach? Could it be they believe that while baptism is important but is not essential for salvation? Saul of Tarsus certainly was a penitent believer in the risen Lord but he lacked something in order to be forgiven of his sins and that was why Ananias instructed him to “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). ( Continued
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