____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ April 9, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Blinded Toward the Need of Baptism (Tom Edwards) 2) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Blinded Toward the Need of Baptism by Tom Edwards The misconception that "faith without any necessary obedience will save a soul from sin" will blind one's "vision" toward the truth of God's word. For when such is strongly believed, passages such as Acts 2:38 are not fully seen. Though it clearly states that one must "...'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins...,'" many deceived individuals cannot really see the necessity of the "be baptized" in this verse. Why? It is not an optical problem. Rather, it is because of their preconceived ideas that are contrary to Scripture. For instance, in the thinking of many, "Since man is saved by 'grace alone,' then certainly the 'be baptized' part, in this verse, could not possibly be needful toward becoming a Christian." Of course, where they have initially gone wrong here is with the phrase "grace alone." For nowhere does the Bible teach salvation by grace alone; rather, salvation is by "grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8); and we learn elsewhere that even grace demands something of us. So we cannot be passive in our relation to it. For grace instructs that we are to "deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12). How, therefore, could we reject this; but at the same time expect to be saved by that grace? And not only does salvation by grace necessitate obedience, but this can also be seen in the type of faith which saves. As James points out, "faith without works is dead" (Jms. 2:26); and consider also the entire context of James 2:17-26. Though Martin Luther, who was an advocate of salvation by "faith only," was so opposed to this book that he thought it shouldn't be part of the New Testament; it is not, in any way, inharmonious to the rest of the gospel. For example, Jesus teaches in Luke 6:46, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not the things which I say?" Isn't that interesting? It is not merely one "thing" we need to do -- "just have 'faith only'" -- but there are a plurality of things that are required of us if we want to be saved from sin. Yes, man needs to not only believe (Jn. 8:24), but also repent (Luke 13:5), publicly confess faith in Christ (Acts 8:36-38; Rom. 10:9,10), be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21), and continue in the faith (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 10:36-39). If Acts 2:38 were the only verse in the Bible, setting forth the need to be baptized to be saved, that would suffice. But it does not stand alone. So even though there are those who find it highly strange when Christians teach the need for baptism based on this verse, it is not a unique passage for the non-believer to be bewildered over -- a bewilderment that comes only because of their preconceived, erroneous ideas -- misconceptions of salvation by "faith only" or "grace only" or the "blood of Jesus only," etc. -- that conflict with this verse. Our Lord Himself, for example, had stated prior to Acts 2:38 that, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved..." (Mk. 16:16). In addition, Paul shows that the purpose for water baptism is so the penitent believer "might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3,4), which explicitly shows the need for baptism in order to become a Christian. For even though Paul was enabled to accept the deity of Jesus by encountering Him on the road to Damascus, followed by fasting and praying for three days, Paul still wasn't forgiven until he obeyed the command to "...'Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins...'" (Acts 22:16). To the contrary of many people's thinking today, baptism IS part of God's plan for the alien sinner to have sins forgiven and become a Christian. It, along with our faith, puts us into Christ (Gal. 3:26,27). Through baptism, we are raised up with Christ (Col. 2:12). So all of these verses, as well as others, show that baptism is just as important as believing (Mk. 16:16) or repenting (Acts 2:38), when it comes to salvation. So when people today say that "baptism does not save," they are making that statement in stark contrast to what the Bible plainly teaches. And consider, also, Peter's statement in 1 Peter 3:21. To the exact opposite thinking of those who see no connection between baptism and salvation, Peter clearly expresses that "...baptism now saves you...." But who should we listen to -- multitudes of men who claim that "baptism does not save," or the words of Peter, who was an apostle of God and spoke by the Holy Spirit? If Peter were the only one to make this statement, that would suffice; but as we have seen, he is simply teaching in this verse a re-occurring truth of God's word: baptism does save! Peter also shows in this passage that it is not merely by getting clean in the water that leads to the remission of sins; but, rather, baptism saves as "an appeal to God for a clear conscience." The idea of one making "an appeal to God" through baptism is also summed up in the phrase of "calling on the Lord"; so baptism is part of that "calling." This is also seen in comparing the following verses: In Acts 2:21, Peter, in quoting Joel's prophecy, states that "...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." He then goes on to show, in that same sermon, that the way that was to be done was by believing in Christ (v. 36), repenting, and being baptized (v. 38). This also explains Ananias' instruction to Paul to "...Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." The "calling" was the "appeal" Paul was making to the Lord through obedience to the gospel plan of salvation. It was not through praying a "sinner's prayer," which the New Testament nowhere teaches as how the alien sinner can be forgiven and become a Christian. And if one could be saved by praying a "sinner's prayer," would not Paul have prayed for forgiveness during the three days he was fasting and praying in Damascus (Acts 9:9,11)? Yet, he wasn't forgiven until he was baptized (Acts 22:16). To be baptized was the answer to his question, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). As we think about baptism saving, but not merely by getting clean in the water, it might bring to your mind the account of Naaman the leper, who was told to dip himself seven times into the Jordan River in order to be healed of his leprosy (2 Kings 5). It wasn't the water that cured him. Rather, Naaman was healed because he simply did what the Lord had commanded him. Similarly, there is nothing in the elemental properties of the water when we are baptized that washes away our sins; but when we submit to it, as penitent believers who have acknowledged our faith in Jesus, God will pardon us of every sin we had ever committed. The need for it is so clear, but I imagine many people will continue to reject what these passages teach on water baptism. Maybe, however, if those who feel that having to meet conditions in order to be saved will nullify the grace of God, that it will actually NOT nullify the grace of God, they will be more prone to accept baptism. And, similarly, for those who think that any type of obedience is a "work," and "we are not saved by works, so we just need to avoid such actions," if they, too, can come to realize that even acquiring faith is a work (Rom. 10:17; John 6:29), they will see how that baptism does not clash with God's plan of salvation; but, rather, it is part of that plan. Many of us easily accept -- and have complied with -- the demand for baptism and its purpose in these verses cited; while other folks do not. But how much trouble would those individuals who reject God's purpose for baptism have in understanding and complying with what we see in this following scenario: A man is going to give away $100,000 to the first 100 people who come to his home and are baptized in his pool. Suppose the ad in the paper ran something like this, "Come to my home and be baptized for $100,000"? Do you think anyone would have trouble seeing the need to be baptized? If you were one of the hundred at the man's house, what would you do? And, by the way, as we think of one complying with the above demand to be baptized for $100,000, we would certainly not think that anyone who did that had earned the $100,000 or even deserved it. The recipient had merely met the simple conditions of going to the man's house and being baptized. Even so, our compliance to God's plan of salvation does not enable us to earn or deserve eternal life -- which is far greater than $100,000! So, though there are conditions to be met, we still realize the great need for the Lord's mercy, grace, and pardon. For without that, we would remain in a lost and hopeless state when it comes to our salvation. Faith without baptism will not save, any more than baptism without faith would. We must all look to the Scriptures to see all of what God demands of us. Don't fall short by listening to only what man has to say about God and His ways; rather, take the time to hear what God has to say to man -- and yield to that by your faith and obedience, so that you may come to benefit in what Christ accomplished at Calvary. For to many, sadly, Christ's death will remain a vain thing. It will have no effect in their lives, until they submit to the gospel plan of salvation. May our eyes be opened to the complete truth of God's word, lest we fail to see things of eternal importance -- and miss out on the heaven that the Lord wants all to have (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4). ____________________________________________________ -2- News & Notes Let those of us who are Christians continue praying for the following people: Melinda Reed (the granddaughter of Clyde and Annie Mae Jackson) who was in a serious car accident recently. Janice Arnold (David's wife) who was diagnosed with having lymphoma and is now waiting to learn more from the biopsy, as to what her next steps will be. James Webb, a former member at the Park Forest church of Christ (Baton Rouge), recently had a slight heart-attack while away at work; and then had another one when in the hospital for that. And for the local members: Joe and Maxine Pine and Eloise Craver who have not been able to be with us due to health problems. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________