Attempting to Negate Baptism (Part 2)

Many defenders of "faith only" fall all over themselves in an effort to minimize or negate "baptism for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). These folks have two major problems that involve repentance. Is it necessary that people repent of their sins in order to have salvation? Jesus answers, "Yes," when He teaches, "…unless you repent you shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). Most people, who are not blinded by their theology, can see that repentance is a requirement; thus, salvation cannot be by "faith only." Paul also made this point clear in Acts 17:30, when he said that God "now commands all men everywhere to repent." How much more inclusive could a statement be?

Faith cannot be by itself alone—and repentance accompany it. If faith is all that is necessary in order to be saved, then repentance cannot be essential. But repentance is essential; therefore, "faith alone" cannot save. This problem is un-get-over-able. Repentance cannot be both necessary and unnecessary at one and the same time.

And that brings us to the second problem the "faith only" folks have. If repentance is "for the remission of sins," then so is baptism because the two are linked together by the word and. So, if repentance is necessary for salvation (and it is), then so is baptism. One cannot be a matter of necessity while the other is merely optional. They stand or fall together.

The Thomas Nelson New King James Study Bible, edited by Earl D. Radmacher, copyrighted in 1997, 2007, 2016, and 2018, ignores these unanswerable problems with their theology and tries to explain away the essentiality of baptism. They argue that the key word in Acts 2:38 is for. They claim it can mean "with a view to" (1623). Okay. Let's substitute that definition. "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ with a view to the remission of sins…." The meaning does not change, although they try to make it do so. Below is their comment.

Believers are baptized in view of God's work of forgiveness. God's forgiveness in Christ gives baptism its significance. Baptism is a public declaration that a person's sins have been forgiven because of the finished work of Christ on the cross (1623).

Not to be redundant, but all that is said of baptism can be said of repentance, since they are joined by and. Therefore, the above paragraph could read:

Believers repent in view of God's work of forgiveness. God's forgiveness in Christ gives repentance its significance. Repentance is a public declaration that a person's sins have been forgiven because of the finished work of Christ on the cross (1623).

So, do we repent because we have been saved? Or do we repent in order to be saved? We repent of our sins and then are cleansed of them; that's when salvation occurs. We repent and are baptized with a view to receiving salvation—not because we somehow already received it. For the "Study Bible's" scenario to work, Pentecost would have had to work this way.

Peter's preaching convinces many of the crowd they have crucified the Christ, the Son of God.

They ask what they should do, having been convicted of sin.

Peter doesn't tell them to do anything about their sins; he acts as if they are already saved.

Then he tells them to repent and be baptized since they have already been saved.

Is this what the text says. Or is the following description more accurate?

Peter tells them to repent of what they had done, along with all their other sins, and be baptized in order to be forgiven.

Which of these explanations agrees with the text? Did Peter describe baptism as a public declaration? Did Jesus? Did Paul? One would think the Scriptures read as follows:

"He who believes is saved and ought to be baptized as a public declaration he is already saved."

"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized as a public declaration that his sins have been forgiven."

"There is also an antitype which now serves as a declaration that we have already been saved—baptism…."

All of these are verses the way the "Study Bible" would like them to read, but it is not the way they were written. Those who repent and are baptized do so "with a view to" receiving forgiveness when they obey Peter's command.

It is hard to ruin Acts 22:16, but the editors did their best. They ignore "washing away sins" entirely. In the verse Saul of Tarsus is told, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Their comments were:

Acts 22:16 Calling on the name of the Lord saves us. Baptism is the declaration of that calling (see Rom. 10:9-13).

Calling on the Name of the Lord

First, is it obvious that baptism is merely the declaration of that calling? They cannot allow any verse on baptism to simply speak for itself. They feel compelled to limit its power to remove sins and its role in salvation by making it a mere declaration. They have not produced one Scripture which says that baptism is a sign, a symbol, or a declaration. They apparently think that if they repeat it often enough, people will become as convinced as they themselves are about it.

The reader who remembers being taught grammar may recall that calling on the name of the Lord is a participial phrase that modifies you, which refers to Saul of Tarsus. He was instructed to arise, and be baptized, and to wash away his sins. In doing so, he is calling on the name of the Lord (to save him). He is not being told to be baptized in order to make a declaration of his salvation; he is in the process of being saved.

Acts 10:34-43

A thought that remains undeveloped is that the editors advise their readers to study Acts 10:34-43, where they will discover "that 'remission of sins' comes to 'whoever believes'" (1623). This passage begins with Peter speaking to Cornelius and those gathered together with him. He begins by speaking of Jesus, "who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (v. 38).

Peter told how the apostles were witnesses of what Jesus had done and that He commanded them to preach to the people—even that He would judge the living and the dead (v. 42). "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins" (v. 43). Do we agree with that statement? Of course. But it still does not teach "faith only" salvation. A person who believes will respond properly to the gospel—by repenting and being baptized, just as Peter taught previously on the Day of Pentecost.

"But I don't see a similar verse in this text," someone might protest. First, notice that the very next thing that happened in Acts 10:44 was that "the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word." Now, look at the way Peter describes this event in Acts 11. Peter had been commissioned to tell Cornelius and the others "words by which you and all your household will be saved" (11:14). He adds: "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning" (v. 15; cf. Acts 2:1-4).

What Peter said up through Acts 10:43 was the beginning of what he needed to say to them about salvation. When he finished, they repented. "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life" (11:18). Peter commanded that they should be baptized, also (Acts 10:47-48). One needs to read the entire context in order to understand the truth. Cornelius and the others believed, repented of their sins, and were baptized in order to be saved from their sins.

The Holy Spirit

The editors comment on the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38, and they mess it up pretty badly, but in their defense, it is a complicated subject—unlike baptism which is clearly set forth.

They posit that the gift of the Holy Spirit involved what Jesus promised in John 14:16-17. No, it does not. In the first place, Jesus is speaking only to eleven of His apostles (Judas having defected). The Lord said:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; for He dwells in you and will be in you.

Jesus also promised just a few verses later the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all things He had said to them (14:25-26). This involves inspiration, as does John 16:12-13, in which Jesus promises them the Spirit of truth, Who will guide them into all truth. If this is the same thing Peter promised on the Day of Pentecost, then every Christian who has repented and been baptized ought to be as inspired as the apostles were.

Do they actually believe that is the case? They say that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit "is an indication not only that our sins are forgiven, but also that the Lord has placed His law within us." Is that a claim for inspiration? It kind of sounds like it, but only they know what their intention in writing those words was, but in either case consider the following.

If God put His Law within us, why do we need a Bible? If we are as inspired as the apostles were, of what use is a "Study Bible"? It would seem that claims like this one would cause people not to spend their money buying their product.

If the gift of the Holy Spirit involved inspiration, the door to a multitude of problems would be opened. Who is correct—the one Pentecostals or the Trinitarian Pentecostals? They cannot both be right; yet they are both inspired. And what about denominations who believe man is born depraved while others believe children come into the world innocent? Can they both be inspired? What about those who are pre-millennial and those who are not? What about those who practice sprinkling and those who insist upon immersion? They can't both be inspired. And what of the topic at hand? Are people saved and then baptized? Or are they baptized in order to be saved—to have their sins washed away?

Our position is that no one is inspired today, but we have the inspired Word of God that He gave to us. And it is all we need (2 Tim. 3:16-17). In fact, God has given us all we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Let us continue in Jesus' Word; there truth may be found (John 8:31-32).