Max Lucado: Thirty Years an Apostate (Part 2)

"Does baptism have the power to save people?" The inspired apostle Peter answers, "Yes." The uninspired apostate, Max Lucado, answers a resounding "No!" according to the Oak Hills Church website. Now someone will surely think that his answer was taken out of context. No, he asked and answered the question just as reported. "Well, maybe he qualified his answer later on," someone might muse. Okay, then, let's look at what follows—not omitting a word.

He next says: "The work of salvation is a finished work by Christ on the cross." The truth of the matter is that salvation was obtained by Christ on the cross for us. Jesus paid the entire price. "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:12). What could we, as human beings, guilty of committing sin, have offered for ourselves? We could never redeem ourselves.

What Lucado chooses to ignore, however, is the difference between Jesus paying the price for our sins and the manner in which God chose to take the blood of Jesus and wash away our sins. That wondrous blood does not cleanse us until we repent of our sins, confess His glorious name—and are baptized (immersed) in water. At that precise moment the blood washes away all sins. We are not earning salvation when we repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38), rather we are complying with the conditions of salvation that God set forth. The removal of a person's sins in baptism is the operation or working of God (Col. 2:12).

Lucado implies that in some measure our obedience contributes to the cost of salvation. No one has ever claimed any such thing. He does not quote a single source to prove that we believe what he charges us with believing. In fact, he attributes to us what he knows we do not believe. The man is dishonest.

His next line is: "Baptism has no redemptive powers of its own." That is true, but no one ever said it did. If Jesus had not died on the cross for our sins, baptism would have had no value whatsoever. Nevertheless, it does save us, as Peter said, because we are obeying what God said to do. When we conscientiously obey, that trusting obedience saves us (1 Peter 3:21). Lucado continues to decry baptism—both immersion and sprinkling:

Baptism has no redemptive powers of its own. There is nothing special about the water. Nothing holy about the river or pond or baptistery. Tragically, some people believe they are going to heaven when they die just because a few drops of water were sprinkled over their head a few weeks after their birth. They have no personal faith, have never made a personal decision, and are banking on a hollow ceremony to save them. How absurd.

We all agree with those sentiments and preached them before Max was ever born. The irony is that he does not realize that by trying to take baptism out of God's plan of salvation, he is making it a hollow ceremony. Now he returns to his original line of attack.

If baptism were a redemptive work, why did Jesus die on the cross? If we could be saved by being sprinkled or dunked, do you think Jesus would have died for our sins? If your faith is in the sacrament and not the Savior, you are trusting a powerless ritual.

When Peter says, "There is also an antitype that now saves us, namely baptism…" did he make it a redemptive work? According to Max Lucado, he must have. If baptism is necessary, Max says it becomes a redemptive work, and how could anyone dare to disagree with Max? Especially since he knows more than an apostle of the Lord?

Jesus told people that unless they repented, they would all likewise perish (Luke 13:3). Did Jesus make repentance a redemptive work. Was Jesus' work on the cross insufficient because human beings must take it upon themselves to repent (or perish)? What is true of repentance is also true of baptism. If one of them is a requirement and is not a work of redemption, then neither is the other. If either repentance or baptism is a work of redemption, then they both are, since they are both required.

The problem with all apostates is they think that, if they said it, it must be true. This is how much confidence in themselves they have. They do not need to be able to think logically or critically. They only need to be able to persuade the public into having confidence in them. They can produce illustration after illustration that seems to prove their point (usually by using false analogies or faulty appeals to emotion).

What If a Person Is Not Baptized?

Max decided to answer this question, also. He does not want anyone to be in doubt about how unessential baptism actually is. So, can a person be saved anyway? As it turns out, this is a complex question. Max asks what the reason is for failing to be baptized. The first consideration is of the person who would respond in the following manner:

"I never understood baptism." Perhaps you were never instructed to be baptized. Maybe you've never been challenged to consider the issue. That's entirely possible. If this is the case, we urge you to give thought to what God says about baptism. This doesn't negate your faith up to this point. Part of maturity is an openness to understand new areas of the Christian walk.

So, what was the answer to the question? Is he saved without baptism or not? The implication is that he is, but Max never states it outright. If a person can be saved simply because he never understood baptism, then what else can he be saved without knowing? Can he be saved without repenting? Can he be saved if he has not been taught the importance of observing the Lord's death each first day of the week? Can he be saved if he has never been taught that true worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth?

Hosea wrote: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hose 4:6). Lucado in effect teaches: "A lack of knowledge is really no problem." While it is the case that, when one becomes a Christian, he does not know everything that he will know in two years or at the end of his life, he must know some fundamental truths in order to become a Christian, such as the Deity of Jesus, repentance of sins, and baptism for the washing away of his sins (Acts 22:16).

The second reason Lucado gives for a person balking at being baptized is, "I don't want to." Lucado absolutely wails on the person who knows he should be baptized but refuses to do it, and rightly so. But how many people fit this category? Usually, the only reason people do not want to be baptized is that they think they are saved already. And if they have salvation (and can't lose it), why be baptized? More people will be reluctant to be baptized by those who listen to Lucado than us. When a person knows that baptism is God's requirement, they usually want to obey.

The third reason Lucado cites for not being baptized involves those who die before they get a chance. "What if I entrust my soul to Christ and before I can tell anyone or arrange to be baptized, a swarm of killer bees attacks me and I die?" Wow! That probably happens every day. Now, many of us have been asked about what happens to the one who dies before being baptized. Usually, we say, "We are not the judge, but God is just, and the right thing will occur." But not Max. No, he knows exactly what God would do.

The answer to this question is found in the character of God. Would a God of love reject an honest heart? No way. Would a God of mercy and kindness condemn any seeking soul? Absolutely not. Having called you and died for you would He cast you away because of a curious sequence of events? Inconceivable. Is it possible for an unbaptized believer to be saved? Yes, definitely.

Well, there you have it. If you have any difficult questions, just ask Max; he knows God well enough to know how He will judge people. In fact, he should write a weekly column, "Ask Max." I will probably regret suggesting this; he just may do it. (And he probably has the clout to get it into newspapers nationwide.) Max has it all reasoned out. God would never reject a sincere person. Is that the reason Max can fellowship those who have only been sprinkled?

Preaching Versus Practice

Anyone who reads the website will notice that Max and the Oak Hills Church teach that baptism is by immersion. They do not accept those who were sprinkled as infants (despite how sincere they and their parents were). Those becoming members of Oak Hills must be immersed. BUT Max will fellowship those as Christians who have only been sprinkled. He wrote an article years ago, claiming that we "Christians" (those of every denomination) are on board one big Fellow-Ship.

Therefore, it is easier to become a Christian than it is to be a member at Oak Hills. Even those only sprinkled can be fellowshipped as Christians, but baptism at Oak Hills is by immersion. One can become a Christian by just believing, but just believing cannot qualify anyone for membership at Oak Hills. Does anyone find this to be strange? The Bible teaches that people are added to the church WHEN they are baptized (Acts 2:41, 47).

Definitely Saved

So, those who are not baptized are definitely saved. We have Max's word for it. How is he different than any other Baptist? Jesus taught, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved…" (Mark 16:16). Max says, "He who believes and is not baptized shall be saved…." How does he know what God will do when someone is attacked by killer bees? Was not Uzzah sincere and trying to show respect for the ark when he touched it to keep it from falling on the ground. He was struck dead because he violated the law not to touch the ark (2 Sam. 6:6-7).

God has a great deal more knowledge than we do. The one dying before being baptized may have turned down an earlier opportunity to obey, and he therefore missed the opportunity he had. Today is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). God never promised anyone "tomorrow" salvation. It may be that the person in question, although sincere at the moment would turn against God at a later time, inflicting much damage on his family, the church, or society in general. Maybe the person would have devoted his life to teaching error, like Max. The point is that we don't know what God is going to do with such an individual because we are not God.

However, we can say (unlike Max) that in missing baptism the person never came in contact with the blood of Jesus that cleanses a person's sins. That fact implies that the person is lost, but again we are not God, and whatever He does will be just and fair. We will not presume to speak for Him, but we wonder if He can go against His Word. Therefore, we encourage all to obey the gospel while there remains time and opportunity.

It is clear that Max Lucado has been an apostate for more than thirty years. He believes that people are saved before being baptized, and he will fellowship those spiritually who have never been immersed. How many souls has he led astray? If anyone needs repentance, he does.