54: Is Baptism A Work?

Welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to inquisitive

Bible students exploring biblical truths that might not be fully explored in typical sermons or Bible studies.

My name is Eddie Lawrence. Is baptism a work that results in salvation?

The answer is an emphatic yes, but don't tune out because that probably doesn't mean what you think it means.

If you're still listening and haven't blown a gasket after that intro, let's talk about why

I would say that baptism is a work that results in salvation. Most Protestants denounce the idea of a works -based salvation and they're right to take that position.

In fact, there aren't any works or tasks that we can perform that will put

God in debt to us. Simply put, there's nothing we can do on our own, including baptism, that will fix our sin problem.

God had to fix this problem for us and it's the reason Jesus had to die.

But my statement in the intro really goes against the grain of Protestant thought.

This is because much of modern Protestant thought has been inherited from the 16th century reformers.

These men were reacting to the doctrinal positions of the Catholic Church and in their zeal to distance themselves from anything that might resemble earned salvation, they lumped baptism into the human works category.

The thinking was that if salvation was achieved by doing something, for example baptism, then this made the thing a work which amounted to earning salvation.

Therefore, they concluded that baptism belonged in a different category and had nothing to do with becoming a

Christian. But here's the fundamental flaw in their thinking and in modern thinking.

We confuse doing with earning. God's people have always had things they had to do to obtain

God's promises. For example, Noah had things to do to prepare for the flood.

However, Noah's tasks that he performed in preparing for the flood did not earn his salvation.

God saved Noah because God extended grace to him in the form of a warning and instruction.

Noah believed God, heeded God's warnings, and followed God's instructions.

The things Noah had to do to obtain God's promise, not drowning, were told to him as an act of favor from God.

Without God's warning and instruction, Noah and his family would have perished along with everyone else.

Noah didn't earn or deserve salvation because he built the ark.

Likewise, the Israelites had to do something in order to conquer Jericho.

They marched around the walls just as God commanded, but this didn't earn them the military victory.

God gave them the city after they did the things he told them to do.

Without God's instructions and involvement, Israel would not have taken the city.

Israel didn't earn or deserve the victory. The overthrow of Jericho was a gift from God.

Such examples are numerous, but the point is always the same.

God's people have always had to do something to obtain God's promises.

This is not the same as saying they earned the promises.

Scripture never implies that people earned God's promises when they did what he told them to do.

A more accurate way to word the question that began this episode is, is there a work happening during baptism which results in salvation?

The question isn't whether baptism is a work. The question is who is doing work when a baptism is taking place.

It's God who is working in baptism. This is clearly stated in Ephesians.

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5 25 to 27. Who was washed with water?

The bride of Christ, which is the church. As we know, the church is composed of all

Christians. Who does the washing according to Ephesians chapter 5?

It's none other than Jesus. The Bible is clear that it's

Jesus who washes away our sins. He is the one who is working. The person being baptized is not doing this work, nor is the person performing the baptism.

Jesus is doing the work because only Jesus can take away sins. Of course, baptism is only valid when performed in faith.

To be immersed in water without putting trust in Jesus results in nothing more than getting wet.

It's not the water that does something to cleanse us, it's the work Jesus is performing while we are being immersed in water that matters.

Jesus is the agent who takes away our sins, not the water. Some people raise a valid point when they say if we have to do something, isn't this the same as the

Galatian heresy? False teachers fooled the Galatians saying the gospel wasn't enough to save people.

They taught that in addition to the gospel, Christians had to also undergo circumcision and keep the law of Moses.

You can read about this in Galatians chapter 5 and Acts chapter 15. Paul said that this teaching perverts the gospel and in fact is no gospel at all.

Some might argue that if baptism has anything to do with salvation, then this is the Galatian heresy all over again.

After all, baptism isn't, strictly speaking, part of the gospel. Therefore, if we say that we must be baptized to be saved, how is this not adding a requirement to the gospel?

This is a fair and valid question. In the next episode in the baptism series, we'll consider how baptism fits into the picture without being something that is an addition to the gospel.

In conclusion, baptism is a work, but the work that's being performed is done completely by God.

Immersion is not something we do to earn salvation. It's during immersion that God cleanses us of our sins and the

Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. Thanks for listening to the podcast.

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