What other errors does baptismal regeneration promote?

Alright, welcome. My name is Matt Slick and I wanted to discuss the issue of baptismal regeneration and what what other errors it brings into the church.

Recently, I had some conversations with two pretty knowledgeable members of the

Church of Christ and they were teaching that baptism was necessary for salvation.

Well, I got thinking about this and in my discussions with them, both of them,

I learned that, or it became more obvious I should say, that they denied other areas of theology that are important.

So I thought what I would do here is just go over some of the issues. There's an article on this on CARM, what other errors does baptismal regeneration promote.

And I have seven that I want to go through here. The first one is denial of justification by faith alone and Christ alone, but they include the baptismal ceremony instead.

The second one is denial of original sin. The third one, they deny total depravity, we'll get into that.

Deny federal headship. Deny the covenantal aspect of Christ's redemptive work in regard to the thief on the cross, that's very important.

Denial of God's election and predestination and denial of eternal security, we'll get into these.

So let me just kind of get to them right now. So denial of justification by faith alone and Christ alone, yet what they do is they include a ceremony for salvation.

So think about this, we are supposed to be justified before God by faith, and what they have is justification by faith and a ceremony.

Now they're going to say that baptism is the work of God, but look, a ceremony is anything that you do in space and time.

It's a religious rite. Circumcision is a ceremony. Baptism is a ceremony. So what they'll have is that the grace of God saves us, but in addition to that, we have to be baptized.

So it's God's grace plus something that they do, baptismal regeneration, the baptism.

What does the Bible say about our justification? It says in Romans 3 .28,

Romans 4 .1 -5, this is a very important set of scriptures here. Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but what is due.

But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 5 .1, Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith, etc.

Now they're going to say, well, baptism is not a work of the law. But the point I'm trying to make here is that we are not justified before God by faith or by God's grace and a ceremony that we have to decide to do.

Now think about this. What they're saying is that if they're baptized, it's a decision that they make.

So God's grace is there. They will have faith in God, but they're not yet saved. They have to be baptized in water.

So they're not justified by faith because you're justified by faith when you have faith. No, they're justified by faith when they get baptized.

So what they're doing is they're saying that they have to make the decision to be baptized. So therefore, their decision is what justifies them.

When they get baptized, when they decide to go through baptism, that's when salvation occurs for them.

Not when they have faith in God. Not when they have faith in what the work of Christ is. But when they have faith in their baptism.

Now I want to review this a little bit here. Romans 4 .1 -5 because it's important. It says in verse 3 that Abraham believed

God and was credited with righteousness. Now when Abraham believed God, it was before circumcision. It was before baptism.

And Paul goes on to say in verse 5, to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited with righteousness.

What Paul is clearly telling us is that faith alone is what saves us. It's not faith in a ceremony.

Not faith in anything that we do or works of righteousness as Titus 3 .5 says. So clearly we see that justification is by faith in Christ.

But what they're saying is that no, that's not the case. It's justification by faith when you get baptized in water.

But then it's not justification by faith when you have faith, when you believe. But when you go to a ceremony, when you decide to go to a ceremony, then and only then is the salvation a reality for you.

That's a problem, so they deny justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Alright, so here's another issue.

Original sin. Now there's some debate about what original sin is. Let me give you an understanding of it.

Original sin is the teaching that Adam's first sin, his original sin, what he did in the garden, is what brought sin to all of us.

His original sin resulted in our fallen nature. We can go to Ephesians 2 .3 for that. We are by nature children of wrath.

Romans 5 .12 says, I already went through Ephesians 2 .3.

We were by nature children of wrath. James 1 .15 says, Now, original sin is that teaching that Adam's first sin in the garden resulted in the fall of humankind and that we possess sinful natures.

Why is this important? Because what they'll say is in relationship to babies being baptized or not being baptized when babies die.

Because, you see, what they're going to teach is that no, we don't possess original sin and therefore babies don't need to be baptized because what they say is baptism is necessary for salvation.

Well, then what about babies who die without being baptized? Well, baptism is not necessary for them because they're not sinful.

They don't have a sinful nature. So they deny original sin. You see how this works? In other words, in order to uphold baptismal regeneration, they have to deny original sin and the effect of sin upon all the progeny, all the descendants of Adam.

And so this is called Pelagianism. Pelagianism is the heresy that we're born with a sinless nature that we're like Adam was.

That we are neither good, not bad, not fallen. Kind of a neutral state. And that we become sinners by sinning.

And it's been condemned by all councils throughout history. But no, the Church of Christ just holds to it.

They have to hold to it in their error. All right, let me get another one here. The issue of denial of total depravity.

Now, total depravity is not enjoyed, let's just say, by a lot of people.

But the teaching of total depravity is the doctrine that sin has touched all of what we are.

Our heart, soul, mind, body. Everything that we are is touched by sin. And because of that, we're not able to freely come to Christ because of what the

Scripture says. Let me read to you some of these things, and I'll put it on the screen there for you to take a look at.

The Scripture says that we're by nature children of wrath, Ephesians 2, 3. And that the unregenerate are deceitful,

Jeremiah 17, 9. Full of evil, Mark 7, 21 -23. Loves darkness rather than light,

John 3, 19. Cannot come to God on their own, John 6, 44.

Does not seek for God, Romans 3, 10 -12. Is helpless and ungodly,

Romans 5, 6. Is a slave of sin, Romans 6, 20 and John 8, 34. Cannot receive spiritual blessings, or spiritual things, excuse me.

That's 1 Corinthians 2, 14. They're dead in their sins, Ephesians 2, 1. And they are, as I said, by nature children of wrath,

Ephesians 2, 3. And they are at enmity with God, Ephesians 2, 15. Now, this is

Scripture. You can go check out the Scriptures all you want. Please do. If this is true, that we are in such a bad state, then it would also be true that God would appoint people to eternal life,

Acts 13, 48. Chooses who is holy and blameless, Ephesians 1, 4. Predestines us to adoption,

Ephesians 1, 5. Calls us according to His purpose, 2 Timothy 1, 9.

Chooses us for salvation, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. Grants the act of believing, Philippians 1, 29.

Works faith in the believer, John 6, 28 -29. Grants us repentance, 2

Timothy 2, 24 -25. Causes us to be born again, 1 Peter 1, 3.

Makes us born again, not by our will, but His will, John 1, 12 -13. Draws people to Himself, John 6, 44.

Grants that we come to Jesus, John 6, 65. Predestines us to salvation,

Romans 8, 29 -30. And He does all this according to His will, according to His purpose,

Ephesians 1, 11. Alright, now, a lot of people will balk at this.

They don't like this. But I have given you the scriptural references. And they're on the screen, and you can check them out.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because they deny this doctrine of total depravity. That we're affected by sin in all the areas of what we are.

Heart, soul, mind, and body. Because they'll deny that for the babies. They'll deny that that's how we're born. It's just another doctrine that they will deny.

A doctrine that is clearly taught in scripture. Alright, another one that they deny is something called federal headship.

Federal headship is an interesting doctrine. It is very biblical. I've written articles on it on CARM.

And federal headship is the teaching that the male represents the descendants. Not the female.

Now, think about this. Adam and Eve were in the garden. And Eve sinned first. And then she gave the fruit to Adam. And then he ate.

But the Bible says in Romans 5, 12. It says that sin entered the world through one man. Through Adam.

Not through Eve, even though she's the one who sinned first. Now, here are some verses that we use to support the idea, biblically, of federal headship.

And then we'll get into what the Church of Christ people do with it. Romans 5, 18. I recommend you read that in the

New American Standard Bible. I've done a lot of analysis on the Greek on that. And that's the best translation. Nevertheless, it says this.

So then, as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men. Even so, through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

1 Corinthians 15, 22 says, For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.

And Hebrews 7, verses 9 and 10. And so to speak, through Abraham even

Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes. For he was still in the loins of his father when

Melchizedek met him. So we see from these verses. Romans 5, 18. 1 Corinthians 15, 22.

And Hebrews 7, 9 and 10. We see what we call the doctrine of federal headship.

Where the male represents a descendant. Now this is a really interesting topic. And I could spend a whole lot of time on another video doing this.

But not for now. The reason I'm bringing this up is because they deny federal headship.

They deny that Christ is the one who represents us on that cross. Now this is important because it has ramifications.

He completely and totally represented us on the cross. Now this is going to relate to something else that we're going to get to.

Because we were crucified with Christ. Now this is going to tie into Romans 6. Because they often go to Romans 6.

And this is what they say. Romans 6, 4. We have been buried with him through baptism into his death.

And their argument is that this is where we put on Christ. Well they kind of go over to Galatians 3 .27 at that point.

Which says all those who have been baptized have been clothed with Christ. And that has to do with another topic.

But back to Romans 6, 4. They've been buried with him through baptism in Christ. But it doesn't say there that we're saved by baptism.

It does not say that baptism forgives us of our sins. This is important because we have to understand something about Romans 6, 6.

And Romans 6, 8. Because in Romans 6, 6. It says that we have been crucified with Jesus.

And in Romans 6, 8. It says that we have died with Christ. Now wait a minute.

How is it that we're crucified with Jesus? How is it that we died with Christ? Well we died with Christ 2 ,000 years ago.

We were crucified with Christ 2 ,000 years ago. That's what the text says. Now here's the question.

Are we going to say that with the baptismal regenerationist, the church of Christ people. Are they going to say that they died with Christ in their baptism?

Because that's something that they would have to answer the question. When do you die with Christ? Well when we get baptized. No, the

Bible says in Romans 6, 6 that we're crucified with Christ. That happened 2 ,000 years ago. How is it possible?

Because he's our federal head. He's our representative. Now they may say in one sense that he's our representative on the cross.

But they will deny the aspect of federal headship that necessitates his representation.

And there are logical ramifications to this. We talk about the issue of representation for who did he die for and things like that.

But we won't get into that now. Now here's another issue. The denial of the covenantal aspect of Christ's redemptive work regarding the thief on the cross.

This is important because they say that baptism is necessary for salvation. You have to be baptized to be saved. All right, they say this.

Well, what about the thief on the cross? I mean, he died. And he wasn't baptized.

And Jesus said that in Luke 23, 43, he said, you know, Truly, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.

Well, they'll say, no, the thief on the cross died under the first covenant, not the new covenant.

And therefore, he didn't have to get baptized. That's the main objection I've heard. Well, here's some bad news for you.

In Romans, excuse me, in Romans, in John 19, verses 31 through 33, it clearly tells us that the one who died first was

Jesus. Now put the text up there, of course. Jesus died first, and then they came and broke the legs of the thieves.

So what we have to understand is that according to Hebrews 9, 15 through 17, this is very important,

Hebrews 9, 15 through 17, the new covenant is ratified with the death of Christ.

Since Christ died before the thief on the cross, then the thief on the cross died inside the new covenant.

And therefore, according to their logic, they're thinking he would have to be baptized. But he was not baptized.

There's no record of him being baptized at all. And baptism of desire doesn't work because they say you had to be baptized in water by immersion in order to be saved.

Well, he wasn't baptized by water and immersion. Nothing in the scripture says so. So they're stuck.

They have to say that it was either an intentional baptism or that he would have got baptized already sometime in the past.

Nothing in scripture says either one. Or that he died under the first covenant, which is refuted by the word of God.

So they have a problem there. They deny the covenantal aspect and the truth of God's word in that respect.

Now, they also deny God's election and predestination. And the reason

I believe that they do this is because it places salvation in their own hands. Now, earlier I said that they do teach that we're saved by grace and faith.

But notice, when you have faith, you're not justified according to them. You're not saved according to them.

What happens is you have to be baptized. So you decide to be baptized. So your decision is what results in your salvation.

It's a man -centered humanistic idea. This is just one of the heresies that is prevalent in the church today.

The idea that our salvation is up to our wisdom, our ability, and our decisions. No. God is a sovereign king.

And they deny God's election, which is choosing people for salvation, and his predestination, bringing them into salvation.

Now, you may object. You say, you deny it also. Let me read some scriptures. And then you can go check them out on your own.

To be chosen for salvation. Ephesians 1, verses 4 and 5 just says, He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the kind intention of his will.

That's what it says. He chose us. He predestined us. That's election predestination. In Acts 9 .15,

Jesus is speaking. He says, Now, this is what the word of God says.

I know a lot of people don't like this teaching, but that's what it says. If that's what it says, that's what it says. Colossians 3 .12,

And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

And also Romans 8 .29 and 30, So, we see that God's election and predestination are taught in scripture.

Now, you can disagree with that, and that's okay, but you might want to check out what the word of God says about it and then reassess your position.

I certainly hope you do believe in it because that's what the scripture says. That's what it says. Now, they deny

God's election and predestination. Why? I think it comes down to this issue of the faith that they have in Christ is not sufficient in and of itself to save them.

But that they must choose when to activate the salvation work of God by choosing when to be baptized.

They then get baptized by their decision, and that's what activates the salvation work of God. So, therefore, it's not

God's choosing and predestination, but their own choice to bring themselves into that place of redemptive work by getting baptized.

And finally, I'm going to get into one more thing here, the denial of eternal security. Now, this is a debatable issue, and I hold to eternal security.

And I'm not going to get into this too deeply because I don't really want to do that right here. I have other videos

I'll probably end up doing on this. But the thing is that I have found that those who teach that you have to be baptized in order to be saved also teach that you can lose your salvation, that you're not secure in the work of Christ.

And I believe, again, that it's because or it's related to the issue of them teaching that you have to decide when to be baptized, decide what to do and when to do it.

And when you do that, that's when you're saved. So, salvation is largely dependent upon your action and your decision to participate in this thing we call baptism.

And so, if that's the case, well, then you can decide to leave the faith. You can decide to do bad things.

And you lose your faith by doing bad things, which means you would keep it by doing good things, which is a problem.

But nevertheless, I see that this is another common denominator with those who teach that you have to be baptized to be saved.

And I think that these seven things are problematic. And I've discovered that the—and

I think there's more, but this is good for now—that they deny justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

They deny original sin. They deny total depravity. They deny the full effect and necessity of federal headship.

They deny the covenantal aspect of Christ's redemptive work regarding the thief on the cross. They deny

God's election and predestination. And they deny eternal security.

All right. So, I hope this video has been informative. I hope that it makes sense. And we have the article where I've gone into this in more detail on CARM.

And you can go check it out. The URL will be down at the bottom of the screen. You can go look at it. And I hope that you've enjoyed the video.

I hope it's been informative. And may the Lord bless you. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us.

And we'll see if we can get to them. We get a lot of emails, but we'll try. So, there you go. May the Lord bless you. And we'll talk to you another time.