Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? 2/4

CARM

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

A covenant is a pact or an agreement between two or more parties and that is exactly what the Abrahamic covenant was.

00:06

God said to Abraham, I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come to be your

00:15

God and the God of your descendants after you, Genesis 17 verse 7. God later instructed

00:21

Abraham to circumcise not only every adult male but also to do this at 8 days old and this was a sign of the covenant,

00:30

Genesis 17 verses 9 -13. If the children were not circumcised, they were not considered to be under the promissory

00:39

Abrahamic covenant. This is why Moses' wife circumcised her son and threw the foreskin at Moses' feet in Exodus 4 verses 24 -25.

00:48

She knew the importance of the covenant between God and her children. But at the same time, we must understand that circumcision did not guarantee salvation to all who received it.

00:58

It was a right meant only for the people of God who were born into the family of God who were then the

01:04

Jews. Now I need to make one point really clear. Of course, young girls were not circumcised because they were counted in the father and in the males in the

01:15

Jewish system. Now an important question here is how is it possible for an infant to be entered into a covenant with God?

01:23

There could be a lot of different answers, but given the point remains, it's done. Infants were entered into a covenant relationship with God through their parents.

01:33

In the New Testament, circumcision is mentioned many times. But with respect to this topic, it is specifically mentioned in Colossians 2 verses 11 -12.

01:42

It says this, In him you were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with a circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, and raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

02:01

In these verses, baptism and circumcision are related. Baptism replaces the

02:07

Old Testament circumcision because 1. there was a new covenant in the communion supper, Luke 22 -20, and 2.

02:15

In circumcision there was a shedding of blood, but in baptism no blood is shed.

02:21

This is because the blood of Christ has been shed. And circumcision, which ultimately represented the shed blood of Christ in his covenant work of redemption, was a foreshadowing of Christ's work.

02:33

It was fulfilled on the cross, so therefore the physical act of circumcision and the shedding of blood is no longer necessary.

02:40

Now it has moved into the symbolic representation of the covenant sign in baptism. If you understand that baptism is a covenant sign, then you can see that it is a representation of the reality of Christ's circumcision of our hearts.

02:59

It is our outward proclamation of the inward spiritual blessing of regeneration.

03:05

It comes after faith, which is a gift from God, Romans 12 .3, and it is the work of God, John 6 .28.

03:14

Third, the Bible says that it is the gospel that saves. By this gospel you are saved,

03:20

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 .2. Also, Romans 1 .16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who would believe, first for the

03:33

Jews, then also for the Gentiles. Neither of these verses, which tells us what saves us, includes any mention of baptism.

03:43

We need to look more specifically at what is the gospel, because it is the gospel that saves us.

03:51

It is clearly taught that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as found in 1

03:59

Corinthians 15 .1 -4. Let me quote it to you. Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel

04:06

I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word

04:15

I preached to you, otherwise you have believed in vain. For what I received

04:20

I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

04:32

So, the gospel is defined here as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins, and baptism is not mentioned.

04:43

Now, Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize. He says this,

04:49

Look, I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you are baptized into my name.

04:59

Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.

05:06

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Now, that's 1

05:11

Corinthians 1, verses 14 -17. If baptism is necessary for salvation, then why did

05:19

Paul downplay it, and even exclude it from the description of what is required for salvation?

05:26

It is because baptism is not necessary for salvation. Now, additionally, you could look in Acts.

05:33

Peter was preaching the gospel, and people got saved, and then they were baptized. Check this out.

05:39

In Acts 10, verses 44 -46, it says this, While Peter was still speaking these words, the

05:47

Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the

05:55

Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising

06:02

God. Then Peter said, Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?

06:08

They have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

06:17

Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Now, these people were saved.

06:22

You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit was on the Gentiles, and they were speaking in tongues. Now, this is significant, because tongues is a gift from God given to the church.

06:34

It's given to the believers, not the unbelievers. You can see this in 1 Corinthians 14, verses 1 -5.

06:40

Just go check it out. Also, unbelievers do not praise God.

06:46

They cannot, because praise to the true God is a deep spiritual matter that is foreign to the unsaved.

06:54

Just check that out in 1 Corinthians 2 .14, which says the unbeliever cannot receive or understand spiritual things.

07:01

Therefore, the ones in Acts 10, 44 -48, who were speaking in tongues and praising

07:07

God are definitely saved, and they were saved before they were baptized.