Baptism for the Dead

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Always provocative, always biblical, always in that order. That's what we hope to do. Hope to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ and how he never compromised, and in light of his obeying the

Father's will, gladly running the race that was set before him, we, by his grace and the

Spirit's power, want to do the same thing. We would like to honor him with our lives. Since God is holy, we want to strive to be holy.

Well, what do I have today? I'm preaching through 1 Corinthians, and I think you know that because on Mondays you've been listening to the series on 1

Corinthians. Well we come to the passage today that talks about baptism on behalf of the dead.

Now the sermon that you'll hear about that probably in the weeks and months to come, since I think we're in chapter 10 or something like that, for Mondays, well,

I'm just thinking about all the different responses and all the different comments and all the different interpretations on baptism on behalf of the dead.

And so I wanted to talk about that in a Milko style versus Sunday morning pulpit, which is different unless it's a

Monday show, right? 1 Corinthians 15, 29, Paul says,

ESV, otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

So remember, in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, Paul is talking about the resurrection, specifically, if you go back to verse 12, the resurrection of human bodies.

And he's trying to tell them that the resurrection of human bodies is true, because go back to chapter 15, verses 3 and 4, you have the resurrection of Jesus's, for I deliver to you as of first importance what

I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the

Scriptures, and that he appeared, to Cephas then to the 12, etc., to the 500, James then

Paul. So Jesus's body was raised, there has to be a resurrection.

For whatever reason, people are not believing in the resurrection from the dead.

Maybe it is their neo -Platonic, dualistic hangover, where the body is really bad, but the soul is good, and so in the afterlife, we're not going to have this body incarcerating us any longer.

Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 15 says, now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Who knows why they were saying it? Today people don't want to believe in the resurrection of the dead, because that means you'll stand before God accountable for what you've said, what you've done, what you haven't said, what you haven't done.

And so now Paul is working through systematically, in verses 12 to 19 he says, well these are the negative implications, if there's no resurrection of the dead.

Then he goes to positive implications in verses 20 through 28, positive implications of that, and now it's almost like he continues, but it's maybe a little more on the negative side in the next several verses.

So back to the passage at hand, 1 Corinthians 15 29, baptism for the dead.

Now in my studies, I have come up with 42 options.

Some say 30 to 40, others have counted 42, I didn't count them all by the way, I just read somebody who said they counted them.

And let me give you a few of the options on this baptism for the dead, because I think it makes interesting radio, and what we're after is the frog out of my throat.

What I'm after on this radio show is for you to consider and ponder and think through biblical issues, and we want to do this in a very positive way today, but interesting way, that is, baptism on behalf of the dead.

So option one, I'm just distilling these down into the most maybe credible, the most interesting, the most, you know, the possible ones, the major options.

So you can always run off and find the crazy ones and the weird ones. Option one, actually baptizing people who are dead.

This is actually baptizing the dead bodies. Chrysostom talks about a bizarre procedure of some

Marcionite dissenters who baptized a person who had died without being baptized.

Now on some of these views like this one, if you think a person has to go to heaven by baptism, they have to be baptized to go to heaven.

I looked outside and saw the UPS truck and it distracted me, it made me discombobulated. Then, of course, we would understand why people would baptize someone who is dead, or living for that matter.

Right? So if you believe in baptismal regeneration, it's not by Christ's finished work and a reliance and trust and faith alone in Christ's life, death, burial, resurrection.

And if it's baptism to get to heaven and then you know somebody who's not baptized and they've died, well we feel sorry when our loved ones die, rightfully so.

We feel sorry when somebody else's loved ones die, rightfully so. And then to think, you know what, if you believe they're not going to heaven unless they've been baptized, we better quick do that now.

And so that first option is baptism actually for dead people.

The Marionites had a special ceremony and here was the ceremony of the Marionites.

Somebody, when they had died, they were laid on a table, laid on something that was raised up a little bit, so another person who was living could lay underneath it.

That is to say, you've got a table or a desk or something, lay the dead body on that. Some live person lays underneath, gets on the floor under the table, and then the leaders of the church say to the dead body, do you wish to be baptized?

Well, what do you think the response of the dead person is going to be? Well, you're right, nothing.

But the person who's underneath the dead body would grant consent to be baptized by saying, yes,

I wish to be baptized. Fascinating, isn't it? I have met

Roman Catholic nurses in Los Angeles in labor and delivery, and when they would wash the baby, they would realize, oh, this is a

Protestant baby, Baptistic baby, Muslim baby, Jewish baby, and they, when they would wash the babies and clean them, they would do their own little sprinkling.

Nobody would notice because they would say it just to themselves and to God, allegedly, baptize you in the name of the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as you were washing a baby and putting some water on their head and cleaning them off. Well, I don't agree with the practice, but I commend the people for their sincerity because if you think somebody's got to be baptized to get rid of original sin, and you're going to go hand this baby back to the parents again when they're discharged, and they're never going to get the baby baptized, then

I understand because theology—remember, no compromise, listeners—leads to methodology, and you can tell what somebody believes by what they do or what they don't believe by what they don't do.

And so those things are very—I mean,

I get it. Well, how does this relate to baptism for the dead? I've been in hospitals before, Roman Catholic Hospital here in town, and when

I was there with the family and their child died, their very small infant, I was given kind of secretly, so it wasn't very obvious.

The nurse came over and had something to hand to me, and it was in her hand, and her hand looked like a fist, but a little open, a little bigger because something was in her hand.

And so I was there and ministering, and the staff, by the way, was super great.

I could not commend the staff enough for their kindness, for their empathy, for their tears.

They loved this family, and they were nice to me too because, in essence, I was part of the family even though I was just the pastor.

And so we had to take the baby off of life support, and then they handed me—I opened my hand for this—it was a scallop shell, and it was a very nice scallop shell.

It was a perfect scallop shell, and I didn't really know what to do. Partly, I've been,

I'm upset, I'm up all night, here's this dear couple who's lost this baby, and it is an emotional drain.

After a while, you can't really talk, you can't really cry, you feel bad that you don't have any more tears left because,

I mean, this is a traumatic experience. Great staff, wonderful doctors, kind people.

And so this particular person, maybe it was because she was Roman Catholic, maybe because it was just a

Catholic hospital, she gave me the scallop shell, and I said, you know, what is this for?

Could you tell me, you know, why are you giving me this? And she said, she kind of leaned over closer to me and whispered, that's to baptize the baby.

And I said, oh, and I really thought these people were so kind and so nice here at this hospital.

It was St. Vincent's. I thought to myself, do you know what, I'm not going to blast her, this isn't the time nor the place or anything like that, this isn't

No Compromise Radio, this is grief, mourning, sadness. And I said, oh, do you know, thank you so much,

I really appreciate your sentiment, I'm so thankful. Well, the

Bible doesn't teach that you're to baptize babies, living or dead, and we're just going to entrust this little baby into the faithful hands of God, who does the right thing always.

And I'm just really thankful, but we're, we're Baptistic, you believe and then you're baptized. And I just want to say thank you, that was very kind of you, but no thanks.

And so there are people who, maybe they use this first and maybe they don't, would say let's baptize actually people that have died.

Option two, baptism for the dead, 1 Corinthians 15, 29, I think this is

MacArthur's view. What you would do is you would watch someone's life.

You watch a Christian's life, and let's say you're not a believer, and you would watch that person's life and how they lived and how they died.

Tertullian said it first, and Wesley, and then many others, Christians die well. And so you're an unbeliever, you watch somebody's life, you see their testimony, you listen to the confession of their faith, you see how they're different, you see what they live for, and then that particular

Christian person dies. And in light of you thinking about them, the

Spirit of God through the Word preached, illustrated by the person's life that you are watching, you in fact, the unbeliever, say,

I believe. That person lived a life consistent with the gospel,

I don't mean perfectly, but they were a righteous person, and that person drew me.

That person's life was such a great example, it influenced me, that I have now believed in the gospel through that testimony.

And so when you look at the passage again, it says in 1 Corinthians 15, 29, why then are they baptized for them, for their testimony?

And so that is an option, and it's a fine option. Option three is dead describes the person's condition when they weren't saved.

So we believe Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, dead in trespasses and sins, unbelievers spiritually are dead.

And so some would say that's what this means. Dead is a metaphor for what the believer was like before he or she was a believer.

So that is a pre -baptismal state of the person.

Option four, this is probably the most popular option, this is the option that the

Mormons would use and many others, it's called vicarious baptism. And when you read the passage on behalf of the dead or in place of the dead, this seems like the most natural view.

Some call it proxy baptism, and there is a mystery religion near the town of Eleusias by Corinth that did this kind of thing.

So we don't know if Paul is saying this is the baptism for the dead because of this, these people do it, we're not exactly sure.

We are sure of this, that the Bible does not teach baptismal regeneration.

We are positive that the people at Corinth who read this letter from Paul knew exactly what

Paul was talking about, because Paul doesn't give us a lot of info, and when Paul doesn't do that, well we know that they already knew, because Paul's not going to write some letter to make it confusing to the people.

We're talking now about proxy baptism, getting baptized on behalf of someone else.

Now remember, as you look at this passage, Paul isn't saying, I agree with this. Whatever this is, you look at the language of verse 29 and you don't see we's and us and our and I, you see what do people mean?

Why are people baptized on their behalf? Two times in verse 29, people. What about those people that do that?

Then in verse 30, he switches to why are we in danger every hour? I protest,

I fought, I gain, let us eat and drink, as he quotes the proverb later.

Right now, Paul is not saying this is what he believes. Some people are doing proxy baptisms as this option.

The thing that Paul is trying to stress, though, is in every one of these views, there is a resurrection implied.

Why do you baptize dead people? Why are you baptized for yourself? Why is there proxy baptism, vicarious baptism?

Every one of those leads you to the conclusion that there is a real resurrection. There's not a resurrection.

Why do any of that stuff? Because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, dust to dust, that's what it is.

So what I think Paul is doing, here's my particular option, Paul is saying, why do these pagans baptize by proxy or baptize the dead people on behalf of the dead if this resurrection isn't true?

Paul is strengthening his argument for resurrection from the dead. Paul is basically saying to the people who deny resurrection, chapter 15, verse 12, then why are people baptized for the dead?

If there's no resurrection, this isn't Paul's only argument, but he says, it's almost like in passing, if the resurrection isn't true, why are people baptized for the dead?

Even the pagans understand, yes, you stand before God. You stand before God after you die and there is an accounting.

And so pagans even get that. And again, you have to remember, Paul is not teaching salvation by baptism.

That's never been part of the New Testament, whether it's Ephesians chapter 2 or Romans 3 or Romans 4, for what does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due.

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

Paul doesn't say what they do is wrong, he's saying what they do shows you that they believe in the resurrection.

What do people mean? Why are people baptized? That is not an endorsement.

A councilman said, the ingenuity of the exegetes with this passage has run riot. I don't really care what your view is, as long as your view does not spill over into you have to be baptized to go to heaven.

Now these days, there's baptism for the dead in the news. Why would that be? Well, because Mitt Romney is a

Mormon who's running for the presidency. Maybe he will already be president or not be president by the time the show airs,

I don't know. But I looked at mormontopics .org, an official

LDS site, and this is what it says about this baptismal practice for the dead.

God has provided a way for everyone to receive and accept baptism, even if they did not have an opportunity.

Jesus taught that baptism is an essential gateway to heaven, see John 3 .5. Say what? This often prompts the age -old question of what happens to the billions of people who have never had that opportunity?

Mormons believe that the answer lies in the doctrine of baptism for the dead, a practice of the early Christians, see 1

Corinthians 15 .29, but lost to the modern Christian world. For those who have died without the opportunity to hear, understand, and accept the full gospel of Jesus Christ, proxy baptism offers the opportunity of eternal life with God.

Baptisms for the dead are an indication of God's love for all his children. A proxy baptism is an offering only.

Now listen to this Pelagianism. Such a gesture cannot make a person a member of any particular church or a

Christian in the next life. A person who has died retains the right in the next life to make choices and is free to accept or reject the baptism.

So you want to know what they do in Mormon temples? Well they do a lot of things, including proxy baptism.

I don't know if you know this. Here's a secret. Here's a secret about Tuesday Chi, Pastor Steve. He was a

Mormon, that's no secret. He was baptized on behalf of the dead 25 times. 25 times.

Dr. Harry Ironside wrote a book called Random Reminiscences, and he was talking to a young Mormon elder, and that young Mormon elder talked about a wealthy lady who was baptized in Salt Lake City over 30 ,000 times for other people.

Now she paid a sum of money for each one of those baptisms. Now see, her heart was, part of her heart was,

I want to have people who have died without Christ go to heaven. And so she got baptized for 30 ,000 people, including

Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and Napoleon. Then the elder said to Ironside, who recorded it in his book,

I believe in the day of judgment it will be proven that this lady, though being baptized, through being baptized for the dead, has saved more souls through being baptized for the dead than Jesus Christ.

Amazing. I know that's amazing. So what's the practical ramifications here about this whole verse?

In light of the current situation with the presidency and who will be president, people say, well, how can you vote for someone who believes in baptism for the dead?

I think that's a fair question. Here's the thing with Mormons. Mormons think there's a resurrection.

Mormons live in light of a day of accounting. Mormons have a moral right and wrong meter, as it were.

As MacArthur said, you have the Democratic Party's platform. These days it resembles

Romans chapter 1. And if you don't know the difference between right and wrong, Romans 13 would say you can't govern because that's what

Romans is declaring there, that the government does what?

It rewards what is good, right? You'll receive approval, Romans 13, 3, if you do what is good, for it is

God's servant, that is the government, for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is a servant of God, an avenger who carries out

God's wrath on the wrongdoer, Romans 13. So if you don't know the difference between right or wrong, you can't govern.

And that's basically with the party of killing babies in the womb and making homosexual marriage part of their platform.

I'm not talking about every grassroots Democrat, but I'm talking at the high level. You've got those guys there, and gals, and then you say, well, but I can't vote for a

Mormon because he believes in secret underwear and baptism for the dead.

Well, I would say that at least the Mormons have the idea that there's going to be a resurrection, and so that shouldn't,

I think that's just kind of a canard. That's what we don't understand proxy baptism and what it means, and it seems too weird.

So how can I vote for a Mormon? Generally, I would rather live next door to a moralist than I would a licentious person, a person who is a helter -skelter follower with Manson's followers.

And so here, while we're not asking our president to have elder qualifications according to 1

Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 1, I do want somebody in the White House who knows the difference between right or wrong.

And it seems like the incumbent party has no idea what the difference is between right or wrong, and I think if you trace it back, you'll trace it back to their theology.

I, of course, am not endorsing any candidate here today, but I'm answering the question.

Could you vote for somebody who believes in baptism for the dead? I think the answer should be yes, because they realize that there's a day of accounting, a day of standing before God for everything that's done, right or wrong, and deeds in the body.

2 Corinthians 5, verse 10. I'm not saying Mormons are Christians. They need to repent and believe in the

Bible's Jesus, Jesus of the Bible. It's the wrong gospel that they believe in, the wrong source of revelation they believe in.

It has nothing to do with salvation. It has to do with people baptized on behalf of the dead.

Why? Because they know the resurrection is coming. Raised up bodies, united with the soul, standing before God on judgment day.

And the only way you can stand that day is if you're covered in the righteous cloak of Christ Jesus and His righteousness based on His life, death, confirmed by His resurrection.

Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.