66: Acts 2:38: An Inconvenient Truth Too Clear to Ignore

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.

The Meaning of Eis and the Forward-Pointing Sense in Acts 2:38

Some say Matthew 3 .11 and 12 .41 support the view that we're baptized because of forgiveness. A closer look challenges that. One Greek word has shaped how millions understand salvation. That Greek word is eis, transliterated as E-I-S.

It appears over 1 ,700 times in the New Testament and almost always points forward. It means into, unto, or toward. But in Acts 2 .38, some argue it means because of. That shift changes everything. If eis is causal, baptism follows forgiveness.

If it retains its normal meaning, baptism leads to forgiveness. The difference is massive, and the stakes couldn't be higher. It's an inconvenient truth for those who believe baptism has nothing to do with salvation, yet the text speaks with stubborn clarity.

This interpretive challenge highlights a crucial methodological point about Biblical interpretation. As Aaron Gallagher notes,.

One must be careful not to impose the meanings of the English preposition for onto the Greek preposition eis. Bill Mounts even states that, in his opinion, there is no reason ever to do an English word study anymore.

Mounts says, There is no approximation between English and Greek words. Therefore, in studying the English word, we are at best making an approximation of the Greek word.

This principle guides our examination of eis. We must understand it through Greek usage patterns, not English assumptions. In episode 62, we defined eis and showed that it always expresses forward motion or purpose.

In episode 64, we examined how A .T. Robertson and Julius Manti, driven by their denominational creeds, tried to redefine eis to support salvation before baptism. Their arguments have been completely refuted by leading scholars like Ralph Marcus, Edward Hobbes, Dan Wallace, J .C. Davis, and Everett Ferguson.

Still, proponents claim that a few verses support the causal theory. In this final episode about eis, we'll examine the two most common, Matthew 3 .11 and Matthew 12 .41 and see whether they really support the claim.

Matthew 3:11 and Mark 1:4 on Baptism for Repentance and Forgiveness

Matthew 3 .11 says, I baptize you with water for repentance. This is talking about John's baptism. And some argue that eis in Matthew 3 .11 means, because of. They claim people were baptized because they had already repented.

But Mark 1 .4, a parallel passage, shows us why this interpretation fails. Mark 1 .4 says John preached a baptism of repentance for, and that's the Greek word eis, for the forgiveness of sins. The word for translates eis, and it's the same Greek word found in Matthew 3 .11.

So here's the question. Does eis mean, because of, in Mark 1 .4? Did John baptize people because they had already received forgiveness? Well, that makes no sense. John called sinners to immersion precisely because they lacked forgiveness.

His baptism aimed at obtaining forgiveness, not celebrating forgiveness already received. Mark 1 .4 proves that eis points forward to a goal. John's baptism moved people toward forgiveness they didn't yet possess.

As an aside, this odd phrase, baptism of repentance, is grammatically ambiguous. Dan Wallace notes that Koine Greek genitives can be tricky to interpret precisely. He suggests staying non-committal in this translation, something similar to a baptism that is somehow related to forgiveness.

Ferguson captures this uncertainty more succinctly, calling it simply a repentance baptism. Anyway, back to the point. Because of Mark 1 .4, we can get more clarity on Matthew 3 .11. Matthew says John baptized with water for eis, repentance.

If eis points forward in Mark 1 .4, it points forward in Matthew 3 .11 as well. The same word carries the same meaning in both passages. Matthew 3 .11 means John baptized people toward repentance, not because they had already repented.

In John's ministry, baptism was the first step in turning to God. It marked the beginning of repentance, not its completion. This makes perfect sense in John's ministry. John called crowds of unrepentant people to the Jordan River.

He didn't baptize them because they had already changed. He baptized them to initiate a process of change. The parallel between Mark 1 .4 and Matthew 3 .11 is striking. Mark says baptism for forgiveness, which points toward what they lacked, and Matthew says a baptism for repentance, pointing toward what they needed to do.

Both passages show eis moving people toward something they didn't yet possess. But there's a key distinction. This pattern in John's ministry differs from later Christian baptism. In Christian practice, repentance comes immediately before baptism, but John's situation was different.

He was calling entire communities to begin the process of turning to God. For them, baptism launched repentance rather than following it. John's baptism was a doorway, not a destination. It launched the process of turning to God.

Stepping into the Jordan wasn't a celebration of repentance. It marked their first step toward turning to God. That's what eis almost always means. Movement toward a goal. Matthew 12 .41 is quoting Jesus when he talked about Jonah and his preaching to the people of Nineveh.

Matthew 12:41 and the Ninevites' Repentance at Jonah's Preaching

He said,. Proponents of the causal interpretation point to Matthew 12 .41 as their strongest evidence that eis can mean because of. In this verse, Jesus says the Ninevites repented at, and that word at there is the Greek word eis, they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

Since the Ninevites clearly repented because of Jonah's preaching, advocates argue this proves eis can have a causal meaning. If eis means because of in Matthew 12 .41, they contend, then it can mean because of in Acts 2 .38.

This argument deserves careful examination. Throughout this short series about eis, I've been saying eis usually points forward. Matthew 12 .41 shows why it doesn't always point forward. This instance of eis falls under BDAG's 10th definition with the heading, BDAG glosses eis under this 10th definition as at or in the face of.

Now the Ninevites clearly repented because of Jonah's preaching. The narrative makes it clear that they repented because of Jonah's preaching. No one disputes this fact. The book of Jonah tells us that God's prophet proclaimed judgment on the city.

The Ninevites heard his message and turned from their wickedness in response. The causal relationship between Jonah's preaching and their repentance is undeniable. However, we don't learn this causal relationship from the preposition eis itself.

The broader biblical narrative teaches us the cause and effect connection, not the grammar of Matthew 12 .41. When Jesus says the Ninevites repented at or eis the preaching of Jonah, he uses eis to describe their response when confronted with Jonah's message.

The preposition captures the moment of the encounter, not the reason for their action. For example, if I say we wept at the news of her passing, I describe when we wept, not why. That's a subtle but important distinction.

The preposition at identifies the response, in this case, not its cause. That's how eis works in Matthew 12 .41. The Ninevites repented when Jonah preached, but we don't learn this because eis means because of.

Bedag's definition of at or in the face of perfectly fits this context. The Ninevites repented when they came face to face with Jonah's proclamation. They repented upon hearing his message of judgment.

Let's test this. When we substitute a word's definition for the word itself, the sentence will maintain its sense and meaning. So let's apply this to Matthew 12 .41 using Bedag's definition in the face of, and we'll use a few other synonymous phrases.

So, again, replacing the word at with the definition of eis. They repented in the face of the preaching of Jonah. Here's a couple of synonymous phrases, phrases that are synonymous with in the face of.

They repented when faced with the preaching of Jonah. They repented upon hearing the preaching of Jonah. They repented when confronted with the preaching of Jonah. This conveys their immediate response to encountering the preaching, not a causal relationship.

Think of it as describing what happened when they met Jonah's message head on. The preposition conveys the immediacy of their repentance. The Ninevites didn't deliberate for weeks after hearing Jonah's message.

They repented right when they encountered his proclamation. This immediacy fits the biblical narrative perfectly. The book of Jonah describes swift, comprehensive repentance throughout the entire city.

This distinction matters greatly for understanding Acts 2 .38. If eis carried inherent causal meaning in Matthew 12 .41, we would expect to see that everywhere. But major lexicons reject this causal interpretation precisely because eis doesn't function that way in Greek.

The preposition describes orientation, direction, and response, never causation. In this context, the narrative provides the causal connection, while eis simply indicates how the people responded when confronted with the message.

The evidence is overwhelming. In over 1 ,700 New Testament uses, eis almost always points forward. Careful analysis of Robertson and Manti's claims, along with the supposed exceptions in Matthew 3 .11 and 12 .41, leads to one clear conclusion.

Acts 2:38 and the Call to Repentance and Baptism for Forgiveness

Eis keeps its normal, forward-pointing meaning in Acts 2 .38. The attempts to make eis causal have failed at every level. Linguistically, major lexicons reject the causal interpretation. Grammatically, context determines causation, not the preposition itself.

Historically, the early church understood Peter's command exactly as it reads, repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, not because of forgiveness already received. When Peter stood before that Pentecost crowd and commanded them to repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, he used language that pointed unmistakably forward.

The crowds had asked, what shall we do? Peter's answer was clear. Move toward forgiveness through repentance and baptism. This is an inconvenient truth that conflicts with many Protestant traditions. The battle over this one Greek word reveals something deeper than linguistic precision.

It highlights the challenge of setting aside deeply held traditions when they conflict with biblical evidence. The scholarly refutation of causal eis has been thorough. It was dismantled decades ago by leading scholars, yet some continue to hold to this interpretation.

This suggests the difficulty that arises when denominational understanding conflicts with exegetical findings. When we allow eis to carry its natural meaning, Peter's message becomes simple. Forgiveness awaits those who will respond to God's call through repentance and baptism.

The word eis has been pointing the way forward for two millennia. Perhaps it's time we stop trying to make it point backward.

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