Common Assaults on the Gospel
J. Hampton Keathley III
Baptismal regenerationists, as we might call them, are not simply promoting water baptism as an important responsibility for a believer in Christ. This position says that unless one is baptized with a view to salvation, i.e., unless he or she is trusting in baptism for salvation along with belief in Jesus Christ, he or she is lost. Simply believing in Jesus Christ does not save. Belief alone is not enough. In fact, some maintain, as I was once told by an advocate of this view, that even if you have been baptized, it has no value unless you were baptized with a view to salvation and trusting in the baptism to save you.
Water baptism is a ritual act that symbolizes a spiritual truth or reality. It is a public confession which portrays one’s faith in the person and work of Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit which joins the Christian into union with Christ and identifies him or her with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection unto new life. Baptism in water, a ritual, portrays that which is real, the baptism by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13).
The ritual itself cannot save, but the truth it represents does bring deliverance first from sin’s penalty through one’s faith in Christ, and then deliverance from the power of sin as one appropriates the power of Christ’s death and resurrection by faith (Rom. 6:1-14).
While some form of the word “believe” is found some 98 times in the gospel of John, it is tremendously significant that this gospel which is written that men might have eternal life and be saved (John 20:31) does not once mention baptism.
What about the Lord’s words to Nicodemus in John 3:5? Can the “water” refer to water baptism as an essential part of regeneration? Regarding this passage Ed Blum writes:
Various views are given to explain Jesus’ words about being born of water and the Spirit: (1) The “water” refers to the natural birth, and the “Spirit” to the birth from above. (2) The “water” refers to the Word of God (Eph. 5:26). (3) The “water” refers to baptism as an essential part of regeneration. (This view contradicts other Bible verses that make it clear that salvation is by faith alone; e.g., John 3:16, 36; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5.) (4) The “water” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). (5) The “water” refers to the repentance ministry of John the Baptist, and the “Spirit” refers to the application by the Holy Spirit of Christ to an individual.
The fifth view has the merit of historical propriety as well as theological acceptability. John the Baptist had stirred the nation by his ministry and stress on repentance (Matt. 3:1-6). “Water” would remind Nicodemus of the Baptist’s emphasis. So Jesus was saying that Nicodemus, in order to enter the kingdom, needed to turn to Him (repent) in order to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.24
But even if Blum is correct, repent, especially in view of the emphasis in John, is a synonym for believing in Christ.
Rather, it is better to understand that the Lord intended Nicodemus to think in terms of Old Testament passages like Ezekiel 36:25-27 and the cleansing and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The Greek has only one preposition with both nouns, “water” and “Spirit” connected by “and” (kai). We can translate “of water, even the Spirit.”
We have two parallel phrases which are genitive constructions in the Greek text: (a) “washing of regeneration” and (b) “renewing by the Holy Spirit.” “Regeneration” and “Holy Spirit” are both in the genitive case. There are several uses of the genitive case in Greek, but with nouns of action like washing and renewing, the noun in the genitive points to the thing to which the action is referred, either as subject or object of the verbal idea. Are washing and renewing objective genitives or subjective genitives? If subjective, they produce the action as is evidenced by the translation of the NASB and the NIV, “renewing/renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Paul is writing of a renewing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, and not vice versa, i.e., “a renewing which produces the Holy Spirit,” an obvious absurdity. Both of these clauses are preceded by only one preposition “by” (dia), and are connected by “and” (kai). This would suggest two things: (a) Because of the parallel arrangement, we would expect both genitives to be the same, either objective or subjective, and since the second phrase can only be a subjective genitive, “a renewal by the Holy Spirit,” so must the first, “a washing by regeneration.” (b) The “and” (kai) is ascensive or explicative meaning “even,” or “namely,” so that the second clause is a further explanation of the first. We could render it grammatically, “the washing produced by regeneration, even (or namely) the rebirth accomplished by the Holy Spirit.” Regeneration results in a spiritual cleansing, the forgiveness of sin and this is part of the rebirth work of the Holy Spirit.
This fits with Titus 3:5, “… by the washing produced by regeneration (rebirth), even the renewal by the Holy Spirit” (See below for an explanation of Titus 3:5).
Romans 4:1-12: Verses 1-6 clearly show how a man is justified by faith apart from human works. Then, in verses 7-12 Paul uses Old Testament circumcision to illustrate the fact salvation has always been the same in every age. Men of every age are saved by walking in the steps of Abraham. He shows that Old Testament saints were justified by faith alone before circumcision was ever instituted.
But the truly important principle is that circumcision is to the Old Testament believer what water baptism is to the New Testament believer. The following parallels are instructive:
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Physical, by a knife, by human agency, and visible to others. |
A sign of faith in God’s work, but not the means of salvation. |
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Physical, by water, by human agency, visible to others. |
A sign of faith in God’s work, but not the means of salvation. |
The point is, people are saved by faith alone apart from any kind of law, ritual, or ordinance.
Colossians 2:11-12. This passage also illustrates the above parallel. Circumcision in verse 11 is one “made without hands.” It is a spiritual work of God. It follows by the natural parallel that the baptism of verse 12 is the spiritual work of God, one made without hands. It is the baptism accomplished by the Holy Spirit of which water baptism is only a picture. The rite of circumcision of the Old Testament and the ordinance of baptism in the New Testament both illustrate the work of God for man through Jesus Christ. The rituals are only pictures of the real which alone saves through faith alone.
1 Corinthians 1:14-16. In this passage the Apostle somewhat de-emphasizes water baptism. The Apostle can hardly be said to have viewed baptism as indispensable to the gospel message. Not only was it his practice not to baptize his own converts, but he shows us here that water baptism as necessary for salvation is not a part of the gospel as is faith. The gospel message is that Jesus Christ, the God-man Savior, died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and we that can receive eternal life as a gift through faith. If baptism was necessary to be saved through the gospel, Paul could hardly have said “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, … ”
Ephesians 2:8-9. Baptism is clearly a human work that man does. Here the Apostle clearly declares that the basis of salvation is God’s grace through faith alone.
Titus 3:5. We should immediately be suspicious of an interpretation which understands the “washing” here to refer to any human ritual or work because of the emphasis of verse 5a. No mention is made here of faith perhaps because the emphasis is totally on what God has done rather than on any kind of religious or ritual work that man could possibly do-- including water baptism. Unfortunately, some see the words “washing of regeneration” as a reference to baptismal regeneration even though this context is prefaced by, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done … ” Can this refer to water baptism? Not on your life! Why?
The thief on the cross was saved by faith alone. He obviously could not be circumcised or baptized. The principle applies regardless of whether one wants to argue that he was still in the Old Testament economy. He was saved by faith alone. The corresponding ritual or ordinance for the Old Testament period was circumcision, yet the thief on the cross was neither circumcised nor baptized, but he did get saved.
First, there is a manuscript problem. The older and what many believe to be the better manuscripts do not contain verses 9-20. So there is some question as to whether these verse were a part of the original manuscript of Mark. First, it is theologically unsound to try to build a doctrine or support one on verses where there is a manuscript problem.
Second, assuming that these verses were a part of Mark’s gospel, does this passage teach that baptism is essential for salvation? Verse 16b, “but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” answers our question. It is the unbelief that results in condemnation, not the failure to be baptized. Furthermore, “baptized” could be a reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).
Water baptism is an evidence of one’s faith and a public testimony of what one believes. For this reason Mark included the concept of baptism with belief. But since it is not water baptism that saves, since belief is the issue, he quickly added the last half of verse 16.
First, we should recognize there are two possible grammatical ways this passage may be understood. The preposition “for” (Greek, eis) in the clause “for the forgiveness of your sins” can mean “with a view to, in order that,” (pointing to purpose), or it can mean “on the basis of, because of” (pointing to result) as it is used in Matthew 12:41, “they repented at (on the basis of, as a result of) the preaching of Jonah.” This simply shows that Acts 2:38 can mean “Repent, and each of you be baptized … as a result of the forgiveness of your sins … ” Rather than saying, “Repent and be baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins,” Peter was saying, “Repent, and on the basis of receiving forgiveness, be baptized.
Chafer/Walvoord have a good explanation of this difficult passage:
As previously mentioned, in Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, he included baptism along with belief as a way of salvation (Acts 2:38). It should be remembered that as baptism is mentioned in Scripture, sometimes it refers to real baptism, that is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which occurs at the moment of faith and in other cases to the ritual of water baptism. It is possible to take this verse in either sense. If it refers to real baptism, then Peter was saying that if the Jews believed and had this belief confirmed by being baptized into the body of Christ, they would be saved. Or if it refers to water baptism then Peter was saying that that ritual was an outward confirmation of their faith. In any case immediately afterward, Peter baptized 3,000 (v. 41), who were by this token publicly aligning themselves with Christ and indicating that they were leaving their former Jewish confidence in the Law.
For Jews to confess Christ publicly was a real problem because they often lost their families, their employment, and their wealth. For their faith to be confirmed by water baptism in this case made clear that they were genuinely saved. In any event ritual baptism does not save, and the reference to baptism in verse 38 does not suggest that water baptism was a requirement for salvation. The many instances in which faith is mentioned as a condition of salvation without reference to baptism should make this clear. Even Peter himself later said that forgiveness of sins is based on faith alone (10:43; 13:38-39).
In Acts 19 some Jews in Ephesus had been baptized by John the Baptist but had not put their trust in Christ. When they were informed that it was necessary for them to believe in Christ, the Scriptures recorded, “On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 5). This again makes clear that water baptism in itself does not save but is a token or evidence that a person has put his trust in Christ.26
There are two commands (Greek imperatives) in this verse, but only one brings about the removal of sin, “calling upon the name of the Lord,” i.e., telling God you believe and trusting in His Son. The sentence, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name” should, according to Greek grammar, be divided into separate clauses with a semicolon placed after “be baptized.” “Arise, be baptized (clause one); and wash away your sins by calling on the Name of the Lord” (clause two). Baptism cannot wash away one’s sins. It is calling on the Lord, telling God you believe in His Son which is simply a way of expressing one’s faith in Christ.
In this passage, Peter tells us that baptism is prefigured by the deliverance of Noah’s family by water (cf. 3:20). Saving by baptism, therefore, is symbolic here, not actual. Peter quickly adds two statements lest he be misunderstood. Salvation in this passage is not based upon water baptism, but upon “the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” It is not based upon “the putting away of the filth of the flesh.”
Common Assaults on the Gospel - J. Hampton Keathley III
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