Marvin L. Weir
The majority of the denominational religious world has long contended that baptism (immersion) is not necessary for one to be saved. One reason, they so contend, is to “prop up” the false doctrine of salvation by “grace only!” In studying the Scriptures with people, we need to learn to hold their feet to the “proverbial fire.” Often times we allow people we are studying with to carry us through the entire Bible and countless other sources without staying with and parking on one single passage of Scripture. The Word of God (the Sacred Scriptures) demands an answer. A person must not be allowed to ignore or pretend that the Scriptures refuting their false position are not applicable to them or do not exist!
The Word of God does not disappear just because one wills it to be so! The Lord forcefully said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). What is difficult to understand about the teaching of this verse? The Lord also reminds those who will hear, saying, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
In 1 Peter 3:20-21, we read the statement of the Holy Spirit that says:
…that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: which also after a true likeness doth now save you, (even) baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The denominational religious world loudly declares that baptism (immersion) is not necessary for salvation; the Scriptures clearly teach that baptism does save. One would not need to go to any other verse of Scripture to prove the necessity of immersion being essential for salvation, but let us continue to avail ourselves of the instruction of God’s Word.
In Romans 6:4, baptism is referred to as a “burial,” and those who are raised from baptismal waters can and should “walk in newness of life.” Is it not important that this Scripture indicates that one is raised from the waters of baptism to “walk in newness of life?” Is it not amazing that the only Scripture in the Bible that describes how one puts on Christ is consistently ignored by those who are devoted to man-made doctrines derived from creed books? To the brethren at Galatia Paul proclaimed, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). To “put on Christ” is to become His child. Please take careful note that one is “baptized into Christ.” Upon completion of this act, it can be correctly stated that the obedient one has “put on Christ.” The apostle Paul further states, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, (he is) a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Bible truth is always easily and clearly seen. One cannot be “in Christ” unless he has “put on Christ.” Putting on Christ requires a “newness of life” that occurs only after baptism (Rom. 6:4). Salvation does not occur out of Christ; rather, salvation is “in Christ” (2 Tim. 2:10).
No gospel preacher has ever contended that the saving power of the Lord is found in the water. God has, however, chosen to use water throughout history to save man. The Israelites were saved from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army by the opening and closing of the Red Sea (Exo. 14:21-31). Noah and his family were saved by water which floated the ark during the global flood (Gen. 7-8; 1 Pet. 3:20). Naaman was saved from the horrible disease of leprosy by dipping in water the prescribed number of times God commanded (2 Kings 5:14-16). The blind man’s eyesight was completely restored when he obeyed the Lord’s command to go “wash in the pool of Siloam” (John 9:7). In none of these cases is the saving or healing power to be found in the water! The power to save is found in Jehovah God. Down through the history of mankind, God has chosen water as His instrument to save or heal people.
It is God’s choice, not man’s, to choose how to save people. Accepting this truth would dispense with any quibble regarding God’s plan of salvation. The steps in the Lord’s plan of salvation are clear and simple. A person must be a hearer of the Word of God. The Lord stated, “But he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these that hear the word of God, and do it.” One must be a believer as commanded by Jesus: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am (he), ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Christ taught his hearers that it is repent or perish (Luke 13:3). One who desires to be saved will also confess Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9). The final step in the Lord’s plan of salvation is baptism (immersion). Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus who had believed, repented, and been praying in the 9th chapter of Acts, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). It is absurd for people to suggest or argue that a person can be saved in their sins! The Lord adds those to His church who obey the gospel plan of salvation (Acts 2:47), and these children of God now have access to His blood and the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:5, 7).
Instead of attempting to “play God” and make void the obligation of baptism “for remission sins” (Acts 2:38), people would profit greatly by a careful study and acceptance of God’s Word which reveals that the faith that saves is an obedient faith! If the Holy Scriptures were as respected and revered as the creeds of men, no one of sound mind would misunderstand the Lord’s declaration to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
