On Baptism
February 9, 2018
Do you want to know something crazy? These Lutheran people believe that baptism somehow actually saves you.
I mean, that's utterly ridiculous. Baptism is obviously a work that you do, and salvation is a gift, not something that you earn by your own works. Baptism is an act of obedience, done in front of witnesses to show that you're sincere in your faith; it is an outward sign of an inward change. Oh certainly there is great and beautiful symbolism involved: going down into the water is like dying with Christ, and coming back up is like being raised to life with Him. However beyond the public declaration of faith, there's nothing actually happening in this ritual.
Certainly not salvation.
I mean, if this were true, then there's an easy solution for those loved ones we want to be saved, but keep resisting: why can't we do a drive-by baptism? Say the words, splash on some water, and shazam! They're saved!
Also, what about the thief on the cross? We know he was saved, and he wasn't baptized.
And besides all that, I remember being baptized, and I felt no different coming out of the water than I did going in...I mean, besides being wet.
Of course, I do remember being a bit confused about why it was such a big deal. I was 10 years old at the time, and of COURSE I believed. Everyone on the shore watching knew I believed. So why did it matter so much? They were all so excited, so congratulatory. I even got a special baptism certificate. If it's just me being obedient, if it's just me confessing my faith, why all the hubbub? I'd confessed my faith plenty of times. I'd been obedient in many other things. What made this any different?
There were several times in my life, later on, that I contemplated being re-baptized. Several years ago I was THIS close to talking to my pastor about doing just that. I wanted to mark a change in my faith life - a re-dedication of sorts - and I believed it would be more meaningful if I was baptized as an adult. At 10 I believed, yes, but my belief still largely stemmed parents' faith. I don't remember why I didn't end up doing it. I think I just hesitated too long, and then the moment passed.
The point where I really started digging into baptism more was about a year ago, at my in-between church, when they announced they were doing a baptism service. The pastor expressed his take on baptism, part of which was that he specifically believed people joining a new church should be re-baptized. That, for some reason, rubbed me the wrong way. I agreed that perhaps baptism brought you into the Church universal, but somehow being baptized any time you switched churches...in my mind it took on the feel of more of an initiation rite, almost reminiscent of a hazing. While I didn't believe baptism actually saved you, I did think it must be more meaningful than this interpretation.
Indeed, I found that the Bible seems to make a big deal about baptism. It comes up a lot in the New Testament, and in the narratives there is a sort of urgency to it. People believed, and were immediately baptized, which is very different from what I'd seen and experienced. Usually a person would believe, and then at some undetermined point down the road would decide to be baptized. The Bible showed something different, and never once spoke of a re-baptism, so I rejected the baptism-when-joining-a-church idea, and left it at that.
The first time I ran head-long into this "baptism saves you" craziness that the Lutherans believe, I balked a bit, especially with the whole baptizing infants thing. Quite honestly, if I hadn't first been convinced that they had the proper approach to the Scriptures (allowing the text to say what it says, in its proper context, without imposing our presuppositions on it), and had great respect for their simple trust in what the Word says, I probably would have walked away and dismissed it all outright. However, I had determined to really search out and understand their doctrines, so I resisted the urge to run, and gave them the benefit of really trying to get a good grasp on why they believed such a thing.
I read about it, listened to several podcasts, and watched YouTube videos of people explaining this doctrine. There are tons of resources on the topic, and many many verses. I'll share a few here:
There is no way that I can go through and explain all of these verses, or answer every question, or convince you of my views - it is not my place, and that is not the purpose of this blog - but I will provide links to several good resources on the topic (here's an excellent one!), and more to the point, I'll confess what I now believe about baptism:
My baptism wasn't my work...it was God's. I was the passive recipient. In it He adopted me as His child, gave me His name, and applied to me - TO ME - His promise of salvation. The beauty of this truly is the amazing assurance of salvation it brings.
In the past, when I would have times of despair, I'd be worrying that I wasn't really a Christian after all, that when I'd prayed the "sinner's prayer" I hadn't been earnest enough, hadn't had faith strong enough, that somehow I'd get to the end and find out I'd let my relationship with God slip too much, and I'd be cast out. I'd often look inward, try to take my spiritual temperature if you will, to determine my standing with God. Or I'd look to my circumstances, and try to discern God's hand in my life as proof that I was still "in". When those things didn't line up well, or I'd find myself returning to a habitual sin, my assurance would be...not totally absent, but definitely shaky. I knew that God saved by grace, I knew that the cross paid the price and that I brought nothing to the table, but it was hard to find confidence that what Jesus did applied to me personally.
Baptism is immensely personal. It's external, it's physical, and God uses it as a means of saying, through the pastor, "I baptize YOU; I wash YOUR sins away." When I falter, when I question and doubt, it gives me certainty. I can ask myself, "Am I baptized? In that baptism, did God promise to save me? Does God ever lie?" In this way, my hope is not based upon the outward act itself, but rather the promise of God which was conferred upon me through the water and the Word.
My faith no longer clings to the words that I said to God , but rather to the words that He said to me. His words are faithful and true, efficacious and unchanging, and they will never pass away.
-M
PS: Some helpful links (I'll stick a few more on the To learn more... page):
Next post: On Worship
Do you want to know something crazy? These Lutheran people believe that baptism somehow actually saves you.
I mean, that's utterly ridiculous. Baptism is obviously a work that you do, and salvation is a gift, not something that you earn by your own works. Baptism is an act of obedience, done in front of witnesses to show that you're sincere in your faith; it is an outward sign of an inward change. Oh certainly there is great and beautiful symbolism involved: going down into the water is like dying with Christ, and coming back up is like being raised to life with Him. However beyond the public declaration of faith, there's nothing actually happening in this ritual.
Certainly not salvation.
I mean, if this were true, then there's an easy solution for those loved ones we want to be saved, but keep resisting: why can't we do a drive-by baptism? Say the words, splash on some water, and shazam! They're saved!
Also, what about the thief on the cross? We know he was saved, and he wasn't baptized.
And besides all that, I remember being baptized, and I felt no different coming out of the water than I did going in...I mean, besides being wet.
Of course, I do remember being a bit confused about why it was such a big deal. I was 10 years old at the time, and of COURSE I believed. Everyone on the shore watching knew I believed. So why did it matter so much? They were all so excited, so congratulatory. I even got a special baptism certificate. If it's just me being obedient, if it's just me confessing my faith, why all the hubbub? I'd confessed my faith plenty of times. I'd been obedient in many other things. What made this any different?
There were several times in my life, later on, that I contemplated being re-baptized. Several years ago I was THIS close to talking to my pastor about doing just that. I wanted to mark a change in my faith life - a re-dedication of sorts - and I believed it would be more meaningful if I was baptized as an adult. At 10 I believed, yes, but my belief still largely stemmed parents' faith. I don't remember why I didn't end up doing it. I think I just hesitated too long, and then the moment passed.
The point where I really started digging into baptism more was about a year ago, at my in-between church, when they announced they were doing a baptism service. The pastor expressed his take on baptism, part of which was that he specifically believed people joining a new church should be re-baptized. That, for some reason, rubbed me the wrong way. I agreed that perhaps baptism brought you into the Church universal, but somehow being baptized any time you switched churches...in my mind it took on the feel of more of an initiation rite, almost reminiscent of a hazing. While I didn't believe baptism actually saved you, I did think it must be more meaningful than this interpretation.
Indeed, I found that the Bible seems to make a big deal about baptism. It comes up a lot in the New Testament, and in the narratives there is a sort of urgency to it. People believed, and were immediately baptized, which is very different from what I'd seen and experienced. Usually a person would believe, and then at some undetermined point down the road would decide to be baptized. The Bible showed something different, and never once spoke of a re-baptism, so I rejected the baptism-when-joining-a-church idea, and left it at that.
The first time I ran head-long into this "baptism saves you" craziness that the Lutherans believe, I balked a bit, especially with the whole baptizing infants thing. Quite honestly, if I hadn't first been convinced that they had the proper approach to the Scriptures (allowing the text to say what it says, in its proper context, without imposing our presuppositions on it), and had great respect for their simple trust in what the Word says, I probably would have walked away and dismissed it all outright. However, I had determined to really search out and understand their doctrines, so I resisted the urge to run, and gave them the benefit of really trying to get a good grasp on why they believed such a thing.
I read about it, listened to several podcasts, and watched YouTube videos of people explaining this doctrine. There are tons of resources on the topic, and many many verses. I'll share a few here:
“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” - Acts 2:38–39
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
- Colossians 2:11–12
“Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
- Acts 22:16
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
- 1 Peter 3:21–22
“Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'”
- John 3:5
There is no way that I can go through and explain all of these verses, or answer every question, or convince you of my views - it is not my place, and that is not the purpose of this blog - but I will provide links to several good resources on the topic (here's an excellent one!), and more to the point, I'll confess what I now believe about baptism:
" First
What is Baptism?
Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.
Which is that word of God?
Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' (Matt. 28:19)
Second
What benefits does Baptism give?
It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
Which are these words and promises of God?
Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: 'Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' (Mark 16:16)
Third
How can water do such great things?
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: 'He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.' (Titus 3:5–8)
Fourth
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: 'We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.' (Rom. 6:4)"
-from Luther's Small Catechism
My baptism wasn't my work...it was God's. I was the passive recipient. In it He adopted me as His child, gave me His name, and applied to me - TO ME - His promise of salvation. The beauty of this truly is the amazing assurance of salvation it brings.
In the past, when I would have times of despair, I'd be worrying that I wasn't really a Christian after all, that when I'd prayed the "sinner's prayer" I hadn't been earnest enough, hadn't had faith strong enough, that somehow I'd get to the end and find out I'd let my relationship with God slip too much, and I'd be cast out. I'd often look inward, try to take my spiritual temperature if you will, to determine my standing with God. Or I'd look to my circumstances, and try to discern God's hand in my life as proof that I was still "in". When those things didn't line up well, or I'd find myself returning to a habitual sin, my assurance would be...not totally absent, but definitely shaky. I knew that God saved by grace, I knew that the cross paid the price and that I brought nothing to the table, but it was hard to find confidence that what Jesus did applied to me personally.
Baptism is immensely personal. It's external, it's physical, and God uses it as a means of saying, through the pastor, "I baptize YOU; I wash YOUR sins away." When I falter, when I question and doubt, it gives me certainty. I can ask myself, "Am I baptized? In that baptism, did God promise to save me? Does God ever lie?" In this way, my hope is not based upon the outward act itself, but rather the promise of God which was conferred upon me through the water and the Word.
My faith no longer clings to the words that I said to God , but rather to the words that He said to me. His words are faithful and true, efficacious and unchanging, and they will never pass away.
"Baptized in water,
Sealed by the Spirit,
Cleansed by the blood of Christ our King:
Heirs of salvation,
Trusting His promise,
Faithfully now God's praise we sing.
Baptized in water,
Sealed by the Spirit,
Dead in the tomb with Christ our King:
One with His rising,
Freed and forgiven,
Thankfully now God's praise we sing.
Baptized in water,
Sealed by the Spirit,
Marked with the sign of Christ our King:
Born of the Father,
We are His children,
Joyfully now God's praise we sing."
(Hymn #297 "Christian Worship")
-M
PS: Some helpful links (I'll stick a few more on the To learn more... page):
- How can you say it's God's work, not mine?
- Are you saying someone who hasn't been baptized can't be saved?
- How can you believe in baptizing babies?
- What is a "means of grace"?
- Why can't I baptize an unsuspecting person?
Next post: On Worship
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