Does Baptism Save?

Johnathan Arnold talks through his article "Does Baptism Save?" explaining four key points:

1. Baptism saves.
2. Baptism does not save automatically.
3. Baptism does not guarantee final salvation.
4. Baptism is not the only thing that saves.

Transcript

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Baptism does not save automatically. Baptism does not guarantee final salvation. And baptism is not the only means of salvation. These are all necessary qualifications. However, these are not the main things that Scripture or the church throughout history have said about baptism.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

You're listening to the Holy Joys Podcast, co-hosted by David Fry, David Hartkoff, and Jonathan Arnold. Visit us at holyjoys.org and stay tuned for weekly discussions of theology and ministry practice. All for a holy, happy church.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

So from time to time on the podcast, I talk through articles that I've written for Holy Joys. And today I'm going to talk through my article, which is simply titled, Does Baptism Save? And this is a question that I'm quite passionate about because I've been to a lot of baptism services in evangelical churches, where it seems like the uh most important thing that people want to say about baptism is that it doesn't save. So I've heard people say things like, now we don't believe that this baptism is going to save this person, or we don't believe that baptism saves. And then baptism ends up being reduced to basically a symbol of something that's already happened. And at best, a means of kind of like strengthening grace. So some people will say, you know, baptism is a means of grace, but if you really press them, what they mean is, well, person gets saved, born again, regenerated, then they get baptized as a symbol of that. And then maybe God gives them some, some, you know, strengthens their faith as a result of being baptized. And that's really the extent of their baptism theology. And so my my concern is that you know that falls really short of just kind of a historic Christian view of baptism, uh a historic Protestant view of baptism, a historic Wesleyan view of baptism. Uh, and so, you know, I believe ultimately falls short of a biblical doctrine of baptism. Um, but then there's also just this issue that that should be really obvious to any biblically literate Christian, which is this is not a biblical way of speaking. Um, so 1 Peter 3.21 explicitly says baptism now saves you. Yes, we need to explain what that does and doesn't mean, of course. Um, but nowhere do we see the Bible say baptism does not save you. We see it saying baptism saves you. So then to turn around and just the main thing we want to say is baptism doesn't save you, that's not a biblical way of speaking. It's not equipping somebody to then pick up their Bible and read it and really be familiar with the Bible's own way of speaking about baptism. Um, with all of that said, though, I share the broad concerns of the evangelical church uh to make sure that we aren't giving people false assurance that just because they're baptized, they are automatically saved and definitely going to heaven. And that's really what evangelicals are often pushing back against is this kind of uh view of baptism which makes it kind of the end all be all. So uh in this article, what I try to do is hold together four crucial truths about baptism with regard to salvation. Number one, yes, baptism saves. But number two, this is where the qualifications come in, baptism does not save automatically. Number three, baptism does not guarantee final salvation. And number four, baptism is not the only thing that saves. All right, so let's let's break that down. First, baptism saves. I've already mentioned God's word explicitly says this, baptism now saves you. First Peter 3 21. Uh, and then there's just a number of other scriptures that say the same thing in other ways. Uh Peter preached in Acts 2.38, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. Uh Acts 22, 16, Ananias told Paul, Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins. Um, and the Greek word that's translated as baptize means to wash. And in fact, there's places like in Hebrews uh chapter 9 where that same Greek word is just translated as washed. So it's literally rise and be washed and wash away your sins. So there's an external washing and an internal washing, and those two things are held together in the Bible. Uh, we are saved by grace through faith, absolutely. But the question is, how does that saving grace come to us? And the Bible teaches it's through ordinarily through certain means or channels. And one of the means or channels of God's saving grace is water baptism. So baptism is a means of saving grace. That's what we mean when we say baptism saves. Um, and so think of it, think of it like this. If God's saving grace is like water from heaven, then baptism is like a chute or a sliding board that God has ordained to channel his grace to us. And because God is free and sovereign, uh, I like to say he can dump out a bucket of water of saving grace from heaven and save anyone anytime by any means that he chooses, but he has ordained certain ordinary means through which to channel his grace to us, and baptism is one of those. So if we want to be saved, we should use all the means of grace that God has ordained. We should sit at the bottom of the sliding board. Uh the Westminster Shorter uh catechism teaches us this. Like if we want to be saved, we need to repent, we need to believe, and we need to make diligent use of all the means by which God has ordained to give us that saving grace. Um, it doesn't mean that our trust uh lies in the means itself, right? It's in God's grace, but that grace is extended to us through the channel. So it's very, very important. Um, in the New Testament, it is clear that where God usually meets people to save them is in the baptismal waters. And this is what Christians have believed for nearly 2,000 years, from the church fathers to the reformers. Um, you know, this may differ from a lot of people's experience today because of the way we practice baptism, uh, but we've got to start with what scripture teaches, and we've got to look at church history as uh for historical norms. John Wesley called baptism the ordinary means by which God forgives sins, and he called it the labor of regeneration. John Calvin said, quote, God regenerates us in baptism, engrafts us into the fellowship of his church, and makes us his by adoption. So I could go on and on, you know, with a hundred quotes from Irenaeus and Chrysostom and the Cappadocians and Augustine and Luther and Cranmer and you know every major theologian in church history that say this same thing because that's what the Bible teaches and what the church has always believed. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Uh, that's you know, the language of the Nicene Creed, which is taken directly from Acts and Ephesians. One baptism baptized for the forgiveness of sins. And so, you know, a lot of people have heard the kind of classical definition of baptism as an outward sign of an inward work, but a lot of people don't know what that actually has meant historically, and they've reduced it to mean a symbol of an inward work that's already done. But in church history, it means an outward sign through which an inward work may be done even right now. Okay, so no one should ever say just simply baptism doesn't save. It's it's a deeply unbiblical way of speaking, but more than that, it undermines baptism as a means of saving grace. And so it it really undermines people's confidence in a God-ordained means of grace. They they won't come then expecting for God to actually meet their need there. Whereas biblically, someone who wants to be saved, you know, seeks out baptism as an opportunity to meet God and receive his saving grace as a channel for that saving grace to flow to them. And we undermine what God has ordained when we just kind of flippantly, carelessly say baptism doesn't save. Now, with that said, and I think that's really foundational, I do think that what many evangelicals intend to say is something like baptism doesn't save automatically. In other words, this person who's coming to be baptized today, we don't believe that just by being baptized means they're gonna automatically be saved. Now, I would suggest a baptism service isn't the time to really be saying that, right? That that that's not, we don't um, you know, bring people to the baptismal waters with a thousand qualifications, because again, that's just undermining their faith and it's just not the time. But we do, as the church, need to recognize this second truth. Um, and I think this should be a part of catechesis that baptism doesn't save automatically. Just because someone has been washed with water in the name of the triune God does not mean that they have been born again. Simon the magician was baptized in Acts 8.13, and then Peter turns around pretty quickly and rebukes him, saying, I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Those are referring, you know, phrases that are referring to an unregenerate person. And I think just experience, pastoral experience confirms there are many people who've been baptized and then went on to show no signs of genuine faith and quickly fell away from Christ in the church. And so baptism saves as a means or channel of saving grace, but apart from faith, saving grace does not flow down the sliding board, so to speak, and regenerate the baptized. Uh, it's not enough for the work of baptism to be administered, because baptism does not save merely by the work worked or ex opera operato. Salvation is always by grace through faith, even in baptism. Uh, if a person is baptized with water, but resists the Holy Spirit, who's at work in baptism to stir up our faith and regenerate us, that person's not going to be born again. Uh, Peter says, baptism 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. So Ananias told Paul, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. Peter preached, repent and be baptized as an expression of repentance. So faith is necessary. This is why Thomas Cranmer, when he was defining a sacrament, drawing on the historic Christian tradition, emphasizes that baptism and the Lord's Supper, for that matter, are used by God to bring to life, strengthen, and confirm our faith. So I like to think about it like this preaching is the gospel heard. Baptism is the gospel seen and dramatized. Preaching is the gospel that we hear. Baptism is the same gospel, but seen and dramatized. When someone who is being drawn to Christ by the Holy Spirit comes to baptism, God has ordained to use baptism as an ordinary means to visibly show them his promise to cleanse them through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then in the baptismal waters to awaken true faith in their hearts and actually regenerate them. So no one should ever say, you know, baptism doesn't save, because that's a deeply unbiblical and ahistorical way of speaking. But it is appropriate to say in the right context, something like baptism doesn't save automatically, or baptism doesn't save apart from faith, or uh baptism doesn't save merely by the work worked, ex apre operato. But those qualifications, uh, those clarifications are really crucial. Um that brings me to my next point. Another crucial qualification is that not only does baptism not save automatically, it also doesn't guarantee final salvation. And maybe that's an even more pressing concern for a lot of evangelicals is, you know, people who are clearly not regenerate or at least by their life, you know, are bringing forth um the works of the flesh, you know, living a sinful life. But they think, oh, I'm gonna go to heaven when I die because I was baptized, you know, 10 years ago. Uh I prayed the sinner's prayer and got baptized, or maybe I was baptized as an infant, whatever. They're looking back to baptism as as if it was like a guaranteed ticket into heaven when they die. And so we do need to also recognize um baptism doesn't guarantee final salvation. Third, baptism doesn't guarantee final salvation. Just because someone has been washed with water in the name of the triune God does not mean that they will go to heaven if they die or inherit the new creation. And this logically follows from the previous point, right? If baptism doesn't automatically and always result in being born again, then those who are baptized cannot conclude on that basis alone that they will inherit the kingdom of God. And then as a Wesleyan, I also believe with many other Christians, it's possible for someone to be truly born again and then begin to resist the Holy Spirit and eventually destroy their faith and be lost. So, you know, even if someone is born again in baptism as a means of regenerating grace, uh received through faith, I believe it's still possible for them to ultimately fall away. Um, a really key text here is 1 Corinthians 10. Uh, when Paul wrote that all Israel was, quote, baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, but with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. He's writing to baptize Christians at Corinth, and he's warning them that past baptism isn't enough if there isn't persevering faith and obedience. So we need to make sure that we're not deceived. Someone who is baptized in the past, but does not now have genuine faith that works by love and expresses itself in a holy life will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. No one should assume that just because they were baptized, they will be saved at the final judgment. Perseverance is necessary. Uh, fourth and finally, baptism is not the only means of salvation. You know, some people resist the phrase baptism saves because they think that implies somehow, well, then if someone's not baptized, they're not saved. Um, but that doesn't logically follow. Just because we have one means of saving grace doesn't mean there aren't any other means of saving grace. Uh so remember the first point, right? Baptism is a singular means of saving grace, not the only one. It is one of several shoots or sliding boards, so-called, that God has ordained to channel the water of his grace to us. Preaching, prayer, and the Lord's Supper are also means of saving grace. So a person may hear the gospel, be born again, and then get baptized. And I think today, with the way many churches practice baptism, that's very common. Or a person may hear the gospel and be baptized without having saving faith, right? Um, they may, you know, be convinced of enough truth that they go forward for baptism, but when the Holy Spirit comes to them, they resist the Holy Spirit. They're not actually regenerated. But then sometime later, they take the Lord's Supper, and the Holy Spirit stirs up, you know, it works in their heart again, stirs up their faith. They yield to the Holy Spirit, and they're saved in that moment when the Holy Spirit uses the Lord's Supper to enliven their faith for the first time and unite them with Christ through participation in his body and blood and the bread and wine. So this is why um it's it's really kind of infinitely frustrating when people ignorantly dismiss the biblical teaching that baptism saves by saying, What about the thief on the cross? Uh I hear this more than anything else. Well, baptism can't save because what about the thief on the cross? So you know, think about this illustration. If I say there is milk in my fridge, it doesn't mean that the only people who drink milk are people who get it from my fridge, right? Of course not. There is also milk at other places, such as at the grocery store. But I still usually get it from my fridge. In the same way, saying baptism saves does not mean that the only people who are saved are the people who have been baptized, right? There is also saving grace extended through other means at other places, such as preaching. But the New Testament usually points to baptism as the place where regenerating grace is poured out by God. Baptism saves and the thief on the cross was saved without baptism. These two truths are not in conflict. Now, with this said, it is dangerous and sinful to conclude well, since it's possible to be saved apart from baptism, I don't need to be baptized. Right? There are a thousand reasons why that is a terrible and alarming conclusion, uh, but but two reasons I think rise to the surface. First, Christ ordained baptism and commanded it. So a person who simply chooses not to be baptized because, well, you can be saved other ways, is disobeying Jesus. Second, Christ authorized the church to administer baptism as a way to exercise the office of the keys and receive members into its visible fellowship. We see that in Matthew 16, 18 and John 20, 23, when read in light of the other biblical verses about baptism. To reject the church in its rightful exercise of the keys is to reject Christ Himself. So that the church is not infallible, but when the church is rightfully exercising the keys, which Christ entrusted to the church, then to reject that is to reject uh Christ. To reject the body is to reject the head. There is no ordinary possibility of salvation outside the visible church. That is universal Christian teaching from the earliest times. It's affirmed in the Protestant confessions, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Belgic Confession, and so on. I think the Westminster Confession says it really well. It perfectly holds together two truths. Number one, it says it is a great sin to condemn or neglect the ordinance of baptism. Number two, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed to baptism that no person can be regenerated or saved without it. Or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly or or automatically regenerated. So great summary of what we've um you know talked about in this article so far from one of the major classical Protestant confessions. This is basic Protestant teaching. All right. So baptism does not save automatically, baptism does not guarantee final salvation, and baptism is not the only means of salvation. These are all necessary qualifications. However, to come back to where we started, these are not the main things that scripture or the church throughout history have said about baptism. They're important things, they're necessary qualifications, they're not the main thing. The main thing is that, yes, baptism saves. And it's just as wrong and harmful to say baptism doesn't save. The person who comes to baptism sincerely can have confidence that God will give them the invisible spiritual grace that is signified. We must be careful that in our fear of giving people false assurance, which is a legitimate concern, we do not neglect baptism, reduce it to a mere symbol, or cause candidates for baptism to lose confidence because our call to baptism has died the death of a thousand qualifications. We need to speak biblically, we need to speak in historically Christian ways, and we need to speak with confidence that God gives what he promises and signifies. Baptism saves.

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