“But baptism is a ‘work’ and we are not saved by works…we are
saved by faith alone.”
First, we must consider what
the definition of a “work” is that we are using. If one defines baptism a
“work” then we must also label believing a “work”. We must also label repenting a
“work”. Believing and repenting are both things we must
DO as a prerequisite to salvation. They are both things
that require human action. Baptism is merely the last part of
that equation. James tells us he will show us his faith by what he does.
Even so faith, if it has
no works, is dead in itself. -James 2:17
It must be remembered that
although baptism is something we must do (like believing and repenting),
baptism is an act of faith, not a “work.” It must also be noted that the
one at “work” when we are baptized is God, not us. See Colossians 2:12. Just as we must report to the
hospital before a surgeon can operate on us, so too, we must “report to God’ in
the waters of baptism, submitting to God and claiming His promise so that our
sins will be forgiven. Just as it is the surgeon who is the one who is at
work when we are operated on, so too, it is God who is the one who is at
work when we undergo baptism.
Baptism is a
once-in-a-lifetime event. It is our birth (John
3:3-5). Baptism is not an on going process such as feeding the poor, or
clothing the homeless or offering sacrifices as they did under the Old
Covenant. Doing good deeds cannot earn us eternal life.
Baptism is a manifestation
of faith. It is not Man who is at work in baptism; it is God.
Baptism is not a “work of righteousness.” On the contrary,
if anything, it should be considered a work of UNrighteousness.
We are baptized because we are corrupt, unrighteous and spiritually dead
in sin. This is why we are buried with HIM into DEATH as
explained in Romans 6. It is the DEAD that are
buried, not the living.
But God has always measured
faith by our actions, as James 2:17-26 tells us:
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. But,
someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your
faith apart from works, and I by my works will
show you my faith. You believe
that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder. But do
you want to know, O foolish man, that faith apart from works is dead? Was not
Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar? Do you see how faith was working together
with his works, and by works faith was made
perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness, and he was called Friend of God. You
see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith
only; And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by
works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? For
as the body without a spirit is dead, so also
faith without works is dead.
Did
you catch that? There are many who teach one is saved by “faith alone,” but
there is only one place in the bible where the phrase “faith alone” is
found—James 2:24. And it states very plainly we are NOT saved
by faith alone!!!
“You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”
It is faith (or
belief) that causes us to respond to God’s Word--the Gospel message. It is faith in God’s
Word, that tells us Christ died in our place and rose again, that causes us to believe.
It is our belief in God’s Word that causes us to turn from our sins
and repent. It is our belief in God’s Word that causes us to
go into the water in repentance for the purpose of having our sins forgiven and
“washed away.” And it is in this manner that it can be said we
are saved by faith. If we believe God’s Word about His salvation plan and
respond accordingly, only then it can be said we are saved by our faith—because
it is faith that acts as the catalyst to our response (repentance
and baptism). If we do not believe, then we will not repent, nor
will we go down into the water for the purpose of having our sins
forgiven.
Even
Martin Luther, who coined the phrase "salvation by faith only",
understood that salvation by grace through faith did not preclude the necessity
of baptism:
In answer to the question, What does Baptism give?
What good is it? Luther replied in
his Small Catechism, “It gives the forgiveness of sins, redeems from death
and the Devil, gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, just as God's
words and promises declare.”
It must always be
emphasized that baptism is an act in which God works, not Man.
This happens through faith in God’s Word—His Son. In baptism we, the
dead, are joined with Christ into His death. Then, being united with Him
together in this death and burial, just as Christ arose from the dead, so too, He
brings us up, still unified as one, with Him to resurrected life.
Those that
have been misled into thinking baptism is a “work” and one only need say a
prayer to be saved, must realize that baptism is no more a “work” than is
saying the “sinner’s prayer” or “praying Jesus into your heart.”
Furthermore, it must be
clarified what is meant by the term, “work”. And we must define the
phrase-- “not saved by works” if we are going to debate it. Few would
argue the work of the cross saves us. However, no work
of ourselves can save us.
Only the work of God can do that. So in the argument –“we
are not saved by works…” it must be clarified that what is really meant
is-- “we are not saved by works of ourselves”. But the Word of God does not ascribe
baptism to that as being a work of man. The Scriptures credit baptism to
that as being the work of God. Accordingly, we ARE saved
by works—it’s just that the “work” isn’t ours; It’s the work of
God!
Colossians 2:12
and you were
buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith
in the working of God, who raised
him from the dead.
Aren’t
we saved by Faith Alone?— asked and
answered in 1840
Martin Luther himself was
often misunderstood and misrepresented by critics of baptism who oppose the
very Word of God they claim to uphold. Yet he clarified in
his writings exactly what he taught:
“For to be baptized in the
name of God is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore
although it is performed by human hands, it is nevertheless truly God's
own work…”
“…But as our would-be wise, new spirits assert that faith alone saves, and that works and external things avail nothing, we answer: It is true, indeed, that nothing in us is of any avail but faith, as we shall hear still further. But these blind guides are unwilling to see this, namely, that faith must have something which it believes, that is, of which it takes hold, and upon which it stands and rests. Thus faith clings to the water, and believes that it is Baptism, in which there is pure salvation and life; not through the water (as we have sufficiently stated), but through the fact that it is embodied in the Word and institution of God, and the name of God inheres in it. Now, if I believe this, what else is it than believing in God as in Him who has given and planted His Word into this ordinance, and proposes to us this external thing wherein we may apprehend such a treasure?
Now, they are so mad as to separate faith and that to which faith clings and is bound though it be something external. Yea, it shall and must be something external, that it may be apprehended by the senses, and understood and thereby be brought into the heart, as indeed the entire Gospel is an external, verbal preaching. In short, what God does and works in us He proposes to work through such external ordinances. Wherever, therefore, He speaks, yea, in whichever direction or by whatever means He speaks, thither faith must look, and to that it must hold. Now here we have the words: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. To what else do they refer than to Baptism, that is, to the water comprehended in God's ordinance? Hence it follows that whoever rejects Baptism rejects the Word of God, faith, and Christ, who directs us thither and binds us to Baptism.
In the third place since we have learned the great benefit and power of Baptism, let us see further who is the person that receives what Baptism gives and profits. This is again most beautifully and clearly expressed in the words: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. That is, faith alone makes the person worthy to receive profitably the saving, divine water. For, since these blessings are here presented and promised in the words in and with the water, they cannot be received in any other way than by believing them with the heart. Without faith it profits nothing, notwithstanding it is in itself a divine superabundant treasure. Therefore this single word (He that believeth) effects this much that it excludes and repels all works which we can do, in the opinion that we obtain and merit salvation by them. For it is determined that whatever is not faith avails nothing nor receives anything.
But if they say, as they are accustomed: Still Baptism is itself a work, and you say works are of no avail for salvation; what then, becomes of faith? Answer: Yes, our works, indeed, avail nothing for salvation; Baptism, however, is not our work, but God's (for, as was stated, you must put Christ-baptism far away from a bath-keeper's baptism). God's works, however, are saving and necessary for salvation, and do not exclude, but demand, faith; for without faith they could not be apprehended…”
“…Thus you see plainly that there is here no work done by us, but
a treasure which He gives us, and which faith apprehends; just as the
Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross is not a work, but a treasure comprehended in
the Word, and offered to us and received by faith. Therefore they do us
violence by exclaiming against us as though we preach against faith; while we
alone insist upon it as being of such necessity that without it nothing can be
received nor enjoyed.”
Submerging
beneath the surface of water and getting wet is not a “work”. The “work”
that is done in baptism is done by God, not by man. The “work” that is
done in baptism is the removal of the stain of sin from a person’s soul for
all eternity. The “work” that is done in baptism is the transference of a
sinner from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. The
“work” that is done in baptism is God taking a dead man and making him alive!
The “work” that is done in baptism is God taking the unrighteous and
declaring them righteous. The “work” that is done in baptism is God
clothing the sinner with the righteousness of Jesus. The “work” that is done
in baptism is God uniting together man’s spirit with Christ’s. And this could NEVER, EVER be accomplished by man! The miracle that
happens in baptism is not anything man does. It is something God Himself does
through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Again, baptism
is not our work, it is His!
In speaking about
marriage, Jesus said,
“So they are no longer
two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let
not man separate." –Matthew 19:6
The participants
of the wedding ceremony are no more credited with joining the man and the woman
together than are participants of baptism. God does not give such credit to
mere servants for this union, but reserves that honor for Himself--and rightly
so. Jesus sees marriage as something God does, not man. And so it is
with baptism.
Just as the Lord
tells us it is God Himself who is the one who does the joining in
marriage, so too, baptism is viewed in the same way. It is God
who joins us with Christ in baptism. This is a divine miracle and something
infinitely beyond human capability. In a similar sense, as a man and a woman
becoming united, we become united with Christ in the waters
of baptism. And in all of this, it is God who does the joining.
It is God who makes the two become one. That is how it is not only in
marriage, but in baptism as well. Just as marriage is a spiritual union
between a man and a woman that God gets the credit for, so too, baptism is a
spiritual union (between Christ and man) that God gets the credit for because
it is God who does the joining.
Ephesians
5:30-32
for we
are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
And Christ frequently portrayed
Himself as the Bridegroom. In the book of Revelation, the church is portrayed
as the bride. This indeed, is profound.
Key Point To Remember:
The Epistles (letters) are written to Christians, i.e.,
people who have already been baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3-5, 1Cor
12:13).
The Epistles contain instructions to Christians and give instructions on how to remain in Christ and
grow in Christ. The book of Acts gives examples
of people who are not Christians becoming Christians. This
is a great mistake many people make. They take instructions in the epistles on
faith and apply
them to conversion. But these verses do not relate to conversion, but to the converted. Once a person has been
baptized into Christ, all the passages about faith and grace
then apply.
In other words, once a person has been baptized into Christ,
it can be said their faith
is what continues to maintain their salvation.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he
lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. – Ephesians 1:7-8
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus Romans
8:1
The following e-mail was contributed by Jef
Lee:
I have found out baptism is NOT a work - by any definition.
Believing is!
John 6:28,29 KJV Then said they
unto him, "What shall we do, that we might
work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said unto them,
"This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
When one lists the step one must take to follow the example of those in
Acts, we see:
* Someone else must
preach the Gospel in my presence - Romans 10:14,15
* I must hear the Gospel
that is preached - same verses
* I must believe the
Gospel - Romans 10:16,17; Hebrews 11:6
* I must repent -Acts
17:30; Acts 2:38; Luke 13:3,5
* I must confess Jesus of
Nazareth, born of Mary to be the Son of God,
the Messiah - Romans 10:9
* Someone must baptize me
- Acts 2:38; etc.
Note that the first and last "steps" require someone else
"doing" something
to me. I do not baptize
myself. In fact, other than submitting
to the act,
I do nothing. Absolutely
nothing.
This is not semantic trickery.
It is basic English 101 (or Greek if you can
read it). We all read the
sentence from the blackboard, "The cat sat on the
mat." Even a six year old
child who was asked, "What did the mat do?",
would answer, "Nothing!"
If we change the sentence from "active voice" to
"passive voice", we get, "The mat was sat upon by the
cat." Again, "What
did the mat do?" Again,
"Nothing!"
The work is done by the baptizer not the baptizee. And to say that we are
NOT saved by the works others do, would be to deny the work Our Lord
did on
the cross.
Our submission to being baptized is a realization of the faith we have
in
God - James 2:22. No one would
deny that Abraham had great faith in God,
but until he went by faith into the wilderness and by faith proceeded
to
offer up Isaac, his faith had not been realized - seen to be real!
Why won't they see what God wants?
This page updated March 3, 2007