Deception by Nuance
The Purpose of Baptism
Let me remind you of three passages of Scripture which you know by heart:
Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
If you are not deceived by Satan or his mouthpieces, that passage is easy to understand.
In English (NASV), there are two commands and two participles, which are verbs ending in “-ing,” which indicate something that occurs at the same time as the leading verb:
Command: “Go” – Technically, this is an aorist (past tense) participle, but its force is attached to the main verb: “make disciples.”
Command: “Make disciples.”
How? The two participles answer that question:
“Baptizing” – Present active participle
“Teaching” – Present active participle
So Jesus makes it clear that one is not a “disciple” or a “Christian” until he or she is baptized.
Passage number two – Mark 16:15-16:
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
Again, there are two commands (in NASV):
“Go” – Which, again, is an aorist participle which carries the force of the main verb:
“Preach” (the only imperative in Greek)
Then Jesus gives two conditions that are necessary for one “to be saved:”
Believe
Be baptized. Both these actions are aorist participles which happen at the same time, or before, the main verb. In this case, the main verb of the sentence is “shall be saved.” Therefore, the “believing” and “being baptized” must come before or at the same time as the main verb.
Passage number three – Acts 2:38:
“Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
You don’t need me to point out the Greek to you; the evidence of the text is easy enough to understand in the English. There are two commands in this verse: “Repent” and “let be baptized.” The purpose of baptism is equally clear: “for the forgiveness of sins.”
The expression “for the forgiveness of sins” is used times:
Mark 1:4
Luke 3:3 – both related to the purpose of John’s baptism
Matthew 26:28 – Christ’s blood was shed for forgiveness of sins (εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν in Greek; compare it to the same phrase below from Acts 2:38)
Luke 24:47 – repentance is for forgiveness of sins
Acts 2:38 – baptism is for forgiveness of sins (εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν)
There is not a single verse in the NT that discusses the theology of baptism that does not connect it to salvation. Whether the metaphor is circumcision (Col. 2:11-12) or clothing (Gal. 3:26-27) or washing (Acts 22:16). Baptism in water for the forgiveness of sins is intimately tied into the Gospel message. There is one verse which ties baptism to the church: 1 Cor. 12:13.
Now, here’s the “deception by nuance” that I’ve been building up to…
Because Protestants are influenced by their Protestantism more than the Bible (because they see Acts 16:31 as the standard “paradigm” for salvation), here’s how Satan is deceiving people through the mouths and pens of his spokesmen, and I’m going to give you a few examples next time…
Protestants are glad, all day long, to say baptism is a symbol and baptism is an “initiatory rite” into the church and baptism is a “pledge,” but they adamantly deny it has anything to do with salvation or with being washed by the blood of Christ. That’s where you have to read or listen with discernment. As long as Protestants talk about baptism into the church, Satan is laughing in hell. Because he has motivated / influenced people to twist the Scriptures by nuance. He just doesn’t want anyone to understand that baptism is what puts you into Christ.
Here is the “plan of salvation” which Satan preaches through the mouths of his deceivers:
“He that believes (and is sincere) shall be saved and immediately must be baptized” (Mark 16:15).
Can someone be saved who twists the words of Jesus Christ? Is that not a perversion of the words of Jesus Christ? (2 Peter 3:16)
Then again, Satan twists the words of the inspired apostle Peter from Acts 2:38 to read:
“Repent for the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and immediately be baptized.”
Let me ask my original question again from several weeks ago: Can you be saved by obeying man?
Paul Holland