Does Baptism Save?

Introduction

We finally come to the last rebuttal the Paul anticipates from the Jews. These Jews would argue that circumcision as entrance into the covenant people of God should grant them mercy. In fact Rabbinic teaching at the time said: ‘Circumcised men do not descend into Gehenna,’ and ‘Circumcision will deliver Israel from Gehenna. Paul’s answer is that the heart is more important that the flesh. This message I am going to approach the text a little differently than normal. Circumcision is not really an issue that we struggle with in our churches here in America and yet I believe this passage has something to say about the churches in America. So I am going to follow the pattern of the Puritans of old and teach the meaning of the text first and then draw the message to one single application in the second half of the message.

The Meaning of the text

Many of us as adults are familiar with what circumcision is, but for those who aren’t I will just say that circumcision is a physical surgery performed on babies. Back in the day only Jews got circumcised and so it was a sign that they belonged to God. Nowadays people get circumcised for health reasons; so it has lost its association.

The act of circumcision was a physical sign that they were part of God’s covenant people. A covenant is a relationship based on promises. Back in

Genesis 17:10–12 “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.”

Circumcision acted as the sign and seal of his faith Romans 4:11 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:”

Sign- it is called a sign because the outward ceremony is supposed to reflect an inward relationship. It is a sign to people that I am one of his people, I belong to him.

Seal- It is also called a seal. When you hear this term think of a seal on a letter. It is like the final statement of identification with someone. It is a statement that this letter belongs to the person it is sealed by. Back in the day, people would place a piece of hot wax on a letter and then press their signet ring into the wax leaving their mark. The mark showed the authenticity of the letter. Circumcision was a public statement of their identification with Yahweh.

With that background information we are going to take a look verse by verse at what Paul is saying here:

Romans 2:25 “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.”

Paul here declares, yes circumcision is of value if you also keep the law. Later in Galatians 5:3 “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.” Paul would teach to Gentile believers that if you are going to be circumcised then you have an obligation to keep the whole law. Circumcision was a statement that they would keep the covenant given to them by God. It was associated with the Old covenant which Paul declares could never save. Only perfection could allow you to escape God’s judgment. If you don’t keep the whole law, you are just like an uncircumcised Gentile.

Romans 2:26 “Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?” Paul returns to an argument that he has talked about earlier in the passage, if the Gentile show their faith by their obedience to the law shouldn’t they be treated as the Jews are. His argument is that judgment is based on performance not circumcision.

Romans 2:27 “And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?” This would have upset the Jew who thought that they would one day stand in judgment of the world. Paul says these Gentile Christians who manifest their faith by their obedience will judge you. I don’t believe the word by is the best translation of this word here. The Jews were not breaking the law by keeping the law. I believe the word actually means in spite of. In spite of their advantage of having the law and circumcision, they still didn’t keep the law and were guilty.

Romans 2:28 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:” Vs 28-29 are the capstone of Paul’s argument. Being a Jew is not about outward ceremonies or signs. It isn’t about a cutting of some piece of flesh. Paul gives us four descriptions of the true Jew.

1. Inwardly- Here he comes back to his argument that a true Jew is one who is one inwardly. This wan’t something new to the Jews. God had often told them this exact truth in the OT. It isn’t something you can see with human eyes perse. You can’t tell a Christian because he wears a big old cross around his neck or gets a religious tattoo.

2. heart- It isn’t seen in the flesh because it is a matter of the heart. Leviticus 26:41 “And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:” Deuteronomy 10:16 “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.”

3. effected by the Spirit- God declared in Deuteronomy 30:6 “And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” that only he could circumcise their hearts. This work is done by the Spirit of God in your life. You can’t save yourself. God’s spirit must do that work of redemption in your heart. Romans 7:6 “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”

4. God’s approval not men’s- Matthew 6:2–4 “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” A lot of people believe that the evidence of God’s approval is found in the recognition of men. If men see what you do, then God must be pleased. If my church is big enough then God must be blessing me and approving what I am doing. The temptation is to do things on the outside that draws the attention of other people. One might be tempted to be circumcised as a sign of pride. Jews definitely looked on their circumcision with pride and looked down on those who were not circumcised.

Let me tie all the teaching on circumcision in this passage together before we move on to the application. Paul is arguing that the Jews are still guilty before God because even though they are circumcised their hearts are far from God. What matters most is not some ceremony you received by the heart. Salvation does not come by doing some outward things, but by a heart circumcised by God.

The Application of the text

As I mentioned circumcision is not something we often struggle with in our churches, but there is an idea that has plagued churches even baptist churches for quite some time. Many believe that baptism is what saves them from hell.In preaching this message I am going to draw an analogy between the circumcision of the Jews and baptism today in the church because there is some scriptural support for some of a connection. There is a difference because circumcision dealt with a physical nation and baptism deals with a spiritual body, but there is some overlap.

Circumcision is different than baptism:

Old covenant/ new covenant

performed on children/ only on believers

Jews only (proselytes)/ christians of all ethnicities

Only males/ male and female

Paul does draw a connection between spiritual circumcision and spiritual baptism.

Colossians 2:11–12 “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Baptism for the church functions a lot like circumcision in Israel because it is also the sign and seal of our faith.

sign- Baptism symbolizes our death with Christ and our resurrection with him. This is a spiritual reality pictured by baptism as we go down into the waters, we reenact Christ’s death and as we come back up we picture Christ’s resurrection. Col 2:12 teaches this.

Seal- Baptism is also a seal of our relationship and commitment to walk with Christ. When you get baptised you are making a statement that you are a Christian and intend to obey and follow Christ.To show this I want us to look at one of the most controversial baptism passages which I will have to unpack. 1 Peter 3:21 “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:” In this passage Peter is talking about how Noah was delivered through the waters by the ark and draws an analogy to baptism. Here he claims that baptism saves us. There are a couple things to notice about this verse First, baptism is called a figure or a symbol. Baptism represents something that happens internally. Secondly, notice that the next few phrases are in parenthesis so lets take them out or a second and read the verse. Notice what Peter says actually saved us the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is a figure of the salvation we experience in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Third, the parenthesis are important because Peter is explaining what he means. This baptism is not the washing away of the filth of the flesh. It is not speaking about physical baptism in water but spirit baptism. He goes on to say that it is the answer or another word is a pledge of a good conscience toward God. Our baptism according to this verse is a symbol of a pledge that we make to walk with God in good conscience. It is thus both a sign and a seal of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

So let me draw the connection between Paul’s argument and our discussion about baptism this morning. Many believe that baptism is what saves them. I was speaking with someone recently about their becoming a Christian and never in the conversation did repentance and faith come up. Rather they said they got baptised at a certain age. Baptism is good but baptism does not save. Baptism is intended to be a sign and a seal of the salvation you already possess. Let’s turn to a few passages to show this truth:

Acts 8:35–37 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Acts 10:44–48 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

If baptism were merely a parallel of the Old Testament rite of circumcision it would not have to happen 'through faith' since infants did not take on circumcision 'through faith.' The reason the New Testament ordinance of baptism must be 'through faith' is that it represents not the Old Testament external ritual, but the New Testament, internal, spiritual experience of circumcision 'without hands.'

Those two words, 'through faith,' in verse 12 are the decisive, defining explanation of how we were buried with Christ in baptism and how we were raised with him in baptism: it was 'through faith.' And this is not something infants experience. Faith is a conscious experience of the heart yielding to the work of God. Infants are not capable of this, and therefore infants are not fit subjects of baptism, which is 'through faith'"- Piper

Much as Paul argues here your salvation is not about performing an act of baptism. It is a matter of the heart. Just like the Jews needed to be circumcised in heart; so we need to be cleansed in our hearts by the Spirit of God. It doesn’t matter is you have been going to church all your life. It doesn’t matter if your parents were Christians. It doesn’t matter if you were baptised at 10 years old. Salvation is a matter of faith in the heart.

Conclusion

So here is my challenge for you this morning. If you are depending on your baptism to get you to heaven; you are on your way to hell. Just like these Jews, you are inexcusable and are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Baptism is good but only if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ. The true Christian is one who is a christian in heart. I am pleading with you today to turn from depending on your baptism and come place your faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Heads bowed and eyes closed. Maybe you are sitting here thinking, Pastor Shirk, you’re right I have been trusting in the wrong thing all this time. Pray for me, I need to trust Christ alone for salvation. Would you raise your hand this morning. As the piano plays please come and talk to me so we can help you. If you have questions, we can help work through those as well.