Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Greetings…

Over the last year we have been studying through the theme “Fundamentals” with our theme verse being 1 Peter 2:2.

1 Peter 2:2 (ESV)

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation

Several weeks ago, as you all know, we started studying the “subcategory” “God’s Plan of Salvation” and up to this point we have examined the necessity of…

God’s Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Studying God’s Word (Romans 10:17).

Becoming A Believer in God, one who has faith in God, and one willing to be faithful to God (Hebrews 11:6).

Counting The Cost (Luke 14:25-33) and Repentance (Acts 17:30).

Confessing Jesus As Lord (Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9-10).

As we noticed last week concerning Salvation By Baptism…

Jesus declared “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).

Peter declared one must “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins to take place (Acts 2:38).

Ananias told Paul, that he needed to be baptized to have his sins “washed away” (Acts 22:16).

Peter later stated, “baptism now saves us” (1 Peter 3:15).

So the question then arises why is there any controversy and as you all know the answer is with man.

Man has always striven to try and make God’s simple word more complicated to fit “his/her” narrative and where salvation is concerned there is no difference, especially wherein baptism is concerned.

So today, we are going to be looking at the most common arguments against baptism necessity in salvation.

With that in mind let’s examine our lesson for today.

The Good Conscious Arguments

The Argument.

There are those that take the clear and undeniable reality of what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:21 and try and muddy it up.

1 Peter 3:21 (ESV)

21 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

1 Peter 3:21 (KJV 1900)

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:

The argument.

“But, water did not save Noah.

This is why Peter excludes the issue of water baptism being the thing that saves us because he says, "not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God."

Peter says that it is not the application of water that saves us but a pledge of the good conscience.” 1

In other words, it’s a clear conscience that saves us not immersion in water.

Does this argument hold water, let’s examine it further biblically.

The Argument Under Review.

First, just because someone has a “clear conscience” doesn’t mean they are saved.

Remember what Paul said about himself before he was saved in Acts 23:1.

Secondly, and maybe most importantly, it makes no logical or reasonable sense to say, in essence, “I know the text says baptism saves us but that isn’t what it means.”

If I’ve heard that once I’ve heard it a thousand times concerning any number of biblical texts.

The once saved always saved often comment on Galatians 5:4 with, “I know Paul says we can fall from grace in Galatians 5:4 but that isn’t what it means.”

Thirdly, the word “answer or appeal” in “an appeal to God for a good conscience” in the Greek is ἐπερώτημα.

The word means…

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (ἐπ-ερώτημα)

“As the terms of inquiry and demand often include the idea of desire, the word thus gets the signification of earnest seeking, i. e. a craving, an intense desire (so ἐπερωτᾶν εἴς τι, to long for something”

Because the word answer or appeal means this there have been many statements concerning this verse, notice three of them.

The following quotes are by those that say baptism is not necessary for salvation, however look at each of them carefully.

“baptism is an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” 2

“Baptism does not confer physical cleansing but saves as a request for forgiveness” 3

“Baptism is the craving for a clear conscience toward God.” 4

Now I’m sure you picked up on what I did, each of these quotes cannot help but point to the fact that the “clear conscience” comes after the baptism.

Summary

This verse alone, in all reality, proves baptism saves us because that is what it says and even those that doubt this cannot help but admit it, even if they don’t think they are.

Let’s look at the next argument which is…

The Works Argument

The Argument.

Baptism originally was removed, by some, as necessary for salvation because they bought into the idea of “faith only” saving.

The argument goes something like this, “Because we are not saved by works but by grace baptism cannot be necessary to salvation or a part of one having there sins removed.”

Again, does this argument hold up?

The Argument Under Review.

First, we have already discussed how Ephesians 2:8 doesn’t eliminate baptism simply because it is a work.

Let’s look again at Ephesians 2:8-9.

There is no doubt that personal works i.e., human works of “merit” cannot save us.

There is nothing we can do to “earn our salvation” by way of being “good enough.”

However, we are expected to do “spiritual works” for our salvation which are considered the “works of God.”

This is why God tells us to “work out our own salvation.”

Because all of God’s plan of salvation is a spiritual work.

Remember Jesus called believing in him a “work.”

That brings me to my second point in this argument which is, baptism is the only aspect of God’s plan of salvation that we literally do nothing but rather have it done to us.

Belief and faith requires us to “do something” i.e., investigate and study God’s word (Hebrews 11:1; Romans 10:17).

Repentance requires us to “do something” i.e., turn away from sin and turn to God (Acts 3:19).

Confession requires us to “do something” i.e., physically communicate to others about our Lord (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 10:32).

To be baptized requires someone else “do something” to us.

Luke 3:7 (ESV)

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Matthew 3:14 (ESV)

14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

1 Corinthians 1:16 (ESV)

16 I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.

Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.

Summary

Therefore, not only does the “baptism is a work” not hold water as every other aspect of God’s plan of salvation is considered a work of God but it is literally the only thing done to us instead of us doing.

That brings me to our last argument for today…

Spirit Not Water Argument

The Argument.

There are those in “Christendom” that are honest enough to realize that baptism is actually necessary to do in order for one to have their sins washed away, removed, forgiven.

However, they once again stop short of biblical immersion by saying it is not water baptism that takes place but rather “Holy Spirit” baptism.

Can this be the case?

The Argument Under Review.

Let’s read Romans 6:3-5 now.

Romans 6:3–5 (ESV)

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 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.

Now here is the issue with the “spirit not water” argument and that is that whatever we are baptized or immersed “into” we must also “come out of.”

Why is this significant?

Because if we are baptized or immersed “into the Holy Spirit” and then are “raised out of the Holy Spirit” we have a problem because of what Paul would say later in Romans 8:9.

If we are raised “out of the Holy Spirit” then we no longer have the Holy Spirit and Christ does not belong to us.

Not only that but we have plenty of passages that demonstrate “water” is the mode which we will look at next week.

For now we will look at just one from the book of Acts.

Acts 8:34–36 (NKJV)

34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.