SUMMARY AND PREVIEW

There are seven baptisms recorded in the word of God, but only “one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) “doth also now save us” (1Peter 3:21). Writing to the saints at Ephesus about how God called them to “the common salvation” (Jude 1:3), the apostle wrote: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). The “one baptism” is when the Lord Jesus Christ himself baptizes “with the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 3:11)—when he by “one Spirit” baptizes them “into one body” (1Corinthians 12:13): his “body, the church” (Colossians 1:18).

DETAILS AND SCRIPTURAL PROOFS

Definition—The English word baptism is used twenty-two times in the Holy Bible. In every case baptism is a transliteration [a rendering of the letters of one alphabet by the equivalents of another] of the Greek word pronounced, ‘baptisma,’ which means: ‘immersion, submersion’ (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).

BAPTISM IS MANDATORY FOR SALVATION

Men corrupt the command of Jesus—On the day of his resurrection, the Lord appeared to the eleven apostles, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). Many Bible-believing preachers—who otherwise rightly teach that water baptism is not a requirement for salvation, argue against the clear and plain declaration of the Lord Jesus in the first part of Mark 16:16. He said clearly that a man must both BELIEVE and be BAPTIZED to be saved! These preachers say that since Jesus did not insert the words, ‘and is not baptized’ into the second part of this same verse, that this somehow nullifies the first part of the verse! This is an irresponsible private interpretation. The Lord never nullifies his word: he magnifies it (Psalm 138:2)! The Lord always says what he means, and means what he says, for “Every word of God is pure” (Proverbs 30:5)!

Baptized into Christ—When the Lord Jesus sees that a man believes in his “heart that God hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10), the Lord baptizes him “with the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 3:11): “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1Corinthians 12:13). Believers “are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ…for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29).

• By the word of God—Before salvation every man, having been “born of the flesh” (John 3:6), is a member of the “generations [plural] of Adam” (Genesis 5:1). But after “Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, BY THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1Peter 1:23), the believer is made a member of the one and only everlasting “generation [singular] of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1). He is “born again” when God the Father, “Of his own will BEGAT [to generate; as, to beget a son] HE US WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).
• By the Spirit of God—The Lord Jesus declared: “It is the SPIRIT that quickeneth [makes alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Therefore the man who has been born again “BY THE WORD OF GOD” (1Peter 1:23) is “BORN OF THE SPIRIT” (John 3:8). He is now one of “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). He now is a “new creature” (2Corinthians 5:17). The Father has delivered him—and all believers, “from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).
• Washing of regeneration—The essence of God’s merciful salvation of each and every wretched sinner—who repents and believes—is described in the epistle of Paul to Titus: “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:1-7). According to the scriptures true baptismal regeneration produces a new creature: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is A NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Corinthians 5:17).

The FIGURE of saving baptism—With reference to the worldwide flood of Noah’s day, Peter wrote that “the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like FIGURE [type; representative] 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” (1Peter 3:20-21). Obviously the water baptism of all the wicked people who died in the flood waters is not a picture of the baptism that saves us!

• When the LORD commanded Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark…Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him” (Genesis 7:1-5). And “the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). Noah and his family stayed completely dry in the ark when God destroyed the world by baptizing them in the waters of the worldwide flood! The salvation of Noah and his family is a wonderful picture of how the Lord Jesus Christ draws “all men” (John 12:32) to himself after his glorious resurrection, and calls them “by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2Thessalonians 2:14). The Lord then safely places and seals (Ephesians 4:30) all them that receive and “believe on his name” into his “body, the church” (Colossians 1:18). These believers are: “BORN, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but OF GOD” (John 1:10-13).

THE CURSED GOSPEL OF WORKS

Another gospel—When anyone teaches that the “one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) is water baptism, they are adding works to “the gospel of the GRACE of God” (Acts 20:24)! But the scripture is very clear that if salvation is “by GRACE, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace…” (Romans 11:6). The apostle declared: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, PREACH ANY OTHER GOSPEL unto you than that which we have preached unto you, LET HIM BE ACCURSED…” (Galatians 1:8-9). Men who preach any other gospel than salvation by GRACE through FAITH without WORKS—including work of water baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9), are accursed.

• Grace and works do not mix!—For men to suppose that water baptism, which is a work of righteousness, has anything to do with obtaining eternal salvation, is a perversion of “the gospel of the GRACE of God” (Acts 20:24). For the scriptures emphatically and clearly declare: “For by GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9): “And if by GRACE, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6).

SIX OTHER BAPTISMS THAT CANNOT SAVE

1. The baptism of the children of Israel—The scripture records that the children of Israel “were all BAPTIZED unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea…” (1Corinthians 10:1-2). And yet they did not get wet! Along with Noah’s salvation in the ark, this would also be a figure of the baptism that saves us.
2. John’s baptism—John said that his baptism of repentance was that the Lord Jesus Christ, “should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water” (John 1:31; Mark 1:4; Malachi 3:1).
3. Baptism of Christ’s suffering—James and John requested a special place in Christ’s kingdom, “But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized…” (Mark 10:38-39). The Lord was going to the cross to suffer for our sins.

The apostle told “all the saints in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1), “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to SUFFER FOR HIS SAKE…”(Philippians 1:29). However, the suffering by any natural man could never earn him salvation, for salvation is “…the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one in heaven will ever boast of any thing he himself has done to get there, including BAPTISM! The apostle Paul wrote, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

4. Jewish water baptism—On the first Pentecost after the resurrection, Peter addressed the Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem from many nations: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Peter commanded the Jews to repent and be

Many today use this verse to teach that without water baptism the Holy Ghost cannot be received. These false teachers appear to be ignorant of God’s revelation to Peter in Acts 10, that the Gentiles, and not the Jews only, were partakers of the gospel, and that the Holy Ghost was received by these Gentiles AFTER they heard and BELIEVED the gospel and BEFORE THEY WERE BAPTIZED IN WATER! See Acts 10:28, 34-44. The scriptural sequence of salvation is given in Ephesians 1:12-14. Furthermore, Acts 2:38 does not say that the believers had to be baptized in order to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Otherwise, they would have been required to do a work in order to receive the “free gift” (Romans 5:15-18) “of God [which] is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)!

5. Water baptism for all believers—After his glorious resurrection from the dead, and before he ascended back to heaven, the Lord commanded his disciples: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” (Matthew 28:19). The disciples were sent first of all to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God…For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1Corinthians 1:18-21).

The disciples were also commanded to baptize in water all those who heard the gospel and believed (Acts 8:5-12, 36-38; 9:1-18; 10:34-48; 16:14-15; 16:30-33; 18:8). The only acceptable candidates for water baptism are those who have already been saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). For example, after Philip preached the gospel to him, the Ethiopian eunuch asked him, “…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 8:35-38). The eunuch was already saved before he was baptized, because he had heard and believed the gospel.

The gospel of the grace of God, “…is the power of God unto salvation to every one that BELIEVETH…” (Romans 1:16). God promises every sinner, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be SAVED” (Romans 10:9)! The Lord commands all of “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26), to be baptized in water for a testimony to at least one other believer; but never for salvation! The born-again believer is God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). If he has the opportunity, getting baptized in water is one of the first “good works” (Matthew 5:16) a born-again believer should.

6. The baptism of fire—John Baptist said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and WITH FIRE: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12). The chaff refers to the ungodly and wicked (Job 21:18; Psalm 1:4; Isaiah 5:24; 29:5; Daniel 2:35; Hosea 13:3). The Lord Jesus Christ will baptize them into the lake of fire, where they “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8; Matthew 3:11-12; 10:28; Psalm 9:17).

MY URGENT ADVICE FOR ANY UNBELIEVER

The gospel of Christ is “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1Corinthians 15:3-4). The gospel of Christ “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). Since “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), and John said that his book was written, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31), I strongly recommend that you read ‘The Gospel According to Saint John.’ I pray that you will be saved today when you “hear the word of the gospel, and believe” (Acts 15:7).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

BillPierce.org

An Exposition

Luke 7:30-50: “Complaints and Conflicts”

“But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. ‘To what shall I compare this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard, a friend of tax gatherers and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.’

“Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. There was a woman in the city who was a sinner, and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she bought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and kept wiping them with the hair of her head and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.’

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ He said, ‘Say it, Teacher.’ ‘A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him more? Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one who forgave him more.’ He said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’ Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

“You gave me no kiss, but she since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason, I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much, but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’ He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace'” (Luke 7:30-50, NASB).

One of the hard lessons we face in our lives is that you will not be able to please everyone. If you look at the life of our LORD, it is clear that He did not set out to make everyone feel good, nor did He excuse anyone from behavior or words that may have been brushed off by others. He was not a “people pleaser” or what some would define as a “good old boy” who let things be.

He was not content with how His people tended to worship the Father, nor did He put up with the hypocrisy and bad attitude of the religious leaders who should have known better. When you carefully examine all that the Lord Jesus said and did, you cannot help but conclude that He was the most direct, blunt, and no-nonsense individual to ever enter the realms of civilization. With Jesus, it was all or nothing in terms of following Him, and He made that point perfectly clear on more than one occasion (Matt.16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:6, 8:36-39; 2 Cor. 4:11; Gal. 2:20, 6:14; Col. 2:20, 3:3; 2 Tim.2:11).

The call for total commitment to the LORD is found throughout the entirety of Scripture (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19; Joshua 24:15; Job 34:4; Jer. 21:8; Luke 16:13). The prophet Elijah called for the people of wicked Israel to make up their minds about whom they would serve, either God or Baal (1 Kings 18:20-21). God has allowed the wicked to go their own way and suffer the consequences (Deut.1:45; 1 Sam.13:14; 15:23; 16:1; 2 Kings 17:20; 24:3; 24:20; Psalm 50:16; 53:5; Isa. 1:5; Jer.2:37, 6:8, 30; 7:29; 14:10, 19; Lam.5:22; Hosea 1:9; 4:6; 5:6; 9:15; Matt. 10:33; 13:48; 25:12; Luke 12;9; 13:27;  Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-18; Heb.6:8; 12:17).

There is absolutely no support or advice anywhere in Scripture for a “try it out” frame of mind. Neither is there approval for anyone to have an attitude of “I’m not doing anything unless I get it my way.” Indifference and apathy towards the spiritual realm of one’s life is always rebuked and condemned by the LORD and His spokesmen, and more so by the Lord Jesus during His time of ministry. In the verses that we will examine, Jesus also expresses the tendency of the people to be fickle in their assessments of both John the Baptist and of Himself as far as their respective conduct and manners are concerned.

Starting in verse 30, we read where those people who had expressed sorrow for their sins and were baptized by John as a testimony of their repentant hearts understood the blessing of being right with the LORD, while the religious officials who had spent most of their time complaining about Jesus’ apparent lack of respect for tradition and attitudes towards the Sabbath had never humbled themselves and had refused to be baptized by John. They were not going to admit that they needed to be redeemed just like everyone else, convinced that their “good works” would be sufficient enough to get them into heaven, just like a lot of people have believed over the years and have ended up eternally lost and condemned as a result.

Jesus compared these individuals to children in a marketplace who were not willing to play any games with the others no matter what was suggested. They were satisfied with their ways and saw no need to be a part of something better and more rewarding.

No one wants to be around someone who is never satisfied with things as they are, nor offer any solutions on how to make something better. They are professional gripers who never contribute anything worthwhile to the society in which they live, but are always prepared to give an opinion or outrage over some issue or individual who irritates and annoys them. We all know people like this, and they have been little more than a source of frustration and someone they wish God would take out, be judged, and allow us the relief and freedom to get on with life and the betterment of everything.

Jesus goes on to say that people had opinions of Him and John that were as different as the events of a day. They complained that John did not eat or drink as they did, and assumed that he must have had some kind of demon that drove him away from life’s bounties, then turned right around and accused Jesus of being too jovial with people, eating and drinking with them, and then being accused of gluttony and drunkenness. You just cannot win with fickle people who find fault with someone no matter the situation or personality. There is no difference today, especially in some churches where one’s faith is measured by what they wear, do, or say.

For example, I heard one preacher ramble on about how canned biscuits were somehow sinful because he expected his wife to be able to make them in accordance with the description of a faithful wife in Proverbs 31. There was one preacher who is gone now who railed against the sin of drinking carbonated beverages like pop and eating pre-packaged foods, declaring that God would not approve of such things going into our body, declaring it to be God’s “temple” in accordance with Scripture.

When I was a teenager, youth ministers would gather us together to listen to sermons on the dangers of rock music and “backwards masking” and how listening to it would turn you into a blood-drinking, pentagram-wearing follower of the devil, or a liberal, whatever was worst at the time.

The ones whom I personally feel are doing more to divide the body of Christ rather than help it are those well-meaning souls who have declared in all sincerity that one particular version of the Scriptures, specifically the King James Bible, is the only one “Satan hasn’t messed with,” according to their convictions and beliefs. I am afraid that a lot of us tend to “major on the minors” and overlook the fact that people are dying and going to hell because we are neglecting to give them the Gospel, which is far more important than opinions and religious nitpicking.

Jesus and the apostles concentrated on presenting the need for all people to repent of their sins and surrender everything to the saving grace of God. They were not concerned with criticism or what people thought about them. Peer pressure was never a concern to them, and they didn’t conduct opinion polls to see what techniques and “seeker friendly” approaches they needed to take to make the gospel message more acceptable and palatable, or to “meet the needs” of the world around them, or make people “feel good” about themselves at the risk of losing their souls to an eternal hell.

When the sinful woman showed genuine sorrow for her lifestyle and humbled herself before Jesus at the home of Simon the Pharisee, He knew this was no show of fickle emotion that would disappear like a morning mist. She did not need to be told that she was “blessed and highly favored,” or a “champion,” nor dismiss her grief as a “lack of faith” and “loss of prosperity.” She needed a Savior, not a cheerleader who would soothe a troubled soul into a false sense of security.

Simon’s religious indignation dismissed this show of grief and demonstrated that he needed to recognize his own sinful state. He needed mercy and forgiveness just as much as this woman whose repentant attitude who would be rewarded by Jesus’ act of forgiveness and assurance that she was a genuine child of God. Jesus did not favor Simon for his religiosity, but gently showed him through a parable that he needed to bow before the King as much as anyone, and to be assured that he too would be a true citizen of heaven and a child of God as well.

Fickleness, indifference, apathy, grumbling, religiosity, and arrogance disguised as piety is not and has never been a test or mark of what some people tend to define as Christian behavior or maturity. The world could care less about preferences and positions that we take as followers of Jesus Christ.

According to research groups such as the Barna Organization, Christianity has an approval rating in the United States of 30%, and it is going to get worse as the end times talked about in Scripture quickly come to pass. My hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has seen church attendance drop down to less than 40%. The downtown church that I attended as a young man is in the process of closing and the property being put up for sale due to a drop in overall membership from 1,500 in 1980 to less than 200 in 2019. The church here in Muskogee that my wife and I attend can seat 400, but we are doing well if we see 80 or 90 on a Sunday morning.

This trend is everywhere, and the number of professing believers in Christ are not as big as we would like to think. There is a rise in apostasy, false teaching, atheism, hostility towards God and His Word, worldwide persecution and martyrdom, blasphemous movies and television, agenda-driven media hostile to religion in general, and the growing acceptance of deviant behavior and lifestyles that threaten action against anyone who objects to it; and the list grows every day.

Now is not the time to bicker, fume, argue, or nitpick over issues that really make no difference in the body of Christ. This is no time to be apathetic or uncaring towards one another or towards the work of the kingdom, and certainly no time to wonder whether to commit your life to Christ or stick your finger in the air to see where the wind of social opinion is blowing. It is time to be serious about your faith, pray for the lost, get off the couch, and do the work that the Lord Jesus has called and commissioned us to do before He returns.

Let these verses sink in and open your eyes, repent, and surrender all to Jesus today.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com