BAPTISM A TRUE MEANS OF GRACE

By Gary Ray Branscome

The gospel, the good news of forgiveness in Christ, is the means by which God brings us to faith, and, therefore, the means by which God gives us His grace. As it is written, “The gospel… is the power of God to salvation to every one who believes” (Romans 1:16). And, “We have access by faith into this grace” (Romans 5:1).

That being the case, baptism is a means of grace because it is a ceremonial proclamation of the gospel. There is no mysterious power in the ceremony itself. Apart from the gospel it would be nothing but water. Rightly understood, and rightly used, the promise of baptism is the promise of forgiveness in Christ. When Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins,” he was saying, repent and be baptized believing that there is forgiveness in Christ (Acts 2:38). The words, “If you truly believe, you may [be baptized],” tell us that faith is of primary importance (Acts 8:37). And, when baptism is performed as God intended, the ceremony is God’s way of telling the new believer that He has washed away his sin.

The Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the people who heard Peter preach, “Were cut to the heart [i.e. convicted of sin],” (Acts 2:37). Desiring forgiveness they cried out, “what shall we do?” and Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized… in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38). For that reason, everyone who came forward to be baptized came believing that there was forgiveness in Christ, and went away, believing that when they came to Christ for forgiveness their sins were washed away. Like the gospel, the purpose of baptism was to assure them that when they looked to Christ for forgiveness their sins were washed away. As it is written, “Every one who looks to the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).

Satan’s Attack on Baptism

Because baptism is a means of grace, Satan does all that he can to pervert it and make it ineffective. And, one of the ways he perverts baptism is by turning it from gospel into law, from God’s promise of forgiveness in Christ to an “act of obedience”. However, those who hold that view fail to see that the Bible never commands anyone to be baptized. Christ commanded His church to baptize converts, but He never commanded anyone to be baptized. Coming to baptism should be an act of faith on the part of those who come, not a work. When Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized,” he was answering a question, not giving a command, and the answer to a question is never imperative.

Another way that Satan attacks baptism is by shifting the focus of faith from Christ to the ceremony, as if the ceremony had power to forgive simply by performing the act. Instead of turning baptism into law, this view turns it into a false gospel; a gospel that offers forgiveness through the rituals of a church rather than through faith in Christ. Worse yet, the church of the antichrist, which promotes that view, has pronounced a curse on everyone who says that the divine grace offered in baptism is only received through faith in Christ.

Bible Passages That Connect the Gospel with Baptism

Romans 6:3 “Don’t you know, that all who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?”

Acts 2:38 “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be damned.”

Acts 22:16 “What are you waiting for? get up, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:26 “That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His mercy, through the washing of rebirth, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

1Peter 3:21 “That water prefigured baptism which also now saves us (not by removing the filth of the flesh, but as the promise of a good conscience toward God,) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

John 3:5 “Unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

1Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, that lives and abides for ever.”

1John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the promised Savior is born of God: and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.”

Galatians 3:26-27 “For you are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”