by Douglas R. Johnson
October 8, 2000
Introduction
Baptism in Salvation is the topic discussing the importance of baptism to the Christian. When does a person become "saved" and just what does "saved" mean?
Both Catholics and Protestants agree that no one gets save by just saying (without any faith nor meaning)any "magic words" even if those words were the very ones that I used as a child of about 7 when I knelt down next to my mother and said: "Dear Jesus. Come into my heart and save me."
For the purpose of this discussion, we will be talking about adults and not infants nor very young children. We are also going to consider just what prior knowledge that individual has. We need to know if we are talking about someone who never heard anything about Jesus and or never heard anything about the God of the Jews. Even if we were talking about a Jewish person, we would not know whether he or she actually understood the significance of the Passover.
Acts 2:38
"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]The book of Acts starts where the book of Luke ends. Both were written by the same individual, Luke. Acts 1 ends with the 120 in the upper room praying and Acts 2 starts with them still praying when the Holy Ghost falls on the believers as a fulfillment of Jesus' command:
"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." [Acts 1:4,5]Let's look more about what John the Baptist did and said:
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 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 throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and come thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." [Matt. 3:1-17]These are a lot of Scripture passages about the work of John the Baptist. Perhaps the subject is more important than I have been led to believe in my 50 years as a Protestant. I was told that baptism is really optional for salvation but that you really should do it sometime. I was taught that salvation was accomplished through believing and confessing according to:"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." [Mark 1:1-11]
"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answered and said unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." [Luke 3:1-22]
"John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there stands one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." [John 1:26-33]
"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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." [Rom. 10:9,10]Does this Scripture negate the requirement for baptism that Peter specified in Acts 2:38 as I have been led to believe these 50 plus years? Paul wrote the book of Romans so let's see what Paul did as recorded in Acts.
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." [Acts 16:30,31]So this is pretty clear then, Paul says you do not need to be baptized to be saved. My daughter, Faith, would not let me get away with that kind of proof text. She will get her Bible out and read before and after whatever proof text given. I won't wait for her objection but give the "rest of the story".
"And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." [Acts 16:32-34]Why would Paul say baptism was unnecessary and then turn around and do it the same day he said it was unnecessary? Perhaps his leaving the word "baptize" out of the formula did not mean he was suggesting leaving out baptism from the procedure. He did not tell the jailer to be baptized yet he baptized him when he believed. He also did not tell him to repent yet repentance was a vital part of John the Baptist's ministry as shown above. Peter even used the word "repent" in his formula of Acts 2:38.
There is no question that neither Peter nor Paul were using any all inclusive "formula for salvation". Both said more, namely: Paul "... spake unto him the word of the Lord" and Peter "... with many other words did he testify and exhort."
The Roman Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church brings all of the Scripture to give a comprehensive teaching o this subject as well as many others. The Protestants say "the Bible is our only catechism". Perhaps the command to "believe" has a little more to it.
"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." [Acts 8:12]
Let's now look to what Jesus told us to do:
"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]If we are going to look for a short formula, why not take this one from Jesus? Let's see if the other Gospels give more about Jesus's commission to us:
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." [Matt 28:18-20]"Just get them saved" was the thrust of what I heard during my experience with Evangelical Protestants. "If they really meant it, they would naturally do good works but those good works were not 'necessary' for their salvation. Baptism could be considered a 'work' so that also is not necessary." [summary of what I have been hearing for past 50 years in Evangelical Protestant teachings] "Go...teach...baptizing.. to observe all things..." [summary of what Jesus says above]
Now look how Luke puts it:
"And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." [Luke 24:46-49]Luke relates "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations" with "ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth". He further relates baptism with "remission of sins" when he quotes Peter saying "...be baptized...for the remission of sins". [Acts 2:38]"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." [Acts 1:8]
Apostles Creed
No Evangelical Protestant Church that I attended ever said the Apostles Creed when ever I was there although I did visit one church once that did say it. If you are like me, you probably do not even know what it says so here it is:
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."I suppose that the "Bible only" teaching was the reason that this Apostles Creed was never used. Another "odd" thing is that a "sinner's prayer" was used along with the "four spiritual laws" and neither are found in Scripture.
So what is so special about the Apostles Creed? For almost 2,000 years it has been the baptismal creed of the church. Before someone is baptized, one needs to affirm this creed. For the baptism to be valid with God, the saying of it must be "with the heart" or "with faith". That is, one must mean what is said rather than just mouthing empty words. Look again at the full details of that creed. Can anyone say that with faith and meaning what is said, not be saved in the full Evangelical protestant meaning of "saved"?
Catechism of Catholic Church - Calling God Father
One cannot call God "Father" unless that person has gone through the baptismal "process" of confessing ones sins, reciting the baptismal creed with faith and meaning it, and having the water applied with the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". This is the official requirement of the Roman Catholic Church as specified in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. That is the process of becoming a "son of God". It is an expansion of the abbreviated formula:
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" [John 1:12]Evangelical Protestants call the process of becoming a child of God "getting saved". Catholics do not use the word "saved" for becoming a child of God. They use the word "baptism" for the process. Evangelical Protestants separate the baptism from the process of "getting saved" even though it is clearly taught is Scripture as being part of the process. Peter says:
"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:" [1 Peter 3:21]Protestants cut this verse in half with significant time between the halves. You get saved first through faith in the subject matter of the Apostles Creed without actually saying it and then later, typically significantly later, baptism takes place as "an answer of a good conscience toward God" using the words of Matthew 28:19. Actually Roman Catholics take into account the time delay between believing and actual baptism in:
"1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament." [Catechism of the Catholic Church]Mark 16:16 says that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." There is no specification for the case that one does believe but is not baptized. The Catholic Church covers you if you die between the time you believe and when you intended to be baptized. The verse does not specify what would happen if you say you believe but do not even intend to get baptized.
Backsliding
According to the official teaching, one cannot lose that indelible mark that is put on one's soul with the process of baptism. If you really believe that all sins are equal, then you are in real trouble if you "j-walk" exceed the speed limit by even one mile per hour. I do not believe you can possibly break fellowship with God over trivial sins.
"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." [1 John 1:3-9]It has always seemed that "backsliding" into sin was such a surprise in Evangelical Protestantism. The Catholics have about 2,000 years of experience with backsliding in the Church and have formalized the procedure of reconciliation for the backslider."Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." [James 5:16]
The Bible clearly says baptism is for the initial remission of sins of the new convert. One cannot baptize one's self. As quoted above, John the Baptist had those he baptize confess their sins at the time. I'm sure it was not done with "silent prayer". How unreasonable is it for the Catholic Church to suggest that follow up confession of sins also be to one who does baptisms, namely the pastor.
Conclusion
Salvation is the same for Catholics and for Protestants but the terminology is different. The idea for the unity that Jesus prayed for is to capitalize on the similarities and downplay the differences.
Are you a Christian? Do you attempt to live your life as Jesus wants you to? Do you want righteous people to pray for you? Catholics would universally say yes to these questions.
Have you lived a righteous life since you were baptized? How would you answer that question? When you ask a Catholic; "Are you saved?", he honestly does not have a clue what you mean by the question. The Catholic has been taught:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." [Rev. 3:20,21]while the Protestants have only been taught:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." [Rev. 3:20]The difference being that Protestants consider you saved when you first become a Christian while the Catholics take the Scriptural view that you must overcome all the way to your death before any Christian can be considered "saved".
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." [Col. 2:12]I know I am a child of God and I know that if I were to die this instant, I would go to heaven and not to hell. Furthermore, I have no intention to ever fall out of fellowship with God nor with my fellow Christians. I believe that I can have fellowship with Evangelical Protestants and with Roman Catholics at the same time having fellowship with God. I hope you can do the same.