Attacks on Baptism

These are my notes for the class that I am teaching Sunday (7/16) on the Attacks Against Baptism.

1. Baptism is presented for remission of sins in the Bible
2. There are many attacks from people who want to refuse this position

1. John’s baptism did not save anyone (Mark 1:4; Matt. 3:11; Acts 19:1-5) Salvation comes from HS baptism
   1. It was for the remission of sins
   2. The ones who needed to be re-baptized were baptized incorrectly (not into the death of Christ)
   3. Acts 8
      1. the people had not yet received or even heard of the HS
      2. according to this they were not saved
2. Jesus did not do it (John 4:2)
   1. the 12 did the immersing for Jesus
   2. they were agents of Christ that did the work for him
3. Rom. 3:28-31 there is only one way to salvation since there is only one God
   1. Paul is making the point the there is only one God and through him we receive salvation through obedient faith
   2. he then shows that through the obedience of Abraham, he was justified by his faith
4. Baptism is paralleled to circumcision in Col. 2:11-12 and circumcision is called nothing in 1 Cor. 7:19 and did not save anyone
   1. the logic of this argument falls apart in Col. 2:11,
      1. we were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands
      2. this circumcision is putting away the old body and living in the newness of Christ
   2. Baptism is not equated to circumcision, rather Paul is using imagery that the people would understand
   3. 1 Cor. 7:19 does say that neither circumcision nor non-circumcision is worth anything, but obedience to God counts
5. 1 Cor. 1:12-17
   1. some use this to show that baptism is not a part of the Gospel
   2. this argument invalidates itself because Paul just said that he did baptize some
   3. the statement is also misquoted
      1. Paul came to preach not baptize
      2. Baptism is clearly part of the gospel (Acts 8), but Paul was to preach, not merely baptize
6. Cornelius was saved before baptism (Acts 10:44-48)
   1. the idea here is that the Holy Spirit only falls on the saved and never on the lost
   2. the issue with this is that this is a miracle to show Peter that there is no difference between the Jews and the Gentiles
7. The thief on the Cross
   1. many like to point to this to show that baptism could not have occurred because he was nailed to a cross
   2. some like to point out that there was a distinct possibility of the thief being baptized by John, but in respect to being silent where the Bible is silent, we cannot assume that
   3. Matt. 9:6 Jesus had the power to forgive sins while on earth
   4. The thief died before the issuing of the Great Commission
   5. the thief died before Acts 2
   6. He was still under the old law not the New Law
8. belief is the issue not Baptism in Mark 16:16 and John 3
   1. the key to these is that first of all both talk about baptism or water being necessary to be saved/enter the kingdom
   2. if someone does not believe, they will not be baptized
      1. the natural response to belief is to be baptized
      2. the act of baptism is to submit and be obedient to the command of God
9. John argument (written so that they may believe John 20:31)
   1. they argue that belief is the only thing necessary for people to be saved
   2. John 3:3-5 says that one must be born again by water
   3. John is trying to get the reader to believe, and the proper response leads to following the plan of salvation
10. No way to come back without being re-baptized
    1. the argument is that the way that you come into contact with the blood is the way you have to continue to come into contact with it
    2. Acts 8:24
    3. We come back to Jesus by praying and asking for forgiveness

1. Acts 2:38 – baptism forgives sin
2. Acts 22:16 – baptism washes away sins
3. John 3:5 – baptism is part of the new birth
4. Gal. 3:27 – baptism puts us into Christ
5. Rom. 6:3-4 – baptism initiates one into the new life
6. 1 Peter 3:21 – baptism saves
7. 1 Cor. 12:12 – added to the body of Christ

We can see that the arguments that are presented against baptism do not stand. When the Bible mentions faith with no other part of the plan of salvation, we can see that it is synecdoche which is a part to represent the whole.