Saturday, February 22nd, 2025.
You may still be contemplating the whole truth about baptism in the Bible.
Should we? How do we? How many? What for? Which tradition is right?
Here’s some advice from someone who has been there, around it, and back.
Start by considering your sin and the cross of Christ.
Water does not wash away your sins. Nothing but the blood of Jesus does that (Col 1:14).
If you are dunked for your sins, then Christ did not need to die for your sins (Rom 3:25; 1 Cor 15:3).
The gospel of your salvation does not include the work of you being put into water. It does concern the work of the cross and you being put into Christ (1 Cor 1:17; 1 Cor 12:13).
You are not saved by your obedience to water baptism but to the gospel of Christ becoming “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phi 2:8).
The saving work of the cross is not applied to you after you touch the water. You receive the benefits of God’s grace after you hear the gospel and believe (Eph 1:13).
When you trust the sufficiency of Christ’s cross to save you, then you will find there is no more room for water to work. The cross of Christ is the beginning and end of your salvation, not water.
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” – 1Cor 1:17
After you have that down, you can study if the people being water baptized in the Bible understood that. You might be surprised.
For your understanding,
Justin “no longer wet behind the ears” Johnson