" Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation ? " Part 1 of 3

     One of the Devil's most successful devices is to get men to trust something other than JESUS CHRIST or in addition to JESUS CHRIST for Salvation.  He gets some to trust in their own righteousness;  others to depend upon church membership;  others to depend upon sacraments.  Some he leads to trust in reformation,  and others he gets to depend upon baptism.

     While there are hundreds of different religions in the world,  there are really only two teachings regarding the matter of Salvation--Salvation by grace or Salvation by works.

     Those who believe in Salvation by grace teach that GOD saves the individual and that Salvation is totally unmerited.  Man can do nothing to earn it.  His only part is to receive by faith what GOD has done.

     Those who teach Salvation by works teach that man saves himself by some form of works.  Some teach that man is saved by works he performs before Salvation in order to be saved,  while others teach that a man is kept saved by works that he continues to perform after Salvation.

                     Salvation  Is  NOT  by  Works

     Most who teach Salvation by works claim that they really believe in Salvation by grace through faith,  but their teaching clearly contradicts the claim.  To say that one must do certain things in order to be saved,  or continue performing good works after he is saved in order to keep Salvation,  is Salvation by works.

     Ephesians 2:8-9 plainly says:  " 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. "

                      Salvation  Is  NOT  by  Faith  and  Works

     Salvation cannot be a combination of grace and works. Romans 11:6 plainly says,  " 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. "

     It is impossible to mix grace and works.  Either GOD saves a man by grace,  or man saves himself by some form of works.  Those who teach that one must be baptized in water in order to be saved,  teach Salvation by works.

                       Salvation  Is  NOT  by  Baptism

     Baptism is a work of righteousness.  When JESUS went to John the Baptist and requested baptism,  HE said in Matthew 3:15,  "...thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness...."  So baptism is clearly a work of righteousness.  Yet the Bible says in Titus 3:5,  " Not by works of righteousness which we have done,  but according to HIS mercy HE saved us...."

     If we are not saved by works,  as the Bible plainly says, and baptism is a work of righteousness,  then it is clear that we are NOT saved by being baptized.  One would think that these verses alone would be sufficient to convince any reasonable man or woman that Salvation does NOT come by water baptism,  but such is not the case.  This clear teaching is repeatedly refused and rejected by those who insist that one must be baptized in order to be saved.

     For that reason we further explore the subject.

                  Salvation  Is  by  Grace  Through  Faith

     Some have supposed that people in the Old Testament were saved one way,  while those in the New Testament are saved another way altogether.  It will be helpful to understand that GOD's only plan of Salvation in every age has been and always will be by grace through faith plus NOTHING.  Acts 4:12 says,  "Neither is there Salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under Heaven given among men,  whereby we must be saved. "

     JESUS HIMSELF is the only means of Salvation.  Let us see the plain teaching that one is saved by simple faith in JESUS CHRIST.  John 3:36 says,  "He that believeth on the SON hath everlasting life:  and he that believeth NOT the SON shall not see life;  but the wrath of GOD abideth on him. "  The word hath is in the present tense.  In modern English the word is has.  Here the Bible promises that the person who believes on the SON has everlasting life.  It is not something he is going to receive after he is baptized, but it is something he has the moment he believes on the SON.

     In John 5:24 JESUS said,  " Verily, verily, I say unto you, HE that heareth MY WORD, and believeth on HIM that sent ME, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;  but is passed from death unto life. " Notice again in this verse the same clear teaching that one has everlasting life the moment he places his faith in CHRIST.

     The same teaching is found again and again in the Bible. John 6:47 says,  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on ME hath everlasting life. "  The moment one believes, he has everlasting life, he is passed from death unto life.

                   Salvation  Precedes  Baptism

     In the Bible people believed before they were baptized. That's why it is often referred to as " believers baptism." Acts 2:41 says,  " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized...."  In Acts 8:36 the Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip, " See, here is water;  what doth hinder me to be baptized ?"  And in the very next verse Philip said, " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest...."  In the same verse the eunuch replied,  " I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of GOD. "  And it was in the next verse,  "after" he believed, that Philip baptized the eunuch.

     If one has everlasting life the moment he believes, as JESUS plainly promises, and he is baptized after he believes, then it is clear that he is saved before he ever gets to the baptismal waters.  Therefore, water baptism is NOT essential to Salvation.  If one must be baptized after he believes, in order to be saved, then why do preachers make people wait about being baptized ?  Why would a preacher teaching that baptism is essential to Salvation tell a believer to wait until next Sunday, or perhaps even until the first Sunday in the next month ?  If I really believed that water baptism was necessary for Salvation,  I would build me a portable baptistery,  put it on the back of a truck,  and keep it with me all the time,  wherever I went. The moment a man trusted CHRIST,  I would make sure he got baptized immediately,  lest he die before the scheduled time for baptizing at the local church.

     I am not trying to be funny.  I am simply saying that, if baptism is essential to Salvation,  then we ought to baptize the individual the moment he believes.  We should not run the risk of the man suddenly dying or being killed in an accident.

                       Trusting  CHRIST  Saves

     The Bible makes it very plain that those who are trusting CHRIST are saved and those who are not trusting CHRIST are NOT saved.  In John 3:18 JESUS divides the whole world into two groups:  Those who are believing on the SON and those who are not believing on the SON.  And here is exactly what HE said:  " He that believeth on HIM is NOT condemned:  but he that believeth NOT is condemned already,  because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten SON of GOD."

     The person who is not believing on CHRIST is already sentenced;  he is already condemned for Hell.  He does not go to a judgment to have his eternal destiny determined. It is already determined now by whether or not he is believing on JESUS CHRIST.  If he is believing on CHRIST, the sentence has been lifted;  he is NOT condemned.  If he is not believing on CHRIST,  he is condemned already--for one simple reason:  in plain Bible language,  "...because he hath NOT believed in the name of the only begotten SON of GOD."   NOT because he has not been baptized.

                     Believe  Means  " to  Trust "

     The word believe means  " to trust,  to depend on."  To believe on CHRIST means to trust HIM completely,  without reservation.  There is no promise in the Bible to those who partially believe on CHRIST.  One cannot trust JESUS CHRIST ninety percent and water baptism ten percent.  He must trust JESUS CHRIST,  HIM alone and nothing else for Salvation.  And the promise is,  "....He that believeth on ME hath everlasting life "  John 6:47

     To trust water baptism,  plus JESUS,  is not to put one's full faith in CHRIST.  The man who is trusting baptism is simply saying JESUS CHRIST is not enough.

                      Sinners  Are  Saved  by  Faith

     Now here is the simple story:  all men are sinners;  and, as sinners,  we owe the sin debt.  Romans 6:23 says,  " For the wages of sin is death...."  If we pay what we owe as sinners,  it means we must die,  go into Hell and  STAY THERE  FOREVER.  That is the penalty for sin.

     But two thousand years ago JESUS CHRIST bore our sins in HIS own body and died on the cross to pay our sin debt.  That is the clear teaching of John 3:16:  " For GOD so loved the world,  that HE gave HIS only begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,  but have everlasting life. "      We are sinners.  We owe the sin debt. JESUS CHRIST was not a sinner.  HE died on the cross to pay that debt.  One is saved by simple faith in CHRIST. That is the clear teaching of the Bible.

     After explaining this simple plan of Salvation to a family, a teenage boy asked,  " But what about the people in the Old Testament ?  How were they saved before JESUS died on the cross ? "

                Salvation  ?  ?  in  the  Old  Testament

     I explained that we on this side of the cross believe that JESUS CHRIST did die in our place to pay our sin debt,  and we trust HIM completely for Salvation;  while those in the Old Testament looked forward to the death of CHRIST, believing that HE would die for their sins.  Thus,  they died with their faith in CHRIST,  just as we on this side of the cross die with our faith in CHRIST.

     I explained to the young man that it is like two people leaning against the same tree,  depending on the tree to support them:  one leans forward on one side of the tree, while the other leans backward on the opposite side of the tree:  but both are leaning on the same tree,  both are depending on the same tree to support them.  So it is with Old Testament and New Testament saints.  They are ALL saved by depending on CHRIST.

     People are saved exactly the same way in every age,  in every dispensation--by simple faith in CHRIST.  This is made plain in Acts 10:43,  where the Scripture says:  " To HIM give all the prophets witness,  that through HIS name whosoever believeth in HIM shall receive remission of sins. "  This was the message of  " all the prophets."  The Old Testament prophets preached remission of sins by faith in CHRIST.  The New Testament prophets preached remission of sins by believing in CHRIST,  and those who preach the truth today still preach the remission of sins by believing in CHRIST.

     The message was the same for all the prophets,  "...that through HIS name whosoever believeth in HIM shall receive remission of sins. "

     There you have it as plain as day.  One receives remission of sins by simple faith in CHRIST--NOT by baptism or any other act of righteousness.

     If water baptism were necessary for Salvation,  then none of the Old Testament saints were saved because baptism is not mentioned one single time in the Old Testament,  and there is no record of a single individual ever being baptized before John the Baptist began baptizing converts.  The 11th. chapter of Hebrews tells of case after case where people in the Old Testament were saved by simple faith in CHRIST.

                 Part 1 of 3  by Dr. Curtis Hutson

                 Is Water Baptism Essential To Salvation ?

We are going to stop there for this first of three parts to this study.  I thought this would be a great read since I do seem to come across this issue quite often.  When I read this gentlemen's book it screamed to me the same things that I had been telling people about baptism.  I would not want to be the one who stands in front of our LORD JESUS CHRIST and tells HIM that what HE did on the cross,  " Was not enough "  to pay my sin debt in full.  I have been trying to let people know in many of the same ways that this, in fact, is what they are saying to the LORD when they add anything to HIS finished work.  I'll see you for part 2, don't miss  a  word  of  it  !!!!!

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie