A gracEmail subscriber asks the meaning of the term "sacrament" and whether the notion is consistent with the New Testament and the gospel. *          *          * A "sacrament" is a physical act involving physical elements through which God regularly bestows spiritual grace. Protestants generally recognize two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Roman Catholics include five more: confirmation, matrimony, holy orders, penance and healing anointing. In classic Christian theology, a sacrament must have been instituted by Jesus himself and commanded by him to be perpetuated. The Bible … [Read more...]

"How," inquires a correspondent, "do you explain the command given to Saul of Tarsus to 'Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord' (Acts 22:16)?" * * * The context of this passage suggests that Saul experienced a cleansing subjectively in his own conscience. At the time these words were spoken to him, Saul of Tarsus was a man heavily weighted with guilt, spiritually convicted of enormous crime against the Risen Christ, physically blind and completely bereft of hope. Ananias' words would come as a great relief to him -- to think that he could be … [Read more...]

A reader asks concerning three unusual passages involving baptism. What about baptism for the dead (I Cor. 15:29-30)? What of the Samaritans who believed and were baptized but did not receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:5-24)? And what of the 12 disciples of John the Baptist whom Paul required to be rebaptized, who then spoke with tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:1-7)? * * * BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. No one knows for sure exactly what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:29-30, but it seems that someone at Corinth was practicing baptism for those who had died already. Paul is arguing for the … [Read more...]

The minister of a large Church of Christ asks, upon reading Romans 4:10-11, whether baptism, like circumcision in this passage, is a "sign" and "seal" of righteousness which we have by faith even before we are baptized. * * * Some Jews in Paul's day valued circumcision so highly that they expected God to bless them merely because they had undergone this physical ordinance. Others expected God's favor because they were Abraham's descendants, a fact of which their circumcision always reminded them. Paul's point here is that God declared Abraham righteous by faith many years before he gave … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks what Peter means when he speaks of baptism as "the pledge of a good conscience toward God" (1 Pet. 3:21). *          *          * The Greek word translated "pledge" in this verse only appears here in the New Testament. Earlier in classical Greek and in the Greek Old Testament, the word meant an "inquiry," "question," or "demand." Later in secular Greek, it refers to formal pleadings filed with a court. I think the better translation here is "an appeal to God for a good conscience." If that is correct, Peter says that by baptism the believer formally requests a … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "If we are saved by being believers, what is the use in being baptized?" * * * We are not saved by being believers, we are saved by God's grace -- and we can only trust him for that (Eph. 3:24). We don't merit any of God's kindness. It is not a 50/50 proposition -- as if half were deserved and half were a gift -- or even 99/1. God's favor and forgiveness are totally undeserved, unmerited, unearned. We cannot rely one whit on our own ability to please God by our performance, our obedience, our efforts, our knowledge or even our good intentions. We can only trust … [Read more...]

"I have heard it said that we contact Christ's blood in baptism," someone writes, "because Jesus' shed his blood at his death and we are baptized into Christ's death (Rom. 6:3-4; John 19:33-34). What do you think?" * * * I think that the statement you quote affirms more than the Bible actually says. This is a good example of theological argument, which we sometimes mistakenly confuse with biblical teaching. One could as easily and rationally argue that we come in contact with Christ's blood before baptism when we believe, since God cleanses us by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7) and since we … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks whether we are baptized "in" the Holy Spirit or "by" the Holy Spirit, since the Greek preposition en used in 1 Corinthians 12:13 can mean either, and what difference it makes anyway. *          *          * Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians 12:13 stand in contrast to his remarks about Israel's "baptism" earlier in the same epistle (1 Cor. 10:1-3). There he pointed out that all the Exodus generation of Israelites were baptized "in" the cloud and sea, "into" (or "unto") relationship with Moses. Later, in 12:13, he notes that all Christians are baptized "in" the Holy … [Read more...]

Someone asks, "You seem to give a mixed message about faith and baptism in relation to salvation. Will you tell us what you are really saying?" * * * I am saying that Acts 2:38 speaks of baptism "for the remission of sins" and that Acts 10:43 promises that whoever believes in Jesus "has remission of sins." I am saying that God saves all believers, and that Jesus commands all believers to be baptized. I am also saying that most of the arguments between Christians concerning baptism and salvation arise because of our unscriptural formulations about "God's part" and "our part," and because … [Read more...]

A dear brother in the Northeast writes, "I found your comment 'Faith and baptism do not belong in a list of like-and-equal things' to be interesting in light of Ephesians 4:4-6 which speaks of 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism.' Baptism is found here on a list in the most impressive company. I would suggest you owe your readers a correction on this one. Had a modern evangelical been writing this passage, baptism certainly would not have made the list. Obviously, Paul had a different view." * * * You are certainly right that Ephesians 4:5 names "faith" and "baptism" together in a "list," if … [Read more...]