Salvation: Faith, Grace, Works, and Baptism Eternal salvation is the most important subject that can be discussed. Every human needs to understand what he/she needs to do to inherit eternal life. God wants every person to be saved (II Peter 3:9; I Timothy 2:4). Because God wants everyone to be saved, He revealed His plan of salvation (Ephesians 3:1-7). Unfortunately, through the centuries different men’s doctrines have contradicted each other to the point that many are confused about the simplicity of Christ and His gospel (II Corinthians 11:3). Much of the confusion is over such key subjects as faith, grace, works, and baptism. In this article I want to show basic errors that are taught about these subjects and then show the simple biblical truth about how one is saved. Works Before the Reformation Movement produced so many Protestant Denominations, Catholicism’s teach-ing of salvation by works dominated the thinking of the religious world. Because it was a works-based salvation, the Reformers rebelled against that concept, and rightly so. But, as the theological pendulum often does, it swung completely to the opposite extreme which is a faith-only salvation. Because the Catholic Church had taught so strongly that man merits salvation through the good works that he does, the Reformers rejected any kind of works. They stressed such passages as “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” Ephesians 2:8-9. This passage does teach that man is not saved by works in which he can boast. A work in which one can boast is a meritorious work – a work that merits salvation. The Bible clearly condemns the idea that anyone merits salvation by the works he does. By throwing out all passages about works, the Protestant theologians made the proverbial mistake of throwing out “the baby with the bathwater.” There are passages such as James 2:24 that say, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” This passage clearly says that one is saved (justified) by works. There are many others that teach the same doctrine. Numerous examples can be found in the book of Acts where people asked what they had to do to be saved and they were told to do something. In Acts 2 when the gospel was first preached the people asked, “Brethren, what shall we do?” v. 37. Peter told Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, “In every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” Acts 10:35. “Doing” is a work. Therefore, works is clearly a part of God’s plan to save a person. The conclusion that must be drawn is that there is not just one definition of “works” in the Bible. No one is saved by works of merit, but at the same time there are works that must be done to receive salvation. There are works of merit by which we are not saved and there are works of obedience by which we are saved. Grace “Grace” is something that one receives when he does not deserve it. If one fails to make his insurance premium there is a period of “grace” in which he will still be covered. Thus, grace is “unmerited favor.” It is a favor – a blessing that one does not deserve or earn. Salvation is given to each of us by God’s grace. No one deserves it. Jesus said, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” Luke 17:10. When we do all that God requires of us, we still do not deserve salvation. We have not merited salvation. Although salvation comes to us by God’s grace, grace and works are not mutually exclusive. In other words, to say that we are saved by grace doesn’t exclude some works on our part. Neither is it correct to say that if one works, then grace is excluded. This is a major problem in most Protestant denominations. They believe that since the Bible says we are saved by grace that this means there are no works involved. Grace does not exclude works, and works do not exclude grace. Salvation is by grace because it is undeserved even when God requires certain works by us. Faith “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1. But, do such passages mean that man is saved by faith alone? Does one have to repent? Every religious group about which I know teaches that in order for one to be saved he/she must quit living a sinful life – that is he/she must repent. If one has to repent in order to be saved, then salvation is not by “faith alone.” Salvation comes through a faith system rather than a works-based system. A faith-based system of salvation is a system whereby salvation comes to an individual because he trusts in Christ. The Bible teaches that one shows his faith by obeying God’s commands. James gives us this basic truth when he wrote, “faith without works is useless” (some versions have the word “dead”). How does one prove that he has faith? – by the works that he does. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is an honor roll of men and women who had faith in God. In every case when it says they had faith it always goes on to say something that the individual did. “By faith Abel offered…by faith Noah… prepared an ark” Hebrews 11:4, 7. When one works to prove that he has faith that is a work of obedience, not a work of merit. Those works must be done, but they do not earn salvation for the one who did that work. Baptism Although nearly every religious organization practices some kind of baptism, most do not believe that baptism has anything to do with one’s salvation. They reason this way, “Baptism is a work; we are not saved by works, therefore we do not have to be baptized to be saved.” Let’s apply that same logic to repentance. Do we say, “Repentance is a work; we are not saved by works, therefore we don’t have to repent to be saved?” If not, why not? Neither baptism nor repentance is a work that merits salvation, but both are works required by God (Acts 17:30-31; Mark 16:16). Thus, both must be done to prove that we have faith. Baptism’s Form “Baptism” is defined in Webster’s 3rd New International Dictionary as, “The ceremony of proclaiming one a Christian or admitting one into membership in a Christian Church with the use of water by immersion, pouring or sprinkling.” But, a dictionary defines words as they are used in that society. Since we are looking to the Bible as our authority, we must see what that Greek word meant in the Bible. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon defines baptizo (Greek word for baptism) as “to dip, to immerse, submerge.” Thus, Bible baptism was not done in any one of three different ways, but only by immersion. This same truth can be seen without going to the Greek dictionary. Paul described baptism by saying “having been buried with Him in baptism” Colossians 2:12. In Romans 6:4 he again described baptism as a burial. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism’s Purpose In the great commission Jesus told His disciples to preach to every creature the gospel with the promise, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved” Mark 16:15-16. When Peter was asked by the Jews on the day the church began what they had to do to be saved, he said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” Acts 2:38. When Saul, who was later called Paul, was ready to become a Christian, Ananias said to him, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” Acts 22:16. Later, the apostle Peter wrote, “Baptism now saves you” I Peter 3:21. When Peter said that “baptism now saves you” he was not saying that neither faith nor repentance, or confession was part of salvation. He was just saying that baptism was the final step of faith in order for one to be saved. From the passages mentioned above one learns that baptism: (1) Saves, (2) Is the means for forgiveness of sins, and (3) Is the means of having one’s sins washed away. Salvation is in Christ (II Timothy 2:10). There are only two passages in the Bible that tell us how to get into Christ. Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Romans 6:3. He also wrote, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” Galatians 3:27. When one is immersed in water for the forgiveness of his sins he is born into God’s family (John 3:1-5). Since salvation is in Christ and one only enters Christ by being baptized, then baptism is part of being saved. Salvation is made up of God’s part and man’s part. God’s part is grace and man’s part is faith. That faith is manifested in believing that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), repenting of one’s sins (Acts 17:30-31), confessing one’s faith in Christ (I Timothy 6:12), and by being baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3-4). Wayne Burger
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 20:15:05 +0000
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