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Date Posted: 07:23:38 04/17/02 Wed
Author: Richard
Subject: Baptism--Law or Grace or?

Greetings in Christ from sunny Texas,

As I am in the process of cleaning out the files--I found this explanation given some 15 years ago on law and Grace..

Knowing the difference between LAW and GRACE is crucial for a mature and satisfying Christian life. Both LAW and GRACE are good and necessary aspects of our lives as Christians.

1. LAW= The rules and commandments God has given us to obey.
A. He gives them to us simply as our Creator and Lawgiver.
B. We are expected to obey them- to live by the Creator's law- simply as creatures who want to honor and respect our Lord and Lawgiver.
C. Living by Law= obeying God's commands, doing good works.

2. GRACE= The plan or method by which God saves us from sin.
A. On God's part, grace is a PROMISE more than a command. He promises to give us salvation as a FREE GIFT!
B. On our part, grace is simply accepting and recieving the promise like a helpless and penniless beggar recieves a handout.

3. GRACE= What God does for us. It is God's WORKS!
LAW= What we do for God. It is our WORKS.

4. Here is a very crucial point: both law and grace belong to the Christian life, but NOT IN THE SAME WAY.

5. We are saved by GRACE, not by law, law-keeping or works or obedience. See Rom. 6:14

6. We live by LAW, but not in order to be saved thereby.

A. LAW- this is a necessary part of our lives as Christians, but we aren't saved by achieving a certain level of performance in relationship to commandment keeping.

B. Trying to be saved by law-keeping is true LEGALISM: It is a most serious problem that we should try to avoid.

7. Now, how does all this relate to baptism? The question is this: Into which catagory does baptism fall,LAW or GRACE?

Most of the denominational world long ago decided that baptism belongs in the catagory of LAW-It is a WORK.

1. They are well aware of the distinction between LAW and GRACE, and they know we aren't saved by law-keeping or works. Their golden rule is Eph. 2:8-9.

2. Because they have concluded that baptism is an act of obedience to a commandment,i.e. a work, they have concluded that it can have nothing to do with salvation.

3. What is the purpose of baptism then? It is a testimony, a confession of faith, a demonstration of faith, an act whereby we bear witness to our faith. Note: these are all actions of man,not God.

4. This is what is commonly called the "faith only" approach to salvation. It was begun by H.Zwingli about A.D. 1523 and has been adopted by most Protestant denominations.

5. What though does the scripture say about baptism? Is baptism a WORK? And if it is a WORK, is it a work of man, or is it a work of GOD?

The Bible clearly distinguishes baptism from the catagory of the works of man.

1. Most significant is Matt. 28:19-20.
A. Of all the acts of piety that we can do, only BAPTISM is specifically mentioned here.
B. It is mentioned separately, and thus clearly distinguished from "observing all that I have commanded you." The latter is in the catagory of good works,, and baptism is not one of them!

2. In Mark 16:16 and Gal. 3:26-27, baptism is qualitatively linked with faith, which is indisputably a condition of salvation compatible with grace. See Rom. 4:16,Eph. 2:8

3. In Gal.3:27 the saving significance of baptism is affirmed in the very context where the LAW system (salvation by works, especially circumcision) is rejected as a way of salvation, in contrast with the GRACE -system (salvation by faith in God's promises) This same general point is true of Romans 6:3-5 too.
A. In the book of Galatians as a whole and in chapter 3 especially, Paul attacks the idea that a sinner can be saved by works of law, especially the Mosaic law and the works of circumcision.
B. But in this very context where salvation by works is condemned, salvation (union with Christ) by baptism is affirmed.
C. This shows that baptism isn't to be considered as a work, but as a vital part of the grace -system itself.

4. Titus 3:4-7 MOST clearly distinguishes human works from baptism. We aren't saved by deeds we've done, but by God's mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing, which are works of the Holy Spirit. Thus we justified by GRACE.

5. Col. 2:12 is VERY significant, because when read with its parallel passage in Eph. 2:8-10, it clearly shows that baptism isn't meant to be a work of man but an act of GRACE.

A. The parallel between the contents of these two "prison epistles" and between Eph. 2:1-11 and Col. 2:9-11 especially, is easily recognized and generally accepted.

B. Because they are parallel passages, each supplements the other. Neither passage by itself contains everything on the subject; they must be read together for the TOTAL picture.

C. Eph. 2:8-9 clearly says we are saved by grace through faith, and not by WORKS. But Col. 2:12 says that salvation (dying and rising with Christ) occurs in baptism. Thus in Paul's mind, baptism must be in the catagory of GRACE-FAITH, not in the catagory of works.

6. See the following comparison and harmony of Eph. 2:1-11 and Col. 2:11-13. The general subject is how a dead sinner becomes a living Christian.

A. The sinners lost state Eph. 2 Col. 2
Dead in sins vss 1,5 vs 13
Spiritually uncircumcised vs 11 vs 13
B. The Christians saved state
Made alive with Christ vs 5 vs 13
Raised with Christ vs 6 vs 12
Seated with Christ vs 6 ch.3:1-3
Spiritually circumcised vs 11 vss 11,13
C. How the transition is made
By God's work vs 10 vs 12
Through faith vs 8 vs 12
BY GRACE vs 8 **
IN BAPTISM ** vs 12

7. In addition to the overall parallel, it is striking that the only element of this picture NOT mentioned in Colossians is GRACE, and the only thing not mentioned NOT mentioned in Ephesians is BAPTISM. Just as surely as grace is assumed in the Colossians passage, so is baptism is assumed in Ephesians.

8. The conclusion is that the Bible doesn't put baptism into the catagory of human good works, but clearly as part of GRACE.

The Bible clearly depicts baptsim as a WORK OF GOD!!

1. Part of the very meaning of grace is its emphasis on the working of GOD. It consists of and is the product of what GOD does. To be saved by grace is to be saved by the works of God.
A. See Eph. 2:10; "We are His workmanship";Col. 2:12,"Faith in the working of God."
B. This is exactly how the scripture describes baptism- as a work of God. Hence it is a matter of grace.

2. EVERYTHING the Bible says is actually accomplished in baptism is something ONLY GOD CAN DO!!

3. Passages that use the verb BAPTIZO:(to immerse, dip or plunge into)

A. Matt. 28:19- What does it mean to be baptised into the name ofthe Father,Son and Holy Spirit? It means that baptism establishes an ownership relation with God; God acquire/accepts
recieves us as HIS OWN.

B. Mark 16:16 promises that God WILL SAVE the one baptized.

C. Acts 2:38 makes baptism a condition for the REMISSION OF SINS and the GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
D. Acts 22:16 makes it a condition for washing away sins.
E. Rom. 6:3-5 says in baptism we are PUT TO DEATH, BURIED and RAISED FROM THE DEAD!
F. 1st Cor. 12:13 says that baptism ADDS US TO THE BODY OF CHRIST!
G. Gal. 3:27 says in baptism we are UNITED WITH CHRIST and CLOTHED WITH CHRIST!
H. Col. 2:12 says in baptism we are BURIED and RAISED FROM THE DEAD!

4. One passage using the noun baptismos,"baptism"
A. 1st Peter 3:21 says in baptism we are saved.

5. Passages using the term louo, to wash
A. 1 Cor. 6:11 relates to JUSTIFICATION and SANCTIFICATION.
B. Titus 3:5 says it is a washing of REGENERATION and RENEWING,done by the Holy Spirit.
C. Eph. 5:26 relates it to SANCTIFICATION and CLEANSING.
D. John 3:5 says it brings the NEW BIRTH (Born again)

6. All of these works associated with baptism are SAVING actions and can be accomplished by GOD ALONE, not by any works of man. Baptism is the occasion of these divine works.

7. The Bible NEVER speaks of baptism as mans response, commitment, expression, testimony, pledge, announcement, confirmation or demonstration. This is Zwinglian language, not from the Holy word.

8. The only human elements associated with baptism are:
A. Faith Col. 2:12
B. Prayer- Acts 22:16; 1st Peter 3:21. In the latter passage, the Greek "eperotema" does NOT mean "pledge" as in the NIV or "response". It means "appeal" or "prayer" and echoes Acts 22:16

9. Baptism by its very design is something done TO us, not something WE DO (except in the broadest sense of making a decision, in which sense faith itself is something we do-John 6:29)

10.The physical side of baptism (immersion into water) is something done TO us by someone else-the one baptising us.

11.The Biblical language is passive: BE baptised.

12.The action is passive; someone else immerses us a raises us up.

13.This is in contrast with ALL acts of obedience to commands or law in the Christian life.

Richard

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