IS BAPTISM A WORK?

It is the belief of many Protestants that a person is only saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, i.e., by the work that He has done on the cross, apart from any works that the person can do.  This is indeed the biblical model (Romans 3:28; 4:4-6; 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5, etc.)

But some groups, while maintaining that man is saved apart from his works, will nevertheless still hold to the idea that water baptism saves.  But this causes a problem.  You can’t say that we are not saved by works, and then turn around and say that we are saved by baptism, since baptism is a work.  The logic just doesn’t follow.  If we are not saved by works, then baptism cannot save us.  It is very simple. 

 

However, they will try to get around this by saying that baptism is NOT A WORK, thus trying to escape an obvious dilemma that they have created for themselves.  But any physical act or ritual is a work.  And water baptism certainly falls into this category.  But some will argue that baptism is not a work because it is “passive,” i.e., it is something that you let someone else do to you, so you are not working.

Well, if being passive disqualifies water baptism from being a work, then it would also disqualify circumcision from being a work, since this also is something that you let someone else do to you, as well.  And no one can argue that circumcision is not a work of the law. (Romans 2:25; 3:28-30; 4:1-10)

Furthermore, would anyone dare say that Jesus’ suffering on the cross was NOT a work?  (John 4:34)  But wasn’t His suffering also passive?  Wasn’t it something that He specifically allowed them to do to Him? (Isaiah 50:6; 53:7; Matthew 26:51-53; John 10:17-18)  Absolutely!  So, even things that are considered to be passive can be a work.  And such is baptism.  So, the “passive” argument fails.

It is our experience in discussions with those claiming that baptism is not a work, that they always seem to eventually drift toward James chapter 2 (all about Christian works), because they KNOW that baptism is a work!

All right, so some may be saying at this point, “Ok, ok, so maybe baptism is a work… but it’s a ‘work of God,’ not a work of man, therefore, it saves.”

Our response would be that it is true that God ordained baptism, but 1) it is still a ritual (work) that man performs, and 2) We must understand that God has many different kinds of works.  For example, Creation is a work of God (Psalm 19:1), but Creation does not save the soul.  Balaam’s donkey speaking was an act / work of God (Numbers 22:28-30), but it saved no one.  Many works of God are acts of violence, destruction, or punishment (e.g., Revelation 16), but they do not save.  All these things can be used by God to cause obedience, give direction, to spare lives, etc., but none of these events directly saved the soul of anyone.  So, just because something is a work of God does not necessarily mean that it saves.  The conduit that God has specifically assigned for salvation of souls is FAITH.  Faith (not baptism) is the access point of salvation (Romans 5:2). 

   

Usually the last desperate attempt to prove this “baptism is not a work, therefore it saves” argument is an appeal to John 6:28-29:

28) They said therefore to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (NASV)

And they’ll say, “You see!  Jesus said that even believing is a work, therefore, works can save!”

Strangely enough, these people start off by saying that works do not save, although, they believe that baptism does.  Then they go from trying to prove baptism is not a work, to saying, “Well, it really is a work, but Jesus tells us that another work (believing) can save… therefore, works do save, after all.”

Obviously, these people have some confusion issues.  Anyway, in John 6, Jesus is not officially classifying belief or faith as an actual work, or He’d be contradicting His own Word (Romans 11:6).  He was saying this for effect.  Basically, He was telling this works-minded group, “You want to be saved by your works?  Ok, here is your so-called ‘work’ that you need for eternal life.  It’s BELIEVING in Me!  There’s your ‘work’!”

 

And this same Jesus, through the writings of the apostle Paul, emphasizes over and over that salvation is not earned, but is a gift.  It is by grace, obtained THROUGH FAITH.  Paul makes a clear distinction between the gift and the work:

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. (Romans 11:6 - NASV)

So, those who claim that works don’t save us, yet, baptism does, are simply playing word games.

To clarify one last time, the biblical pattern is:

1)   Baptism is a work

2)   Works don’t save us

3)   Therefore, baptism does not save

It can’t get any simpler than this.  

See also:

http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2015/05/on-baptism-part-1-few-basics.html

THE CURSE OF THE JUDAIZERS

Imagine living in a time when travel pretty much consisted only of walking, boat, and horseback (or other beast of burden).  You travel many miles on foot, risking your health and even your life, bringing the good news, the gospel message of Jesus Christ to a mostly pagan and barbaric country.  You convert many to Christianity there and start a number of churches along the way.  Your message has been clear and direct, mincing no words, yet, spoken in love.  Before you leave this faraway land, the churches there are showing a lot of promise.  Ok, great.  But you find out some time later that the teaching for which you risked so much, and fought so hard to share, has been twisted in a manner that voids the whole message and puts their souls at stake!

Such was the situation in the Apostle Paul’s case.  On his first missionary trip, he traveled through the region of Galatia, preaching the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, Who (mercifully) came to pay the full penalty for our sins.  But the message got distorted somewhere along the way.  Paul’s famous question to the saints in Galatia jerked them back into reality… “O foolish Galatians, WHO HATH BEWITCHED YOU, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Galatians 3:1) 

 

No New Testament epistle has a stronger message than the one to the Galatian churches.  Paul states that the message that he first brought to them is, and always will be, the true gospel.  He says that if ANYONE (including himself) would preach a different gospel, that messenger is cursed:

“But though we, or an angel from Heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

Sobering words!  But what was it, exactly, that grieved Paul so much?  What was this other gospel that had crept into the Galatian church?  It was the message of the Judaizers.  It was simply a message that accepted Jesus’ work on the cross for salvation, but also added something else to it.  It was salvation “by faith plus works.”  The works that the Judaizers added were circumcision and the Law of Moses (Acts 15:1, 5).  Ok, so what’s wrong with adding the Law of Moses?  Wasn’t this law directly from God, and therefore the ultimate guide to righteous works?  Absolutely.  And wasn’t the Mosaic Law summed up in the Ten Commandments?  Indeed it was.  And did not Jesus, Himself, condense all these even further into only two commandments, i.e., love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40)?  So, what’s the big deal?  What could possibly be wrong with any work that would fit in the category of these two commandments? 

 

The fact is, ALL good works fall under this category.  So, nothing is wrong with the Mosaic Law itself, it’s the fact that it was added to the cross.  Therefore, any time we try to add good works…. any good works…. to the work of the cross in order to be saved, we are saying that Jesus’ work was just not quite enough.  But there is only ONE work that can save us… and it is HIS work, HIS suffering, HIS paying the penalty on the cross.  We can do nothing to add to our salvation at any point in our Christian walk.  In fact, if we even try to, we are insulting Him and we are cut off, we are severed from Christ and fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4)!  We have deserted Jesus for another gospel (Galatians 1:6)!  Any mixture of God’s grace and man’s works to be saved is fatal.

But the error of the Judaizers is not just a problem of the past.  We have many today who claim to be Christians, yet who strongly embrace this evil doctrine.  The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and even many Protestant churches all claim to believe and trust in the work of Jesus, yet try to add some type of work(s) to the cross in order to be saved.  This creates a false gospel.  It may be water baptism, it may be speaking in tongues, or perhaps performing the “moral aspects” of the Mosaic Law, helping your neighbor, giving to the poor, becoming a martyr (dying for your faith), etc., etc.  All these things can be good, but they cannot be trusted in to save us, even partially.  They cannot contribute to our justification.  Salvation is a gift, and you don’t work for a gift (Romans 4:4-5).  There is no amount of suffering or work that can be “added to” Jesus’ work for salvation.  To add even one of these works is to say that Jesus did not completely pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:12; 1 John 2:2).  This is blasphemy.  No wonder Paul was so severe with the Galatians.

 

Are we claiming that Christians should not do good works?  No, we are not at all saying that.  But we should simply do good works out of a love for God, and in appreciation for what Jesus has done.  And we will be rewarded for our good works which are done in the right spirit.  The wrong attitude would be, “I am doing these good works to help my chances of getting into Heaven.”  But if Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross wasn’t enough BY ITSELF, then surely nothing could save us.

Put your faith, your trust, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.  Don’t put yourself under the curse… don’t be a Judaizer.

See also this article:

 http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2010/08/sola-fide-revisited.html