Another unremitting heresy is stealing away the power and glory of the Cross in the Body of Christ.
This heresy insists that a believer must be baptized in order to be saved.
Many who support this wrong teaching quote a verse in the last chapter of Mark:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
"They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16: 16-18)
In verse 16, Jesus states that he who does not believe will be damned — the qualification of baptism is not mentioned. Belief in Him is the one "work" that saves, the transmission from death to life:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)
Paul did not tell the Romans that they also had to be baptized in water in order to receive so great a salvation. He explains more in depth that the baptism into Christ is part of the spiritual mystery of the gospel, of which water baptism is a sign:.
So, let's consider the Baptism that Jesus is speaking of in this passage. For a full explanation, Paul's epistles clarify this matter.
"And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2: 10-12)
The baptism which matter is the one in which we have died, and are dyed, in Christ; we are now colored, covered, and contoured with the righteousness of God in Christ. This baptism through the Spirit of God receives an open presentation through water immersion.
Yet a believer will still go to heaven to be with the Lord, even if he or she is not baptized. In Luke's gospel, the Holy Spirit records a final confession between one of the thieves with our Savior:
"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
"And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23: 42-43)
One can safely guess that the thief who plead for Jesus' remembrance was not himself baptized with water, yet Jesus guaranteed him place and prominence in heaven with Him!
In fact, Paul comforted himself for not baptizing certain members of the Corinthians church, who had turned the ritual into a fleshly battle of preeminence:
"I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
"Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
"And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." (1 Corinthians 1: 14-17)
For Paul, the crucial element (pun intended) is the Cross — His Finished Work. To then claim that one must be baptized in water contradicts the glorious declaration of our Lord and Savior on Calvary:
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19:30)
"Finished" means that — completed, accomplished, done! Nothing else needed.
Despite these numerous proofs from God's Word, those who claim that water immersion is essential for salvation quote this verse:
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3: 5-8)
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit" is the sticking point.
Here, Jesus is speaking of the Baptism of John:
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)
Yet here, even John exclaimed that his baptism was incomplete, that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would more than compensate. Repentance is made complete not just in acknowledge the Finished Work of the Cross, but in the reception and inception of the Holy Spirit in the believer:
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
"(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
(John 7: 38-39)
As long as Jesus was on the earth, before He was glorified following His death on the Cross, He was still under law. Hence, he had to be baptized by John:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." (Matthew 3: 13-15)
Here, Jesus is not speaking of His righteousness as God, but to fulfill the imputation of righteousness upon him as man. Furthermore, at this baptism God the Father indicated to the world that here was His beloved Son, and the Spirit of God alighted upon Him! The water baptism is a type and shadow of receiving the Holy Spirit! The baptism of the Holy Spirit — this is the baptism to which Jesus refers in the last chapter of Mark. The baptism of the Holy Spirit — this is the baptism to which Paul refers in his epistles. He even demonstrates the superior efficacy of this second baptism to the believers in Ephesus:
"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
"He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
"And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
"And all the men were about twelve." (Acts 19: 1-7)
As long as Jesus was on earth not yet glorified, there was still a need for a water and then the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. After His death, the immersion into water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit baptism which everyone received when believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, there is no need to be baptized in water to be saved; from the account in Luke, to the explanations given by Paul in Acts and throughout his epistles, there is not constraint to a man's status in Christ when he believes on Him for salvation.
Paul even warned his readers in Colossae against the heresy of those who pressed on others the necessity of feasts and rituals:
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
"Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." (Colossians 2: 16-17)
Baptism is an important formation for one who demonstrates to the world that he has been saved by the death and resurrection of Christ. Yet no one can deny or contravene this truth, one which Paul repeated in his letter to the Ephesians:
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
"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.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2: 4-10)
Paul could not put it more plainly: by grace we are saved through faiths, not by works — including baptism, whose importance Paul does not hint or suggest in this passage.