This is part 5 of a series on the paradox of salvation. In part 1, I presented two humorous video clips (one minute each) dealing with Calvinist and Arminian witnessing. In part 2, I broke down Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and how he used the Bible to proclaim Christ to those gathered in Jerusalem that day, using both Law and Gospel. In part 3 I further discussed Peter’s answer to the question, “what must we do to be saved?”, focusing on the importance of baptism and what the Bible says about it. Then in part 4 I discussed the link between the Holy Spirit and baptism by examining Acts chapters 8 and 19.

Here in part 5 we are going to discuss 1 Peter 3:18-22 and the link between baptism and salvation. Let me preface this by pointing out that this is one of the most debated texts in scripture, and exegetical scholars have written extensive essays explaining the text. This is going to be a very brief synopsis, but that inevitably means there will be a lot of holes that will need to be filled in. I encourage you to do the studying yourself, read the text and pray to God that His Holy Spirit will reveal its meaning to you.

First the text itself:

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…. In [Noah's ark] only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (1 Peter 3:18, 20b-22)

Yes I know I skipped verse 19 and part of verse 20, and yes they are important verses, but not so much for interpreting the teaching on baptism in this text. I omitted them only because of length, I could write an entire post on verses 19-20 which would involve explaining the Nephilim in Genesis 6, what happened to them, and how demonic spirits can be sentenced to imprisonment / bound in chains prior to Christ’s final return. I’ll save that for another day. For now let’s stay on track: baptism and its link to salvation in this text.

Verse 18 begins with the word “for.” One of my teachers told me that any time I see the words “for” or “therefore,” I need to find out what they’re there for! In this case it is referring to the immediate context of vv. 13-17, which deals with suffering for doing good, specifically for professing Christ as Lord. It is thus saying that Christ’s suffering and death in v. 18 is the ultimate suffering for good, since he “died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous.” He had no need to suffer, since He was perfect, but He chose to suffer in order to redeem us, and that is our example for suffering even when innocent of wrongdoing. Verse 18 also makes it clear that “Christ died… to bring [us] to God.” We must keep this in mind as we read this entire text: what brings us to God? Christ’s defeat of sin, death and the devil on the cross.

Enter the controversy. Vv. 20b-21 in the ESV read: “Baptism, which corresponds to this [Noah and his family’s salvation from the flood through the ark], now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The water itself did not save Noah, but it sustained the ark built in faith, resting on God’s word: thus it was to him the sign and means of the regeneration of the earth. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary on the Bible puts it this way:

“The flood was for Noah a baptism, as the passage through the Red Sea was for the Israelites; by baptism in the flood he and his family were transferred from the old world to the new: from immediate destruction to lengthened probation; from the companionship of the wicked to communion with God; from the severing of all bonds between the creature and the Creator to the privileges of the covenant: so we by spiritual baptism…. The antitypical water, namely, baptism, saves you also not of itself, nor the mere material water, but the spiritual thing conjoined with it, repentance and faith, of which it is the sign and seal, as Peter proceeds to explain.”

Let me cut through some of the wordiness: “Baptism… now saves you… through the resurrection of Christ.” It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Conclusion

To conclude this entire series, we should not look to man-made doctrines to understand the paradox of salvation. It is just that, paradoxical, and human reason often goes beyond scripture in order to “make sense” of justification. Evangelism involves sharing Christ by teaching both His Law and Gospel. This means teaching that we are born spiritually dead and are thus subject to the power of the devil. Apart from Christ, we are morally and spiritually bankrupt. Because of sin, we are destined to death and eternal separation from God in a literal hell. We are completely helpless and hopeless, powerless to change without the divine grace extended in the offer of the Gospel, God’s good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

This salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The Bible clearly teaches that our salvation cannot come about by our own works; it is entirely the work of God. The Holy Spirit draws us to Christ through the Word of God and creates faith in our hearts.

All sinners must die, for the wages of sin is death. They can either die eternally, or they can die baptismally. Baptism should be immediately sought out by and administered to new believers for the forgiveness of sins and the seal of the Holy Spirit. Through baptism we are buried with Christ and integrated into His new covenant, being raised to life by faith, now being counted dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Thanks for reading this series, I hope you found it worth your time and thought.

Denominational Comparison on Baptism

So where do we go from here? I’ve given what the Bible says, yet many Christians still can’t agree on much of the teachings concerning salvation and baptism. That’s because we apply human logic to the Bible and come up with doctrines. Everyone does it, myself included. My only point here is that we should unify on the essentials we all agree in, like those above. But there will inevitably remain differences. I’ll go through the main spectrum of beliefs on how baptism functions, then close with a personal position. The following is from Understanding Four Views on Baptism, p. 125:

I personally vacillate somewhere between the Lutheran and Reformed views. Here is my own personal statement on baptism:

In baptism, God graciously and miraculously washes away our sins by applying the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection to us, gives us a new birth, clothes us in Christ’s righteousness, seals us with the Holy Spirit, buries us with Christ and through faith raises us up with Him as new creatures, making us holy before God and integrating us into the Body of Christ. None of this comes about due to anything magical in the water, but by the Word of God in and with the water conjoined with our faith in that Word. According to the Bible, all of this happens in baptism and it is entirely the work of God, not our own doing.

Thanks for reading!

For more good reading on baptism, check out the following posts:

• Baptism: Children Running Through God’s Sprinkler of Grace or Just a Symbolic Confession?
• Baptism in the New Testament: The Holy Spirit and Water Baptism in Acts
• Luther… on Baptism
• What We Believe

This is part 3 of a series on the paradox of salvation. In part 1, I presented two humorous video clips (one minute each) dealing with Calvinist and Arminian witnessing. In part 2, I broke down Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and how he used the Bible to proclaim Christ to those gathered in Jerusalem that day, using both Law and Gospel. This is part 3 of the discussion, where we will discuss Peter’s answer to the question, “what must we do to be saved?”

As I said in part 2, Peter continually pointed them to Christ, and he told them to do two things: repent and be baptized. It might be easy to turn this into some kind of “salvation ritual,” until we discover that both repentance and baptism are gifts from God, received by grace, not works of our own. I cited two verses in part 2 demonstrating that repentance is a gift received by grace, here they are again:

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).

Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…. (2 Timothy 2:25).

Why would they pray that God GRANT repentance to people if it was something they could choose to do on their own? Too often churches make repentance out to be a work of our own. Here’s the problem: If I could simply choose to give up my sinful behaviors and thought patterns, then why would I need Christ? If turning away from sin (literally, metanoia = “changing the mind”) is something I need to accomplish on my own BEFORE receiving the Holy Spirit, I’m screwed! We need His Holy Spirit in order to change, we can’t do it by our own vain self-effort.

It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts, faith is not just some cognitive decision we make in our heads. It is the Holy Spirit who “convict[s] the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit seals our salvation and acts as a sort of “down payment” on our future redemption: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

So we just learned that faith comes from hearing, we are included in Christ upon hearing the Gospel, and we are marked with the Holy Spirit as a seal of the new covenant in Christ. Just as Peter demonstrated that Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, allow me to show you some more fulfillment. Under the old covenant the seal of the covenant was circumcision, a covenant made specifically with men (although it included the women in their households):

“… every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised….” (Genesis 17:12)

But under the new covenant this seal is baptism. In the sermon Peter delivered on the day of Pentecost (which we examined in part 2 of this series), he pointed out that men and women would now receive the Holy Spirit:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

The apostle Paul clearly saw the connection between circumcision and baptism when he wrote:

In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

Clearly baptism is “the circumcision done by Christ,” a gift of grace from God to us through which we are buried with Christ. This seal of the new covenant has been expanded to include both men and women, unlike the first covenant. Paul talks about being buried with Christ again in Romans:

Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4)

When the brethren were “cut to the heart” following Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost, “Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . . [And] those who received his word were baptized’” (Acts 2:38, 41). Baptism is clearly linked with the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Here’s some more passages of scripture:

Jesus answered, “… I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6)

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16, Paul’s baptism)

When they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12)

As they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” . . . And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36, 38)

Obviously baptism was part of the instruction that Philip gave to the eunuch when he explained salvation to him, or else he would not have immediately recognized his need for it. Baptism is so important, Jesus includes it as a necessary part of discipleship in His Great Commission:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The primary command in this sentence is “make disciples.” The way Jesus instructs us to do that is twofold: baptizing and teaching. Baptism was immediately administered to new believers in the New Testament. Baptism is literally half of the discipleship equation in this passage. Is its importance being taught (and practiced) in your local church gathering?

In conclusion, all believers should seek to be baptized as soon as possible because of the promises attached to it in the word of God, namely the forgiveness of sins and the seal of the Holy Spirit. Look for part 4 soon, where we will begin to further discuss the link between the Holy Spirit and baptism by examining Acts chapters 8 and 19, as well as a passage linking baptism with salvation in 1 Peter 3. I hope you’re enjoying the series thus far.

This is part 2 of a series on the paradox of salvation. In part 1, I presented two humorous video clips (one minute each) dealing with Calvinist and Arminian witnessing. This is part 2 of the discussion, where we will dissect Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, found in Acts 2.

Let me point something out about both of the evangelists in the videos: neither of them presented God’s Law. Both began with Jesus’ love. The problem with this approach is that we need both Law and Gospel. The Law shows us our sin, and the Gospel then shows us our Savior. Without the Law we will never recognize our need of Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit falls on the believers and they begin supernaturally declaring the wonders of God in languages they have never learned. Everyone is greatly perplexed about this (although some mocked them). Peter addresses the crowd and in a nutshell this is what he says:

• What’s happening here today is in fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy (notice the Bible is the basis of Peter’s message, vv. 16-21)
• Jesus was the Messiah, and you killed Him (LAW, vv. 22-23)
• “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (GOSPEL, v. 24)
• The resurrection of the dead was foretold in the Old Testament (more Bible, vv. 25-29)
• Jesus is the Messiah, and He gave us His Holy Spirit (more GOSPEL and scripture, vv. 30-35)
• “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (LAW and GOSPEL, v. 36)

And what was the response? “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (v. 37). The Law had its intended effect, it cut them to pieces and they recognized their sin. They were left hoping in the Messiah, but clueless how to be saved from God’s wrath. How did Peter reply?

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (vv. 38-41).

Peter continually pointed them to Christ, and he told them to do two things: repent and be baptized. Sounds a lot like a formula, right? It’s not. I would argue that neither of these are works of our own, both are gifts from God. How can I say this? Once again I turn to the Bible:

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).

Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…. (2 Timothy 2:25).

We will discuss baptism is more detail in part 3. The point I want you to take from this post is that we need to proclaim both Law and Gospel as we share Christ with others, and we must base all of our teaching on the Bible, not on man-made arguments or doctrines such as Calvinism or Arminianism. Peter demonstrated that Jesus fulfilled Messianic prophecy using scripture, he didn’t use clever philosophical evangelism “techniques” to proclaim the Gospel. Stay posted for part 3 where we will discuss baptism as a gift from God.

If you would like to read a little more about the Gospel, click here. For a great post dealing with realistic approaches to evangelism, click here.

This is part 1 of a series on the paradox of salvation. I’ve pointed out before that theology is a mystery, and our faith is comprised of a series of paradoxes. One of the biggest paradoxical articles of faith is that of justification, i.e. how we are saved. This is best personified in the polar opposite doctrines of Arminianism and Calvinism. I’ve defined these historical arguments in my post The Great Tensions of our Faith, so be sure to quickly review it if you need a refresher on these terms. In that post, I point out that neither of these doctrines are entirely correct, both represent extremes. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, although it is not logical – it is paradoxical.

Kevin DeYoung posted two comical videos on Monday dealing with evangelism, one from a Calvinist and one from an Arminian perspective. They are only about a minute each. While presented in jest, these videos really do touch on some major problems that both of these doctrinal positions fail to address in practice. Let’s begin with “Calvinist Witnessing:”

Right off the bat the evangelist asks, “Do you know that Jesus might love you?” This pokes fun at the Calvinist belief in limited atonement. This doctrine says that Jesus ONLY died for the elect, those God already chose to be saved. Contrast that belief to John 2:2, which says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus died for EVERYONE according to the Bible. The evangelist then points out how there is nothing the man can do, and uses the term “monergism,” (meaning salvation is entirely God’s work, we contribute nothing to it). The man is left with no answer to the question, “what must I do to be saved?” Then the crux of the video’s point is made evident: “If I can’t do anything to be saved, then why are you telling me any of this?” The fictitious Calvinist is stumped.

Next is the “Arminian Witnessing” video:

The very first statement from the Arminian evangelist is “Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” But as the man to whom he is witnessing aptly displays, one can intellectually believe in every proposition of the Arminian Gospel without ever encountering Christ or having a change of heart. Then our fictitious character introduces himself as a Calvinist, obviously touting it as the solution. But as we can see from the first video, it’s not the solution.

Both Calvinism and Arminianism are man-made doctrines, and neither are entirely scriptural. So what is the correct answer? We must turn to the Bible, not to Calvin’s Institutes or to the writings of Arminius or Wesley or whomever.

In part 2 we will discuss Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, and how he answered when asked the question, “what must we do to be saved?”

Sorry for no new content this week, I’ve been struggling with God in a few areas, namely finding a fellowship. This has been ongoing for us, but we feel that expectancy and anxiety like we are close, but we’re not sure where yet. Here are a few short sermon clips that I saw over at Truth Matters that I’d like to share with you:

John Piper: Are You a Church or a Club?
John Piper reminds of a neglected function of our churches. Only two minutes long.

Paul Washer: Stupid Evangelism!
Wow, this is powerful. Washer is in tears as he expresses his genuine love for people. He points out the folly of modern day evangelism “tactics” that employ a method rather than introducing people to the Savior Jesus Christ. Four and a half minutes in length.

Tim Conway: I Am Repenting But It’s Not Working
Tim Conway does a phenomenal job pointing out that repentance is not a work of our own wherein we have to clean ourselves up to be presentable to God, but God does it all in us – it is HIS work. He then takes it a step further and points out that trusting in ourselves is self-righteousness. Check this out! He really points us to Christ, as our faith should! This is just under seven minutes in length.