Spring Warrior Church of Christ

7432 S. Red Padgett Road

Perry, FL 32348
584-5176

Prove All Things Vol. 1 No. 11

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Grace, Faith and Baptism By Bill Blue, bill@bibleweb.com [4/18/01]

I have observed at least five different interpretations of Mark 16:16:

The Catholic “He who believes not and is baptized shall be saved.”
The Atheist “He who believes and is baptized shall not be saved.”
The Universalist “He who believes not and is not baptized shall be saved.”
The Protestant “He who believes and is not baptized shall be saved.”
The Bible “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Saved by Grace through Faith

Protestants, citing Eph. 2:8-9, argue that we are saved by grace, and because
baptism is a work (something we do as opposed to simply believing) it cannot save.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

We are saved by grace, but grace is conditional (Rom. 5:2). Grace (literally
“unmerited favor”) is the free gift of God, free because we have done nothing on our own
to deserve it, yet “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8; see also
Eph. 2:5). By God’s grace, we are justified (literally “acquitted,” or declared not guilty of
sin) “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24; 5:16, 18). Because sin
demands a sacrifice, God made Christ the propitiation (or “atoning sacrifice”) for our
sins (Rom. 3:25).

Although grace is universally available to all, it is conditional in that we only have

access to God’s grace through faith (Rom. 5:2) and humble submission to His will
(James 4:6-10). Thus, the Universalist’s view that, “He who believes not and is not
baptized shall be saved,” is wrong.

Faith Alone?

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 Ephesians 2:8-9 is not a license to ignore Scriptures that require confession
(Rom. 10:9-10), repentance (Acts 2:38), or baptism. Paul is simply saying that merely
because we choose to accept God's grace by "submitting to the righteousness of God"
(Rom. 10:4) and doing the things commanded, we do not save ourselves. God saves us.
To view the verse otherwise is to equate faith with saving ourselves, or to deny all other
Christian responsibilities such as confession, repentance, baptism, and continued
obedience. We do not save ourselves through faith or baptism, but we accept God's
saving grace by doing the things He has commanded.

In John 6:28-29, Jesus said that belief in Him is “the work of God.” If Eph. 2:8-9
precludes works from playing a role in our salvation, does it also preclude belief, which
Jesus said is a work?

If faith only saves, does this mean Paul was wrong when he wrote that confession
is necessary for salvation (Rom. 10:9-10; see also Matt. 10:32-33)? If belief and
confession are the same thing, then are the rulers who believed Jesus, but refused to
confess Him saved (John 12:42)? Obviously, belief and confession are not the same
thing and both are required for salvation (Rom. 10:9-10). Thus, faith “only,” is wrong
also.

Consider also Rom. 4:3. When Paul, quoting Genesis, said “Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” (Rom. 4:3) Paul was arguing that
the “deeds of the law,” (i.e., the Law of Moses) do not justify (Rom. 3:27-28).

Of course, another way to know that Paul isn’t arguing that we are saved by faith
alone is to read more of the Bible. If a passage says baptism is necessary for salvation
(Mark 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21), then that should resolve the matter because God has spoken.

We know that the Bible is the inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). Thus,
irreconcilable conflicts do not exist in its passages. Otherwise, one verse or the other
would be wrong, not infallible, and logically not inspired of God. If this was true, how
could we trust any passage in the Bible?

Martin Luther (1483-1546), the father of Protestantism, faced this dilemma when
he read the following passages in the Book of James:
14
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him? *** 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works,
is dead.
* * * 19
. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and
tremble! 20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is
dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac
his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and

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by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
"Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by
works, and not by faith only.
James 2:14-24

For those who believe in faith only, there is an apparent conflict between what
Paul and James believe with respect to salvation even though both Apostles write that
"Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3;
James 2:23). Knowing that no Scripture could irreconcilably conflict with any other
Scripture (or else the entire Bible would be untrustworthy), Martin Luther arrived at a
novel approach to resolve his dilemma; he denied that the Book of James was divinely
inspired, or properly a part of the Bible:

"I maintain that some Jew wrote it [the Book of James] who probably heard about
Christian people but never encountered any. * * * Many sweat to reconcile St. Paul
and St. James, but in vain. 'Faith justifies' and 'faith does not justify' contradict each
other flatly. If any one can harmonize them I will give him my doctor's hood and let
him call me a fool. * * * This defect proves that the epistle is not of apostolic [origin]...
He does violence to Scripture, and so contradicts Paul and all Scripture. He tries to
accomplish by emphasizing law what the apostles bring about by attracting men to
love. I therefore refuse him a place among the writers of the true canon of my Bible."

Luther’s words must be read in the context of the problems he was dealing with at
the time the words were written. Luther was concerned about indulgences and the
Catholic notion of salvation by works apart from faith. He erred, however, by swinging
the pendulum too far. He was right in his belief that works without faith do not save, for
“without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Heb. 11:6). However, he refused to
acknowledge that man is not justified by “faith only” (James 2:24).

Paul himself did not believe in faith only. The book of Romans begins and ends
by stating that the Gospel was something that must be obeyed (Rom. 1:5, 16:26). Paul
writes that the goodness of God is supposed to lead us to an action – repentance (Rom.
2:4). He continues by saying that God “will render to each one according to his deeds”
(Rom. 2:6) and then states that “glory, honor, and peace” are the rewards for “everyone
who works what is good” (Rom. 2:10).

If a person is saved by faith only he is saved before he becomes a child of God, for
John 1:12 says faith gives a person the right to become a child of God. Faith doesn’t
make you a child of God. A person saved by faith only is saved before he turns to God
(compare the distinction in faith and turning in Acts 11:21 with the rulers of John
12:42). He is also saved without having to confess Christ (John 12:42) and he is saved
while being no better than a demon (James 2:10).

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Baptism

Baptism saves us (Mark 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21). It is only through baptism that we
“put on Christ,” (Gal. 3:27). Thus, without baptism we are not saved and our sins are
not forgiven (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Furthermore, without baptism we do not have access to
the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4), and thus do not gain access to
the following (notice that all of these precede Rom. 6:3-4):

• God’s grace and the redemption that exists in Christ (Rom. 3:24).
• Christ’s atoning sacrifice that makes amends for us with God (Rom. 4:25, 5:8).
• Christ’s death that reconciles us to, and makes peace with, God (Rom. 5:10).
• Christ’s blood, which justifies us (Rom. 4:25, 5:9).
• Christ’s obedience, which makes us righteous (Rom. 5:19).
• Christ’s resurrection, which justifies us and provides us eternal life (Rom. 4:25,
5:10).

If someone tells you that baptism isn’t necessary for salvation, ask him the
following questions:

1. How can anyone say faith only saves when James 2:24 explicitly says it doesn’t?
2. If we can be saved without baptism can we be saved while in sin (for baptism
washes away sin, Acts 22:16), without becoming a new creature in Christ (Rom.
6:4ff), and without being “in Christ” (Gal. 3:27)? How is this possible?
3. If baptism doesn’t save why does the Bible say it does in Mark 16:16 and1 Peter
3:21?
4. How do they define “necessary?”

Through baptism we do not deny faith, but demonstrate it. We cannot “save
ourselves” through baptism anymore than we can save ourselves through faith. God
saves us through grace (Eph. 2:8). Of course baptism without faith is as worthless as
faith without baptism. It is through both belief and baptism that we take advantage of
the grace that is available to us. Thus, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”
(Mark 16:16).

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