1. The Bible repeatedly states that faith is the sole means whereby we appropriate God's grace in Salvation (Romans 3:22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 4:5; Philippians 3:9; Galations 2:16). This is made very clear in Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Note that faith alone is made the channel through which God's saving grace reaches us. If we add baptism as an additional channel for God's grace, why not the sacraments of the Roman Catholic church? The sacraments are also viewed as a means for receiving God's grace by Roman Catholics.
2. The order invariably given in the New Testament is repentance (turning from sin), faith (turning to God's salvation provided in Jesus Christ), then baptism (the public identification of the new believer with Christ, and outward symbol of the inner transaction of salvation). This is the pattern throughout the book of Acts (2:38; 8:12,34-39; 10:34-48; 16:31-33).
3. Baptism may not legitimately be viewed as an element of faith in the same sense as repentance and obedience to Christ as Lord, since these are spiritual acts and baptism is a physical act. Further, while both obedience (Romans 1:5) and repentance (Acts 11:18) are used as synonyms for saving faith, baptism is never so used.
5. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul states that, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel"; thus clearly differentiating the Gospel from baptism. This is difficult to explain if baptism is an integral part of salvation.
6. The Bible speaks of the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18,21; Romans 10:17) as the instrument used by God in regeneration, not baptism.
7. There are examples given in scripture of individuals who were saved without being baptized:
Note: All three of the above mentioned persons had ample opportunity to be baptized (unlike the thief on the cross).
Note: That Cornelius and the others were saved PRIOR to their baptism is evident from their reception of the of the Holy Spirit prior to being baptized (since the Holy Spirit does not give the gifts of the Spirit to unregenerate men). Indeed, it is the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit (and hence were saved) that led Peter to baptize them (cf. vs 47).
Let us close by looking briefly at some of the passages used to attempt to teach that baptism is necessary for salvation.
1. John 3:6
2. Mark 16:16
3. Titus 3:5
4. Acts 2:38
5. Acts 22:16
6. 1 Peter 3:21
We hope that this clarifies why baptism does not save, but rather reflects an inward change. Baptism is important, and ALL believers are commanded to be baptized, although baptism plays no part in Salvation. Jesus Christ is like He said "I am the way, the truth, and the Life..."
Baptismal remission or regeneration teaches that a person is regenerated, born again - saved by the act of water baptism.
Alexander Campbell, founder of the Church of Christ states: "Immersion, is that act by which our state is changed...Christian immersion, frequently called conversion is an act, inseparably connected with the remission of sins." (Millennial Harbinger, V-1 "Extra")
"If so, then, who will not concur with me in saying that Christian immersion is the Gospel in water." (Alexander Campbell, Campbell - Rice debate, p.443)
"The New Testament teaches baptism as an act which is essential to salvation..." (Introducing The Church Of Christ, p.107)
Alexander Campbell states: "The preposition [FOR] "eis" here means in order to - in order to the remission of sins." (Campbell, Walker debate, 1823 p.124)
Acts 2:38 "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ FOR (in order to) the remission of your sins."?
What Campbell failed to mention was that the preposition "eis" has several shades of meaning. In the KJV eis is translated in this way:
In Dana and Manty's, A Manual Grammar Of The Greek New Testament "eis" classified in five of eight categories as:
Some examples of the english usage of the preposition FOR are:
Other examples:
Examples of the "eis" in the Scriptures
Matthew 12:41
Matthew 3:11
Acts 2:25
Luke 5: 12-14
Matthew 3:11
More uses of eis in the Scriptures:
Matthew 28:19
Mark 1:9
Acts 8:16
ACTS 2:38
Luke 23:39-43
The Church of Christ publication "The Spiritual Sword" States:
However, the Scriptures teach that:
Acts 10:44-48 "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,"Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Once again in diametric opposition to the clear teachings of scripture, the Church of Christ teaches that Cornelius and his household "received the Holy Spirit baptism" but were "not saved". (SS/April 1976 p.15)
2 Peter 3:16 "He (Paul) writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
"Since only people baptized to remit sins are baptized properly, then Mormons, Catholics and Campbellites are the only ones who ever please God. John Wesley and other great saints were ungodly wretches, according to their doctrine. The church of Christ says that a man cannot love God 'til he is baptized (1 John 4:7) and they teach that being born of God is baptism. Thus they baptize haters of God and claim to make them lovers of God. What power in their water. They teach that man and water are the saviour instead of Christ. A man can repent, believe, confess, and live a perfect life, but is still lost unless he is baptized. Then baptism is what saves him, according to their doctrine. Two things are essential to baptism - water and somebody to do it. Then these two things are what saves a man's soul. God does not do it. Christ does not. Grace does not. The cross does not. It is the waters of baptism. Imagine a man shipwrecked alone on an island who finds a New Testament and believes and trusts the Lord to save him, but he cannot go to Heaven because he does not have a Campbellite preacher there to save him. How sad." (R.A. Long, The Truth About The Church Of Christ, p.36)
...all this without a single drop of water.
May God bless you and keep you always
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; [2 Timothy 2:24,25]
"Am I your brother in Christ, yes or no?" asked Dr. Walter Martin in a debate with United Pentecostal Church representatives Nathaniel Urshan and Robert Sabin, which took place on the "John Ankerberg Show" in 1985. As I sat and observed Brother Urshan's reluctance to give a direct response to the question, my mind pondered in dismay over the fact that my own General Superintendent would not answer, "No, you are not my brother in Christ." This would have been a common response coming from a Oneness adherent to a Trinitarian believer.
I would like to share with you my experience in the United Pentecostal Church. The intentions of this article are not to bash Oneness believers, but rather to help inform the Christian Church of the dangers that exist in legalistic movements of our day.
I was raised in the Assemblies of God. My mother, who was Catholic, had intentions of sending me to the Catholic Church. My father, who was Protestant, would not allow my mother to send me to the Catholic Church. Instead, he sent me every Sunday with his parents to Sunday School at the Assemblies of God. My mother and father were saved several years later, and we attended a Pentecostal Church in a nearby city. I was involved in the church and saw 15 of my high school friends saved. By this time I was 15 years old. At school I began encountering classmates who attended the United Pentecostal Church in our city. I had countless discussions with them on the subjects of the godhead and water baptism. After several vigorous attempts to respond to their Oneness claims and the many scriptures on water baptism, I became persuaded of their theology, and even went as far as to doubt my salvation.
I became very angry and bitter with my parents, pastor, and Sunday school teachers whom I thought had led me in error since I was a child. I was told by the UPC that the doctrine of the Trinity was in actuality a belief in "three Gods." They also told me that I had been baptized the wrong way. They insisted that the name Jesus Christ must be spoken over an individual when being baptized and that those who have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had been erroneously baptized. They asked me to show them in the Bible where anyone was baptized in the Triune formula and insisted that every instance of biblical baptism occurred "in the name of Jesus Christ," (that is, with the name pronounced over them).
I soon told my parents of my decision to attend the United Pentecostal Church. They opposed my decision. By this time I had attended the UPC on several different occasions without the consent of my parents. After becoming aware of my excursions they grew concerned. After my first few visits, I was determined to be baptized "the right way" so that I could surely be saved.
Since my attending the UPC went against my father's will, I moved out of my parents' home at age 16. As a result, I found myself living with different members of the church. Three months later, I was set up on the platform for preaching purposes.
I became heavily indoctrinated with various books and materials published by the UPC. I devoted my time to the listening of debate tapes between Oneness preachers and Trinitarians. I learned all the Oneness responses to Trinitarian theology, and became dogmatically opposed to Trinitarians. In August 1989, after being a part of the ministerial staff of the local UPC church, I became licensed with the organization. I started a prison ministry in which about 75 inmates were baptized in two years. I was very zealous with church activities.
I was loaned a video of the debate mentioned above which took place on "The John Ankerberg Show" ("The Trinity or 'Jesus Only': What Do The Scriptures Teach?"). My first impressions of the debate left me disappointed. Dr. Martin and Cal Beisner were very thorough in their presentation and defense of Orthodox Christianity, while in my prideful opinion, the opposition delivered a poor defense of Oneness theology. So to more effectively present and defend Oneness doctrines, I began investing in scholarly works in the areas of Church History and Word Studies in Hebrew and Greek. To my astonishment, I discovered several faulty interpretations of church history as taught by the UPC. There were also a number of grammatical discrepancies of certain key passages that had gone by unnoticed and are in fact used to distort the meaning within the context of the passage.
During the last year of my involvement with the UPC, I analyzed the teachings of my local church. We were taught by our local pastor that he was going to answer for us on Judgment Day concerning our lives and personal experiences with God. We were taught that if we missed a church service, we would have to give an account to God as to why we missed. We were discouraged from attending family outings on a church night. When wanting to do so, members young and old alike, had to ask permission from the pastor. More often than not, the answer was "no." "Where are your priorities," he would ask, "to God or your family?" This would engender a sense of guilt among the members of the church. Scriptures were manipulated and effectively used to intimidate members who consequently had no rights or say-so. The pastor was always right, because he proclaimed himself "the man of God" who was not to be questioned.
There were also the extremes of legalism which exist in most United Pentecostal congregations. Men were not permitted to wear mustaches, women were not allowed to wear pants or slacks, make up, jewelry or cut their hair. And neither could wear sleeves above the elbows. These were all considered "Holiness Standards." Television was disapproved of since it was considered "a pipeline from hell into the home." To violate any of these standards, a member was considered to be rebellious and disobedient to the Word of God, not to mention their pastor. It became a salvation of works rather than grace. If a person did not follow these standards, they could not possibly be saved. The church was governed by modern-day Phariseeism.
Looking back now, I can see the bondage of the people caused by presumed self-righteousness -- which they flaunted by their "holy" attire. It became, as the Apostle Paul said, "...a form of godliness" (II Timothy 3:5).
Another incident happened that further disturbed me. Different people from our local church left to attend another United Pentecostal Church and were informally disfellowshipped because they did so. We were taught that we must attend the church wherein we were "saved." If one left the local assembly to attend another Oneness Church, they were considered rebels and lost, thus the disfellowshiping.
I knew that this teaching was not even remotely Biblical. I then began to thoroughly re-examine the teachings of the church. These and other situations prompted me to analyze the teachings of the organization as a whole. I asked a friend of mine (who was a disfellowshipped member attending a nearby United Pentecostal Church) to once again review with me the Ankerberg debate, this time, with open hearts, open minds, and unbiased intentions.
All of the evidences given by Martin and Beisner were irrefutable. We checked out many of the references and found them to be accurate and correct. Martin explained many of the passages the UPC representatives quoted. For example in John 10:30 Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." Oneness adherents maintain that this proves Jesus and the Father are one person. Yet Martin brought out that the Greek in this passage reads: "...we are in union." (See further a Greek Interlinear Bible in this passage for the Greek word "esmen." It translates "we are.") Deuteronomy 6:4 was also quoted. Again, Martin and Beisner explained that the Hebrew word for "one" in this passage is "echad" -- meaning a compound unity.
Finally, at the end of the program Martin asked Nathaniel Urshan if all those who had been baptized in the "Triune formula" were lost and going to hell. Urshan expressed his uncertainty with a hesitant response. My stomach turned because the answer should have been an emphatic: "Yes! They are lost and going to hell." The UPC emphatically teaches that one must be baptized with the name Jesus Christ pronounced over them. Further, one must speak in tongues as the essential evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. One could not be saved otherwise. In addition, members must follow the legalism taught in their church, be it shaving off one's mustache or wearing sleeves below the elbow, or for women refraining from wearing pants, cosmetics jewelry, and so forth. Therefore it then becomes a salvation by works, and not by grace.
What I never understood was how one who believed in the Trinity, and yet was filled with the Holy Spirit, could be lost. "How could the Holy Spirit dwell in an unclean temple?", I thought. Sins were washed away only after being immersed in water. The Scriptures did not teach baptismal regeneration as I was taught to believe. This doctrine was contrary to the biblical concept of salvation by grace.
I was deliberating at this time whether to continue with the UPC or withdraw membership. I finally decided one month later to turn in my ministerial license with the UPC. At first I questioned my decision. I felt as though my very soul was in jeopardy. But I just could not deny the evidence of Scripture. What was I to listen to? My pastor? The UPC? No! The Word of God! The Bible was clear in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith"