Skip to main content

Baptism and remission of sin

BAPTISM AND THE REMISSION OF SINS by Cornelius R. Stam Printer Friendly Version

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

The twelve apostles preached and practiced exactly this. When Peter's hearers at Pentecost were convicted of their sins and asked: "Men and brethren, what shall we do" Peter did not tell them that Christ had died for their sins and that they could receive salvation as the gift of God's grace, apart from religion or works. Rather he said:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).

Years ago, in a series of debates on dispensationalism, the author asked his opponent: "Suppose, after a Sunday evening service, some of your hearers were convicted of their sins and asked you and your co-workers: 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Would you tell them what Peter told his convicted sinners at Pentecost?"

"Why, of course!" he exclaimed.

"In those words?" I persisted.

He thought for a moment and then replied: "Well, I guess not exactly in those words."

The fact is that this pastor would not at all have said to his hearers what Peter said to his. Even though a Baptist, he would not have said: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins," for he believed that subjection to water baptism should be left to each person's conscience, and he did not believe that it had anything to do with salvation. He would doubtless have said to any inquirers what Paul said when the convicted Gentile jailor asked: "What must I do to be saved?" Like Paul, he would have replied: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.. ." (Acts 16:31). Peter at Pentecost preached what he was commanded to preach under his commission: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), but when God raised up Paul, that other apostle, He sent him to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God" and the finished work of Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prayer

The Scriptures everywhere exhort God's people to pray,and in the epistles of Paul we find greater cause,greater reason and greater incentive than ever to pray—to pray "always," "in everything," "without ceasing." The example of our Lord and of His apostles—particularly Paul—is a call to prayer. Every need,every anxiety,every heartache is a call to prayer. Every temptation,every defeat—yes,and every victory is a call to prayer. Yet,merely praying,or even spending much time in prayer,is not in itself evidence of true spirituality. Many carnal Christians,still "babes in Christ," and even many unsaved people,spend much time in prayer. But the truly spiritual believer will join the Apostle Paul in saying: "I will pray with the spirit,and I will pray with the understanding also" (I Cor. 14:15). "With the spirit," earnestly,fervently,pouring out to God my adoration,my supplications and my thanks. And "with the understanding...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Peter 3:10, 15-16 KJV But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

NOW IS THE TIME - Two Minutes With the Bible Daily Devotional
Post a Comment
Read more