Faith Alone Means Baptism Can't Possibly Do Anything! Bzzz. False.

When you come to two groupings of Scriptures that are both very clear, they're both true.

Keep that in mind as we move on. I will grant that there are passages in Scripture that are unclear and/or difficult to interpret because they do not give us a full picture for one reason or another. Yet, there are many very clear passages of Scripture. And those clear passages of Scripture say what they mean, mean what they say, and usually are repeated in one form or another numerous times and places.

What am I getting at here? A very common evangelical argument that is leveled at the Lutheran doctrine of baptismal regeneration is that it adds works to our salvation and denies justification by grace through faith, apart from works (Eph 2:8-9). But here is the problem: Lutherans firmly hold to the solas of the Reformation. So, unless you're not listening to the Lutheran stance (and the Bible!), you may just be erecting a false dichotomy and a strawman. Since nobody wants to do that, let us examine the passages. I will group the passages into two groups. Group #1 will be a group of passages that clearly teach justification by faith. Group #2 will be passages that clearly teach that baptism unites us to Christ, saves, regenerates, and so on. The lists will not be exhaustive, but I will post enough for the picture to become clear.

Group #1:

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 10:9-10, 13: because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 16:31a: And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved

Ok, so there are some passages that teach that we are saved by faith. Along with this all-important one:

Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Group #2:

Acts 2:38-39: And Peter said to them, “Repent and come forward to the altar call and say the sinner's prayer 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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Romans 6:3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Colossians 2:11-12: In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:21: Baptism, which corresponds to this, 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

Titus 3:4-7: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So there is group 2, and they're all pretty clear. I'll even grant the evangelicals Titus 3:5 because it doesn't use the word 'baptism' or 'baptized.' Yet, it's pretty clear that it is talking about baptism.

So here is the thing. You have group #1 of passages that are very clear regarding faith. You have group #2 of passages that are very clear regarding baptism. Group #1 is clear that faith justifies and we are saved by faith. Group #2 is clear that baptism unites us to Christ, saves us, and regenerates us.

Instead of using group #1 as a hammer to make group #2 untrue or to reinterpret all of the group #2 passages to mean something other than what they mean at face value - we have to determine how both of these groups can be true. In other words, we must stop pitting clear Scriptures against other clear Scriptures, when God's Word is all true. So when the evangelical surmises that since faith saves, baptism cannot, they are in effect creating a false dichotomy. The two are not mutually exclusive. To pit faith alone against baptism is to pit faith alone against grace alone. You just don't do that.

This brings us back to Ephesians 2:8-9, which is very clear that we are saved by grace through faith, not of works. The evangelical interjects here: "See! See! Baptism is a work, therefore it cannot save!" But this interjection and argument rests on a false assumption in the first place. Where does Holy Scripture say what the evangelical says about baptism? Namely, where does it say that baptism is an outward sign of something that already occurred inwardly and that in order to be baptized a person must be able to confess their Christian faith and know what baptism is? Where does Scripture say that? Perhaps it's in the lost book of 2 Apollos, chapter 7. I don't know. But once you see that this interpretation of baptism is foreign to God's Word, well, then it becomes much more clear.

But what about the thief on the cross? He wasn't baptized! Ha! Got you! Well, crapnuggets, I never thought of that. You got me now. I have to retract this whole thing.

The problem is, this is not a good argument at all. Just because the thief on the cross was not baptized does not mean that baptism doesn't save or that baptism is not the normal means by which we are united to Christ. Baptism is a Word of promise from God that saves us. The thief on the cross got one of those too. There was some guy on another cross next to him. Not sure who He was, but I think His name started with a J. And this other guy gave the thief on the cross a word of promise that he would be saved and be with Him in paradise that day. Logic destroys the thief on the cross objection. More importantly, Scripture destroys it.

So, how can group #1 and group #2 both be true? Let's look at Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves and not by works. Solely by God's gift. Grace is a gift, faith is a gift, and salvation is a gift. The whole thing is a gift.

If baptism does what Holy Scripture says it does, the solution to the problem is quite simple. Only Christ's work saves us, and it is given to us by grace alone, not of works. If baptism regenerates us, unites us to Christ, and saves us, it cannot be a work, and it has to be grace (Rom 11:6 is pretty clear). Only grace saves. If baptism is grace, it must do something to us that delivers the work of Christ to us personally and objectively. And if it is grace, it also must bring the gift of faith with it; per Ephesians 2:8-9, since this is what grace does. It delivers to us Christ and faith.

So, if baptism is grace and delivers faith, there is no contradiction at all. Baptism is simply a means of grace. It is God's work done to us, not our work done to God out of the pious purity of our heart. It is one way in which Christ is delivered to us. In fact, it is the usual way in which we are united to Christ. The norm, as it were.

Baptism unites us to Christ (Rom 6, Gal 3). Why? Because God baptises us in baptism. It's all Him and none of us. We are baptized, not active workers to save ourselves by works.

We are washed, sanctified, justified (1Cor 6:11), reborn (John 3:5, Tit 3:5), and saved (1Pet 3:21) in baptism. Why, because we are just so obedient, that's why. No, no. These things occur because God delivers His grace through means, of which baptism is one of them; just as the Lord's Supper and the preaching of the Gospel. In short, it is the Word of God with these Sacraments that do these things. Not just water in baptism, but being washed with water and the Word (Eph 5:26).

Baptism is the normal means that God grants us faith. It is pure grace, delivering the crucified Christ to you, personally and objectively. We are saved by grace through faith and we are justified by faith alone. But this faith comes by grace and this grace is delivered through means. We receive it through light rays when we read the Word, sound waves when we hear the Gospel and receive absolution, water in baptism, and bread and wine in the Eucharist.

What most evangelicals are actually against is the idea that baptism can do anything, especially to infants, because it's against their sovereign right to choose. In short, they're against divine monergism, because baptizing an infant (especially an infant) violates their free will because they haven't chosen to be baptized and haven't made their own personal confession of faith. The majority of them won't ever be able to see or consider the biblical stance of baptismal grace which imparts faith because to them faith = choice. This plays off of a false dichotomy as well that equates faith with free will choice and not a gift of God. They've sadly missed the point that we are passive receivers of God's good gifts. Pastor Matt Richard has aptly pointed that out over at Steadfast Lutherans. The article can be found here:

http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=28761

And Pr. Richard's excellent blogwork can be found here:

http://www.pastormattrichard.com/

Baptism is in no way contrary to faith alone. Baptism is grace that delivers faith to us. God set it up that way. He saves the natural world by connecting His supernatural and eternal Word to natural means. You know, like water, bread, and wine. And stuff.