1.25.23
On my first morning back home from Louisiana, I felt the inspiration to make this post regarding the importance of baptism— a subject, due to its nature involving remission of sins, should be of utmost concern to everyone. And, if anything in Scripture should get our attention, remission of sins should.
Jesus was baptized without having a need for remission of sins. But He stated that baptism is what God requires (Matthew 3:15). He is our example. We must always follow Him (John 1:43). And, specifically, baptism is required of us for salvation (Mark 16:15-16; 1Peter 3:21). We must be diligent, as Peter admonished: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
One of the greatest clauses in the Bible: REMISSION OF SINS
There cannot be a subject of greater concern to a sensible human being than remission of sins. That’s because sin is everyone’s dilemma. It must be blotted out before we can enter that pure Holy City to which we aspire.
Got sins?
Got sins that need remitting? I bet you do. Everyone does.
Anything the Bible presents for the remission of sins should be taken seriously. Have you ever read the fine print when making a purchase because it may cost you money in the end if you didn’t? I bet you have. What the Bible presents for the remission of sins is not fine print either. It’s in bold and enlarged letters, as it were, so no one will miss it. That is to say, it’s highly emphasized in our Bibles. And to miss remission of sins is the ultimate costly mistake— an infinitely regrettable one.
Baptism is for the remission of sins.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus died for our sins on the cross. Since then, there has been a biblically-prescribed means down through Christian redemptive history by which interested persons can apply the blood to their sinful lives. It is by baptism in Jesus’ name. Hang on.
Unmistakably, the New Testament presents baptism as the means to obtain remission of sins. Accept it or not, that’s its stated function. I don’t think the Bible could be more clear or more emphatic in its presentation. It employs various revelatory techniques to do this.
1/ Baptism for the remission of sins was revolutionary.
After long centuries of animal sacrifice to roll Israel’s sins ahead for the blood of Jesus to remove, John the Baptist introduced a revolutionary new development in redemptive history— baptism for the remission of sins (Matthew 3:11). This was a seismic change that guaranteed notice of the religious elite but, more importantly, those truly seeking remission.
2/ Jesus agreed with John.
Jesus supported John’s baptism by saying that those who refused it (usually because of pride) rejected the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:28-30). In other words, they missed God when they didn’t submit to John’s baptism. Specifically, they missed the much-needed remission of sins God had offered them.
3/ Jesus prescribed baptism/remission of sins for the Christian era.
Jesus, likewise, prescribed baptism, specifically in His name, for the remission of sins (Luke 24:47). He said this, significantly, in His Great Commission, which was His charge to His Apostles regarding salvation in the soon-coming Christian era.
Perhaps, it’s helpful to some persons to mention here that when Jesus spoke to His Apostles of remission of sins, He was referring to baptism. They knew that well. It had been the new order of receiving remission of sins for the previous three and a half years. The fact that Jesus made baptism salvific is evident elsewhere in the Great Commission, too (Mark 16:15-16).
4/ Baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins was presented to the world on the all-important Day of Pentecost.
Many people are so oblivious to the significance of the Day of Pentecost that, when they hear it, it’s as though the person speaking said, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah”. They don’t understand it simply because they’re not taught its importance, especially relative to the plan of salvation. But all the spectacular things that took place on that momentous first day of Christianity showcased the plan of salvation in a most dramatic way.
The importance of the Day of Pentecost cannot be overemphasized. It was epochal because it was the beginning of the New Covenant God had made with mankind. For that reason alone, the plan of salvation must be evident, which, of course, it is. Add to that the fact that three thousand souls were saved before the day was over. We must be able to know from the context what was preached to them for salvation. And, as mentioned, it’s clearly revealed. Baptism in Jesus’ name was prominently and universally mandated to be for the remission of sins and was declared by Peter to be so for the entire Church age (Acts 2:38-39).
5/ The conversion of the Apostle Paul, by design, is remarkably telling.
Pauls conversion highlights baptism in Jesus’ name in an especially powerful way because he needed baptism to wash away his sins three days after giving his life to Christ (Acts 22:16). This inspired record is theologically nuclear. It proves that justification does not occur by mere belief in Christ and that Paul could not have taught such a thing because it wasn’t his own experience.
6/ Paul taught how baptism can remit sins (Romans 6:3-5).
Paul’s teaching in Romans 6:3-5 about the efficacy of baptism highlights the fact that it is the means to obtain remission of sins. Paul explains that, by baptism, a person is plunged into a mystical death and burial with Christ, hence, bringing him into contact with His cleansing blood. It explains how baptism can be said to wash away our sins without dismissing the fact that the blood of Jesus is the actual remitter. Baptism is Christ’s chosen means Baptism serves as a real, though mystical, encounter with our crucified Lord.
7/ Paul preached baptism in Jesus’ name to others who had previously believed in Christ (Acts 19:1-6).
The book of Acts shows that, in his missionary travels, Paul insisted on baptism in Jesus’ name to persons in Ephesus who had been believers in Christ for about twenty years. Again, this is theological dynamite. Though they had been previously baptized by John and, thus, had received remission of sins that was available in the pre-Christian era, they still needed to be baptized into Christ’s death and burial to receive the direct application of the blood required for all Christians since the Day of Pentecost. Baptism in the Christian era must be in Jesus’ name. This important passage contains the precedent and the authority requiring everyone to be re-baptized in Jesus’ name if they were previously baptized another way.
This is also the reason Aquila and Priscilla confronted the eloquent preacher, Apollos, who also had only known the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-28).
These incidents involving believers and previous baptisms are equivalent to a neon billboard flashing out the need for every person to be baptized in Jesus’ name, which Scripture presents as the only saving name (Acts 4:12).
Conclusion
I can’t think of any other subject of Scripture that should capture our gaze more than remission of sins. Conviction of sin is one of our earliest recollections. We felt uncomfortable when we did wrong as a child and desired release from the shame and guilt. To have true biblical assurance of freedom from the record of past sins should be a person’s primary concern and turn every eye to the Scriptures that prescribe it. Heaven is a pure place where no tarnish of sin is present. Baptism in Jesus’ name is necessary to be in the Rapture of the Church because it is the means to appropriate the blood of Christ to ourselves. As a result, it remits, blots out, and washes away all sin (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 22:16). And the ease of it testifies to the effectiveness of Calvary.