Too Much Sin in the Water
Over the last two weeks, seven souls have been added to the Lord at Ashville Road. We are so proud of these young people for the decision they have made and celebrate their new birth alongside their families. It has been a long time since we have seen this many obey the gospel in such a short period of time.
Katie Jean Greenway, whose two older sisters are among the seven baptisms, said, “We need to drain the baptistry. There is too much sin in the water!”
The comment, which came from the pure heart of a child, is right on point. When Ananias came to the house of Judas where Saul was staying in Damascus, he gave him these instructions: “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). There was much sin in the water on that day. Saul had been a persecutor of the church. We know that he watched over the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:58). He ravaged the church and dragged men and women into prison for proclaiming the gospel (Acts 8:3). Luke says he breathed threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1). On that day, when God sent the prophet to the house where he was staying to tell him what he must do, he took those sins down with him into a watery grave and was raised with Christ a free man.
Some people discount the importance of baptism because salvation comes by grace and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9). They fear that requiring baptism for salvation amounts to a works-based salvation. Salvation, they say, comes to anyone who affirms the truth about Jesus in his heart and prays to God, asking for forgiveness. But look at the account of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9. After he encountered the risen Lord, he fasted and prayed for three days (Acts 9:9, 11). Despite his faith and prayer, he still had sin when Ananias came to him, for the prophet commanded him to be baptized and “wash away his sins!”
Baptism is called the “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5; Eph. 5:26). Speaking of their conversion, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “You were washed” (1 Cor. 6:11). It's simple. Before baptism, the sinner is stained with sin. When he comes out of the watery grave, his sins have been washed away.
This is not “baptismal regeneration” as we have been accused of teaching. Baptismal regeneration is the concept that there is something magical in the water of the baptistry that removes a person's sins. I know of no one who teaches the necessity of baptism for salvation who holds to that superstition.
As Peter said, baptism “saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Pet. 3:21). The washing of water that is a part of the gospel plan of salvation is a matter of faith. The believer is immersed in water, trusting that God removes the stain of sin from his soul and that, just as Christ was raised up from the dead, he will rise out of the water to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).
So we don't have to drain the baptistry just yet. The problem is not too much sin in the water. There's too much sin in the world, and time is wasting. Let's share the good news about Jesus Christ so that more will come to God in faith and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38).
Drew Kizer