Peter and Baptism

Recently, someone was trying to convince me that baptism with water is an essential part of salvation (becoming born again) using a scripture from the Book of Acts. Here is his statement, and my response to it:

According to Acts 2:38-39 our sins are forgiven by God when we are baptized (the baptism itself is not what forgives our sins since only God can do that) and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized (the Spirit does not come because of the water, but because that's the time that God has chosen to impart His Spirit to His children). [/quote]

This response is a great illustration of the problem I have with those who try to formulate or prove doctrine from the Book of Acts. “Acts” is a story of transition for the early Church (Body of Christ) and it’s new members from the Old Covenant (Testament, Will) to the New Covenant (Testament, Will), from the old relationship to God to a new relationship with God, from the old way of doing things (eg, the Law, customs, rituals, and ceremonies) to a new way of doing things (eg, grace, mercy, the movement of the Holy Spirit). Additionally, it is also a narrative about some of the early leaders of the new Church (specifically, Peter, Paul and the original apostles and disciples) and their efforts to understand this new gift that the world had been given, so that they could shape and formulate the doctrine and direction of this new movement (first called The Way, later termed “Christianity”). In the process, there were several errors and, shall we say, “misspeaks” made which the Holy Spirit eventually corrected in later chapters of Acts and in the many Epistles which followed. Think about it: Consider the confusion and turmoil which would exist in the Church today if there had been no Epistles to follow the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

The first thing I would challenge you about in your use of Acts 2:38-39 as a doctrine (or shall we say, Law) for water baptism and the forgiveness of sins is wasn’t this the same Peter who was also initially limiting salvation to those who were Jewish and requiring new converts to observe Jewish rituals such as those concerning circumcision, forbidden foods and ceremonial washings? Weren’t these practices quickly challenged and corrected by God through the use of visions, the Holy Spirit and the teachings (and challenges) of Paul? And, oh yes, how about that commune thing that God had to break up by allowing persecution to descend on Jerusalem early on? For instance, take a look at what happened in Acts 10:44-48: A large group of people were listening to Peter preach about Jesus and salvation, and when they believed in Him they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. THEN (after the baptism of the Holy Spirit) Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people (they were all Gentiles - like you (I assume) and me) from being baptized with water? THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT (before being baptized with water) JUST AS WE HAVE.” Do you see that this contradicts your suggestion that we become born again at the exact moment we are baptized with water? Don’t you see that these people became born again the moment that they believed in Jesus and were baptized by His Holy Spirit, and that if a suicide bomber had walked in and blown them up before they could be baptized with water, they would have all entered the Kingdom of Heaven (they had already entered the Kingdom of God, when they became born again through the Holy Spirit)?

Peter even contradicts his own statement in Acts 2:38 with his words concerning baptism and the forgiveness of sins in 1 Peter 3:18-21, which is more in line with the teachings of the other Epistles concerning these two different subjects. In Acts 2:38, Peter suggests that the forgiveness of sins is based on repentance and baptism (he never says whether this is with water or the Holy Spirit, although he had just experienced the latter); however, in 1 Peter 3:18 he teaches that the forgiveness of all sins of all mankind occurred the moment that Christ was put to death in the body (“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God”). This Scripture (1 Pet 3:18) agrees with other Scriptures in the New Testament, such as Romans chapter 6 and chapters 9 and 10 in Hebrews, which testify that regardless of whether or not we receive it, Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross paid the penalty for and provided forgiveness for all the sins of all mankind - once for all. Hebrews 10:17-18 seals it all with this pronouncement from the Holy Spirit: “’Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these (sins) HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins.”

You see, after Jesus’ death on the cross, the issue of salvation is no longer about the forgiveness of sins and receiving new life; it’s solely about receiving new life, made possible by the power of the Resurrection (see 1 Peter 3:21b-22) and the Gift of the Holy Spirit. No one goes to hell for committing sins after the cross, because the exact minute Jesus died on the cross He paid the penalty for ALL of the sins of all mankind (“He died ONCE for ALL...”). After that moment, the only thing that can send a person to hell is being dead in Adam, instead of being alive in Christ - in other words, spiritual death. After Christ’s death on the cross, the one and only sin that can send a person to hell is the sin of unbelief in what He has done for us, because that is the only action that can keep a person from asking Jesus into his/her heart and receiving Life (thus, “unbelief which occurs BEFORE being born again” is the only unpardonable sin).

Finally, concerning baptism by water, Peter himself teaches in 1 Peter 3:21 that the water that saved Noah and his family and that removes dirt from the body - earthly, physical water - is a symbol of the spiritual baptism which occurs when we pledge ourselves to God (verse 21, “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you”)...Which is what I’ve been saying all along, that water baptism is a symbol of the baptism which Christ provides when we become born again.