Hello everyone from a church of Christ guy!

Salvation is a matter of the heart. If we have a heart for the Lord, we are going to believe on His name and be subject to baptism. Acts 2:38, Peter exhorts "Repent and be baptized, every one of you." He did not say "Repent, and then be baptized if so inclined." Note that baptism is not a work, or he would have said "Go and baptize yourself." Baptism is something that we must be subjected to - a symbolic death, burial, and resurrection per the apostle Peter - of Jesus' own death burial, and resurrection.

So as to your question, if not being baptized is a matter of believing and not yet having an opportunity, no. God doesn’t play games. But if it’s a matter of supposedly believing and then not proceeding out of pride or obstinacy, then let’s just say that I would not want to be facing God with that, as it would appear that I wasn’t “all in” or that I was playing my own game with God.

Baptism is very important:

1. Jesus began his ministry by being baptized.
2. Every New Testament conversion is accompanied by baptism, and there was a sense of urgency to it.
3. Baptism is mentioned over 100 times through the NT.
4. Before He ascended, Jesus said “Go, tell, and baptize” (paraphrase).

That said, it isn’t my place to say whether or not a person is saved. Only God knows the heart. But if the heart says "I will not be baptized...", how sincere is the heart?

The flip side is that we can focus so much on the water that we ignore the heart. Equally dangerous.

 

come again on that?

 

Great questions!

Here is where your friends are undoubtedly coming from:

The issue is not the water. There is nothing magical about the water. It is not holy water. Water does not save. God saves.

The water is a symbol of a variety of key things, not the least of which is sharing in the burial and resurrection of Jesus by being subject to baptism. The idea is, if we are true believers and wish to enter into fellowship with Christ, we are going to be subject to a symbol of the same thing that Christ was. If we do not wish to do that, there is something going on in the heart that is preventing full and complete submission, which would then cause someone to say "baptism is required for salvation."

I know of a fellow here who is fairly well-to-do and a few years back when we were at lunch, he asked me if I thought he was saved even though he wasn't baptized. I said "wow that sounds like a loaded question...but if it's eating at you then why don't you just get baptized and then you don't have to ask the question any more?" He said "I just don't want to go through all of that, people around here know me and it's kind of embarrassing." My goodness, what do I say to that? The poor guy, due to his stature, cannot stand the idea of being humbled before the Lord! Is he saved? I HONESTLY HAVE MY DOUBTS!

The Church of Christ places a slightly higher premium on baptism than the Baptist church (ironic given the names of the denominations), because the Church of Christ generally contends that belief and baptism are one phenomenon (and neither of them is a "work" - that's a myth!) They get that from Acts 2:38: "Believe and baptized, all of you". Whereas the Baptist doctrine splits the two things up, and you can do the baptism a bit more at your leisure.

For me, personally, baptism is essential because it represents the other half of Acts 2:38; it's not a baby that I can split for myself. I also teach my kids this way - one of which happily attends a Baptist church I might add.

Having said that, I can't argue against the Baptist view on this, because I have studied it and understand it, and I would not go so far as to say it is in error, just not the emphasis on baptism that I am quite comfortable with. But I could easily attend a Baptist church and be content - there is no such thing as a "perfect" church in which I am going to agree with every detail, and I believe holiness is in the First Baptist Church here. It is a special church that has brought many to Christ.

Both sides, however, have some inherent dangers with their perspectives:

1. The Church of Christ runs the danger of emphasizing being baptized without really addressing the heart. It is so much easier as humans to address externals than internals. We can check off the boxes more easily this way. But it's all about the heart. If we are baptized yet there is no internal change - such as the first time I was baptized at age 15, I might as well have jumped off the diving board at the pool. All I got was wet.

2. The Baptist church runs the risk of sending the message that baptism is optional. "Well, the thief on the cross wasn't baptized." Yes, but you're not exactly the thief on the cross. When we skip baptism, it's because we don't want to humble ourselves and be subject to that, and I think that is a heart matter that in fact COULD be a salvation issue.

Finally, on immersion, I do believe that this is the only proper way to be baptized, because remember, baptism is a symbol of burial and resurrection. Being in the water is akin to being in the grave, and being lifted out of the water is akin to resurrection. Is a sprinkle good enough? Well, did they sprinkle in the New Testament? And if sprinkling is enough, will a spray mist do the trick? A small aerosol on the neck and call it good? If I did the Ice Bucket challenge once, would that work? Anyone can play "what if" games with all sorts of scenarios. It's a slippery slope.

I think the key is for the CoC and the Baptists to agree to disagree on the zigs and zigs of baptism and move on down the road of Christian service together. Both organizations I believe are biblically sound and averse to pop culture's infiltration into our churches. Our church has an incredibly close relationship with First Baptist Church. We do local missions together quite a lot. Our pastors meet frequently. We also worship together once or twice a year. Their pastor will preach at our church, and vice versa. There is a tremendous mutual respect and it's beautiful to see.

 

There is ignorance and sectarianism in the corners of every denomination my friend.

 

CofC shouldn't be in the business of saying who is or isn't saved. I think I have laid out the CofC view on baptism pretty well.

 

1. I think your term "descriptive" rather than "prescriptive:" is spot on and I've never thought of it that way.

2. None of us has really "done diddly" to earn the sacrifice of Jesus.

3. Nowhere did I state that Baptists don't put enough emphasis on baptism.

 

The baptism situation between CofC and Baptist is a moot point for me personally. Opinions on both sides can and do differ.

As for sprinklings, I can't speak for other CofC people. I personally feel they would be in error not being immersed, for reasons that I have discussed. It wouldn't be for me to say whether or not they are part of the Body of Christ. If they feel they are a part of the Body of Christ, that's between them and God. That's not to say I wouldn't attempt to help them see an alternative view on baptism, assuming that I had a relationship that would allow me to do so.