| The Sinner's Prayer, Part 7 |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, September 05 2005 00:00 |
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We have seen that saving faith finds expression, and our settlement with Christ is manifested in a prayer for mercy and/or confession. But what of baptism? Can baptism also be an expression of saving faith? Can one plead for mercy and confess Christ through Christian baptism? Again, we must tread carefully to avoid the heresy of baptismal regeneration or a doctrine that has one justified by baptism. Yet Christian baptism is enjoined upon all who find themselves in covenant relation with God. In Acts 16 the jailer at Philippi, fearing perhaps for his life, cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul’s immediate response was “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). Paul answers consistently with the teaching of Jesus and consistently with his own teaching: one is justified by faith. If one wishes to be saved, he must believe in the Lord Jesus. But we notice in verse 33 that after washing the wounds of Paul and Silas, he and his household were immediately baptized. The jailer then brought Paul and Silas into his house and had fellowship with them at his table, being filled with joy, Luke tells us, “because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole family.” The jailer was justified through faith, but his baptism was a testimony to that faith. In one sense, the jailer made a public proclamation and confession of his faith by submitting to Christian baptism. Baptism of an adult, as sign and seal of God’s covenant of grace with us, serves along with prayer and confession to provide assurance of the reality of faith. Baptism, prayer, and confession apart from faith are all empty and meaningless, but when these acts are expressions of true faith in the life of a justified person, they become visible manifestations of the reality of one’s right standing with God. We should add that this interpretation of baptism in an adult as an expression of faith will help us to understand passages where baptism and salvation are tied, such as Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16, and 1 Pet. 3:21. |
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