| FAQ #6 |
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| FAQ #6 |
| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
| I was baptized when I was just a kid, so I'm going to heaven, right? |
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So, how does that work again? You were baptized, either emersed in water or had water sprinkled on your head, and as a result you believe that gives you an entrance ticket into heaven, right? In that theology, apparently everyone, who has been in a swimming pool or walked through a rain shower or taken a shower in the bath, must also be going to heaven. What is the difference between that which has just been described and a baptism? Is a baptism effective because it was done in a special place in a church? Many baptisms are performed in lakes and rivers which have no significant religious importance. Is a baptism effective because it is performed by a cleric who has special authority granted by God? There are many clerics who do not believe that God is a person, and there are many with varying concepts of God and certainly do not agree with each regarding the god in which they believe. Is a baptism effective because a prayer was said to God during the service? Depending on the religious belief, to what god was the prayer offered? Not all religions pray to or believe in the same god. Those who believe that baptism qualifies a person for heaven must also believe that God is so delighted that a person would devote a half hour out of a very busy lifetime to be baptized, that He grants entrance to heaven based on that great performance of a duty. The majority of people who believe that baptism qualifies a person for heaven, do so because it is a belief based on convenience. If baptism gives a person entrance into heaven, then the person has no other obligation to God and may live a life free from any responsibility or commitment to precepts or regulations that might be imposed by God. A person is free to choose whatever religious belief that they might desire, but by that choice must be prepared for the consequences to follow. Most people wish to go to heaven as opposed to an alternative of a place in hell, but there is more involved in going to heaven than just an escape from a very bad alternative. Most people wish to go to heaven in the same moral and spiritual condition in which they find themselves at the present time. They see heaven as a place where their physical ailments are eliminated, but they do not wish to admit to the ailments that affect their soul and spiritual condition. If heaven was filled with people who are just like they are in this life, then it would be no different than this life, which is not a very welcome prospect. The Biblical view of baptism is that it has no relationship whatsoever in regards to obtaining entrance into heaven. Heaven is not the goal in Biblical theology, but it is a result of obtaining salvation through the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is the goal, and although heaven is promised as a reward to those who have obtained salvation, it is a fringe benefit and not the primary objective. There are greater issues involved than simply going to a nice place when one dies. Even if there was no place like heaven, the Bible teaches that there are issues regarding personal sins against God and the relationship of people to God that must be resolved in this life prior to death. Failure to resolve these issue on the part of individuals will result in the implementation of judgment by God, in which the verdict and sentence has already been determined. The issues involved between people and God are those regarding the commandments given to humanity, the response to them and the reverence and worship that is to be given to God. The Bible is very specific, stating that all human beings, without exception, fail to keep the commandments of God, deliberately break those commandments, are defective in the core of their being as a result of the sin of their father Adam, are separated from God and have been judged guilty and sentenced by God for those actions which are declared to be sin. (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23). Since all humanity has already been judged and sentenced, the condition of all humanity is desperate, requiring immediate remedial action which the Bible describes as salvation. The salvation of humanity cannot be accomplished by any means on the part of humanity, since the defect and sin is within the character of all human beings. This salvation or rescue from judgment can only come from God. The rescue can only be accomplished through the action of a Redeemer who is able and qualified to accept the judgment of God as a substitute in place of humanity. This is the message of the Bible by which God has provided a Redeemer in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ who is the substitute for the judgment against humanity. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8-21, Ephesians 2:4-10, 1 John 4:9-10) But what does it say? "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" - that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that god raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."Salvation is the imperative and necessary issue with which a person must deal. It is salvation that secures the soul from an eternity of judgment by God, and as a result of salvation, heaven is also a reward. Baptism does not secure salvation and cannot be the guarantor of the way to heaven. Baptism comes as a result of salvation; not as a part of the necessary elements to obtain salvation, but as a witness by the believer that they are identified with Jesus Christ and have had their sins cleansed and covered by the substitutionary work that He accomplished by His death of the cross. Baptism is not a means to obtain salvation or gain entrance into heaven, but it is a sign of identification with the belief in a particular Redeemer, being Jesus Christ. Baptism has no inherent power or capacity to enhance or gain a right spiritual relationship with God. Baptism is commanded by Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:16-20) and so it is an ordinance of the Christian church. Since baptism is a testimony to salvation and to belief in Jesus Christ, it has no meaning for the infant, who has no understanding of what it means, or for the adult who does not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Baptism without the understanding of and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ has no meaning and is without effect on the life of an individual. You could sum it up like this: as a believer stands in the water, ready to be immersed, he could declare these words, "I hereby confess in my willing submission to this divinely appointed ordinance, my glad obedience to the command of my Lord and Savior. In this symbolic manner, I show forth my identification with the one who bore my sins, took my place, died in my stead, was buried, and rose again for my justification. As Christ went through the dreadful reality of suffering and death to secure my salvation, so, by my immersion in water and emergence there from, I thus publicly declare my identification with my Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection on my behalf, with the intention hence forth to walk with Him in newness of life." That's the sum of it.A person may not assume or claim to be going to heaven simply because they have been baptized at some point in their life, whether it be as an infant, child or adult. Baptism comes in response to salvation and salvation comes in response to understanding the meaning of the message of the gospel and accepting that message into the life of the individual. Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." by Gary A. Hand On Doctrine ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On this website: What Is Salvation? What Is A Christian? BAPTISM SALVATION |
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