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Baptism a Work of
Merit?
Many have it
ingrained upon their heart that baptism could not possibly be a
condition the sinner must meet to be saved, and that, if it were, then
baptism would be a work of merit. What saith the Scriptures?
The Case of Naaman
When Naaman came to Elisha for healing from leprosy, "Elisha
sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven
times." (2 Kings5:11). Though at first reluctant, he went "down,
and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of
the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little
child, and he was clean" (v. 14). Now Naaman did not say, "The water
saved me." Nor did he say, "I've healed myself, " or "I've earned my
healing." What we have here is a man who was healed by God's grace, and
by faith, yet he had to meet the condition that the man of God set forth
in order to receive the blessing of healing from leprosy.
The Blind Man
When Jesus and His disciples came unto the man who had been born
blind, Jesus healed him. The manner in which Jesus healed him can help
illustrate how He saves us from sin. Jesus "spat on the ground, and
made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay, and said
unto him, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam.' He went away therefore, and
washed, and came seeing" (John 9:6-7). No one would deny that God's
grace gave him his sight, but does any reader imagine that this man
would have received his sight if he had protested, "There's nothing in
the water," or "I cannot do that because that would be a work of merit
whereby I would earn my vision?" The grace of God provided for his
sight, but there would have been no way for him to receive his sight
without meeting the condition that Jesus set forth. He understood that
Jesus healed him, but He healed him when he obeyed what Jesus said.
If we can see that Naaman received his cleansing when he dipped in
the Jordan and not until then, yet the dipping did not earn the healing,
and, if we can see that the blind man received his sight when, and not
until, he washed in the pool, yet the power was not in the water but in
Christ, we ought to be able to see the truth about baptism. It is a
condition that God set forth for salvation (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).
Meeting that condition does not nullify grace, or earn salvation, any
more than in the cases of Naaman and the blind man.
--Via Gospel Guide,
Vol. 13 No. 8 August 1981 |
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