When explaining why you "dont have to be" baptized. Preachers who are unbelieving would tell you that baptism is a work on our part, and that we are saved by grace through faith alone, so one does not need baptism to be saved. Although I also believe and know that we are saved by grace through faith alone, I am here to tell you, the reader, that baptism is and act of faith on our part, and a work of God. I will explain why baptism is an act of faith on our part, and Gods work using the bible, and using some simple logic.
David Bernard: "Faith and obedience are two sides to one coin. If you believe you obey, if you obey you believe." We have to obey the Lords command to be baptized. Just because we are baptized does not mean that it is a work of our own. We depend completely on God to wash away our sins at baptism. The Water itself has no special quality but when we have faith in the "operation of God" He forgives us of our sins (Colossians 2:12-13).
Faith produces a response. If there is not a response to faith, that faith is dead (James 2:20). James said "Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."(James 2:18). Just look at the faith chapter, by faith they all "did something." They all had a response to faith. "by faith Abel offered unto God a more perfect sacrifice than Cain" (Hebrews 11:4), "by faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed" (Hebrews 11:8), "by faith, being warned of God things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7). If Noah would not have built the ark, he would have been drowned in the floods with the rest of the people on earth. Can we say that Noah building the ark was works, therefore he saved himself? No. Israel offered sacrifices to God, can we say that the sacrifices were works, therefore Israel saved themselves? No, because if man could ever save himself, he could still save himself, therefore we would not have to depend on God for salvation. Noahs building of he ark, and Israels sacrifices and all the things done in Hebrews 11 were acts of faith. Because they believed God they followed His command, and because we believe God we should follow His command to be baptized as an act of faith.
Lets talk about (Romans 10:9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." and (Romans 10:13), "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Many use these as the full plan of salvation. Though these cannot be the full plan of salvation, because they do not mention Repentance. Repentance is required, Jesus himself said, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."(Luke 13:3). Taking these verses as the plan of salvation would mean repentance would not be required for one to be saved. So even the rapist, or the murderer, or the abusers (physical, and drug) etc, would be saved without repenting of their evil. In fact, even the demons would be saved, because they both confess Christ (Matthew 8:29), and believe so much that they tremble (James 2:19).
Just calling on the name of the Lord does not save either (Romans 10:13), because this excludes repentance as well. Paul meant more than just calling on the name in this verse, because not everyone who says Lord, Lord shall be saved, but only those who obey and do the will of God will be saved (Matthew 7:21). We cannot even call him Lord unless we do what he says (Luke 6:46), therefore repentance is required. Besides all this the name of the Lord is called at baptism (Acts 22:16), and no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Spirit of God (1Corinthians 12:3); so the Paul effectively linked faith, repentance and baptism with salvation, and the Roman Christians recognized this.
The book of Romans was sent by Paul to Romans who were already Christians, so he did not have to explain the plan of salvation in detail, because they had already received it. What he meant in (Romans 10:9 and 10:13) is that confessing Jesus, and believing in him, would produce a response to that belief, by obeying the gospel (Death [Repentance], Burial [Baptism], Resurrection [Infilling of the Holy Ghost]), which would save you,(1Corinthians 15:1-4). In fact even a couple verses later he explains, "but they have not all obeyed the gospel." (Romans 10:16). So (Romans 10:9, and 10:13) are not the plan of salvation, It is the act of calling on God with a sincere heart that produces a response which leads to salvation. The full plan of salvation is (Acts 2:38), but that is for another blog.
Baptism is not a work, it is an act of faith, and a work of God. (Titus 3:5) even says that baptism is not our works, but a work of God. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." The "washing of regeneration" is baptism. Some would like to disagree with that by linking washing of regeneration to renewing of the Holy Ghost, making it one act of receiving the Holy Ghost, but in fact it is not. A comparison of another verse about baptism and birth of the Spirit, (John 3:5) to (Titus 3:5) might help understand the true meaning of washing of regeneration, because it uses parallel language of distinction of water and Spirit.
Here are some other translations of (Titus 3:5) that might help you decide for yourself what the meaning is. (Compare with John 3:5)
Amplified: "He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
NLT: "He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy, He washed away our sins and gave us new life through the Holy Ghost." Compare this version with (Acts 22:16 KJV)
Youngs Literal: "(not by works that we are righteousness that we did but according to His kindness,) He did save us, through a bathing of regeneration, and renewing of Holy Spirit."
Here are some theologians who believe that "washing of regeneration" is baptism:
John Calvin (Founder of the Presbyterian church): John Calvins commentary on Titus 3:4-7: "By "washing of regeneration" I have no doubt that he(Paul) alludes, atleast, to baptism, and even I will not object to having this passage expounded as relating to baptism"
John Henry Bernard: The Pastoral Epistles, volume 14 pg 178. "That the 'washing of regeneration' is the water of baptism is undoubted"
John Wesley (founder of the Methodist Church): John Westleys notes on Titus 3:5: "Sanctification, expressed by the lavar of regeneration, (that is, baptism,, the thing signified, as well as the outward sign,) and the renewal of the Holy Ghost."
According to the bible, baptism is not a work of our own, it is a work of God in which he uses to save us. At the point of baptism God washes away our sins. We are totally dependant on God to wash away our sins at that point. Baptism is not a work of our own but and act of faith to His command to be baptized. So baptism simply put, is a response to faith in His command to be baptized. It is in perfect harmony with being "saved by grace through faith."
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