I hear it all the time. Do I have to be baptized to be saved? To be honest it's a weird question in light of what Jesus said in Mark 16:16 (NIV), "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." I figure Jesus ought to know what He's talking about. I never have really understood the argument of those who say baptism is not necessary. I guess I'm really simplistic. If Jesus says it, I accept it.
I also don't understand why people say that baptism is an act of obedience. Seems to me that salvation is act of faith, trusting in God to do something that we couldn't do ourselves. Maybe it's semantics, but it seems to me that baptism is an act of faith. I'm trusting God to do something in me to present me alive in Christ. I know that to follow Christ I must answer His call to surrender my life. But isn't that putting my life in His hands by faith?
I was reading this passage again from 2 Kings 5 about Naaman, an Aramean high commander who suffered from leprosy. The whole story is about faith in God. Naaman's wife had a Israeli servant girl who told Naaman that Elisha could heal him. So Naaman went to him to be healed. Elisha didn't even come out to meet him but sent his messenger to tell this important and powerful man to go dip seven times in the Jordan River to be healed.
Naaman was hacked off and even insulted. He wanted Elisha to come out and make some big deal, do some hocus-pocus on him. Naaman went home unhealed. But his servants came to Naaman and asked him if Elisha had asked him to do some great work wouldn't he have done it. So Naaman caved in an went in faith to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times. The moment Naaman dipped the seventh time, his leprosy was instantly healed. In order for the healing to occur, Naaman not only had to believe but he had to submit himself in faith to the dipping. His dipping was an act of faith. Sure he obeyed Elisha's command, but the dipping wasn't out of obedience. It was out of faith that through the dipping God would heal him.
I think the overlying principle is that for a lot of people, they want what God wants to give them, but they just don't want to follow what God asks them to do in faith. It's not just about baptism. It's about relationships, lifestyles, finances, etc. God says to trust Him by tithing, but we say no way. I've got these bills and I want my cable and on and on it goes. And then we wonder why God won't bless us and we struggle financially. Same with sex and marriage and virtually any other issue in our life.
To be honest, obeying God is an act of faith. We trust in faith that by following God's instruction we will come out ahead. Since Jesus says believe and be baptized and you'll be saved, I do what he says in faith. He says cast out into deeper water for a catch, then I'll cast into deeper water in faith expecting a catch.
God, living by faith is a strange place sometimes. Most of us, Lord, like to see where we're going or what's ahead of us. Living by faith feels a lot like driving a car with a blindfold on. Yet, I know that living by sight and trusting my own instincts are often times disastrous. Help me swallow my pride like Naaman and take the dip of faith, exactly how you ask me. I don't want to minimize your instructions/teachings by inserting my own interpretations or ideas.
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