KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Works
WHEN WE CONTEND that baptism is essential to salvation, a common objection to such teaching is that it means that we earn our salvation...
The objection might be worded like this: "Baptism is a work. If we are saved by baptism, then we are saved by works, but the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace, not works!"
Indeed, the Bible teaches that "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boat" (Eph. 2:8-9). Make no mistake about it. We do not, and cannot, earn our salvation. God owes us nothing! Salvation is by grace. However, that does not mean that our salvation is unconditional. Instead, the Scripture clearly teach that obedience is essential to salvation.
Note three examples of such teaching. 1) Jesus taught that the one who shall enter the kingdom of heaven is the one who does the will of the Father which is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). 2) The author of Hebrews identified the one whom Jesus saves as the one who obeys Him (Heb. 5:8-9). 3) The apostle Paul gave the sobering warning that the Lord will take vengeance upon all who do not obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-9). However, when we obey the gospel, including obedience to the command to be baptized, we do not earn our salvation.
The "work" that we do in response to a promise or command of God is a work of righteousness, not a work of merit. The merit is in the Lord, who commanded the work and in whom we place our trust as we obey Him! To illustrate, repentance is an act of faith, relying on the Lord to save ( Acts 17:30), and confession is an act of faith, relying on the Lord to save (Rom. 10:10). Likewise, baptism is an act of faith, relying on the Lord to save ( Acts 2:38). The truth is that the grace of God is appropriated to us when we, by trust in the Lord, do the works that God has commanded! (David Sain)
KneEmail: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" ( Mark 16:16; cf. 1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:27).