“There is also an antitype which now saves us, baptism not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 3:21)
Immediately upon reading the text we notice that there are some questions for us to answer:
1. What is the context?
2. What is an “antitype?”
3. Why is baptism qualified as “not the removal of the filth of the flesh?”
4. What exactly was Peter speaking about?
In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Col 2:11-12)
The idea of what’s spoken of in this passage appears to clearly be of a spiritual nature, similar to Romans 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27, and 1 Peter 3:21. We can see that in the immediate context of the passage. The believers were circumcised with the circumcision “made without hands.” It was this spiritual circumcision (cf. Rom 2:28-29), “the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh”, that Paul called “the circumcision of Christ.” Now, if the circumcision that saved believers and put off their sins was done “without hands” shouldn’t we conclude that the baptism that Paul was speaking of was “without hands” as well? It would be strange for Paul to stress that one physical ritual wasn’t what put off the sins of the flesh but that it was a physical ritual of water baptism that united a person truly with Christ in His resurrection.
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4)
Proponents of baptismal regeneration and salvation-by-baptism will often use this passage as though it obviously and inarguably makes their case. They say, ‘Look at the text. It says that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death; and it says that believers were buried with Him through baptism into death. Seems pretty clear that baptism is the way that a person is buried with Christ so that they might be raised with Him in newness of life.” But is that what the text teaches? To answer this question we will again use the method we used in the previous daily teaching (Does Galatians 3:27 Teach Salvation By Water Baptism?). We’ll (1) examine the immediate context, (2) examine the book context, (3) consider the broader Biblical context, and finally (4) we’ll answer any questions that need to be addressed, such as, “What is the baptism spoken of here?”
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
As you might have already gathered by the question presented in the title there are many who use Galatians 3:27 as a proof text to support their belief that water baptism is a necessary instrument of the salvation process, without which a person cannot be saved. While we want to hold up the importance of baptism as an ordinance instituted by the Lord Himself, we do not want to confuse its importance with saving faith. Not just because “we don’t want to” or because it doesn’t fit with a certain system of theology but because the Scripture does not teach such a doctrine. Galatians 3:27 is a great example of how people can do great injustice to the meaning of a text by avoiding a number of incredibly important hermeneutical principles.
Does this text teach that baptism is necessary for salvation? Was Ananias telling Paul that the act of being baptized, and being immersed in water, washes away sins? I think both of those assumptions are seriously erroneous. Let’s consider why.
Don’t Go Down Envy’s Path
Don’t Worry About Anything, Pray About Everything (Phil 4:6)
Focus in Prayer
Embracing Contentment While Trusting God’s Providence (Luke 9:4)
Learning To Be Content (Phil. 4:11)
Knox, Latimer and the Fear of God
Supposed Bible Contradictions – Should We Steal? (Ex 20:15; 19:13; Ex 12:35-36)
Supposed Bible Contradictions – Is God Peaceable? (Rom. 15:33; Ex. 15:3)
Supposed Bible Contradictions – How Should Adulterers Be Punished? (Lev 20:10; Jn 8:3-11)
Supposed Bible Contradictions – Who Moved David to Number Israel?
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