Tag: Context

Does 1 Peter 3:21 Teach Salvation By Baptism?

“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?

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Does Romans 6:3-4 Teach Salvation By Baptism?

“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?”

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Does Galatians 3:27 Teach Salvation By Water Baptism?

“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.

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