Acts 22:16 - Baptism - Saved by Faith Only
In Acts 22:16 as Saul baptized because he had already been SAVED by FAITH ONLY by calling Jesus Lord? No. Baptism is the time and place Christ selected to take on His NameHey Kenneth, what are your feelings on this interpretation of the Acts 22:16 documentation -- it is very convincing....
HERE IT IS:
This verse of Ananias speaking to Paul has four segments:
i) Arise (which is a participle, meaning: arising).
ii) Be baptised (a command to Paul).
iii) Wash away your sins (a command meaning: "You Paul, wash away your sins"
iv) Calling on the name of the Lord. ("Calling on" is not a present participle, but is an aorist (point in time) participle also translated "having called on" or "since you called upon." This means "having previously called on the name of the Lord."
Does Acts 22:16 teach that water baptism washes away sins, and that we are saved by water baptism?
Answer: No. This question can be answered by asking two other questions.
Question 1: When was Paul saved? On the Damascus Road (which proves baptism does not save) or at Judas' house with Ananias?
Answer: Several reasons indicate that he was saved on the road to Damascus:
i) Ananias called him "Brother Saul" in Acts 22:13 and 9:17. 1 Corinthians 5:11 says that "brother" means "a believer": "if any man that is called a brother." Saul was called a brother.
ii) The Gospel was presented to Saul on the Damascus Road directly by Christ not later on by Ananias. Galatians 1:11,12... "the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul says here that Ananias did not preach the gospel to him, but Jesus Christ did. Paul would not have rejected Christ's gospel message on the Damascus Road.
iii) Paul had already submitted in faith to Christ by calling Him "Lord" in Acts 22:10: "What shall I do Lord?" and in Acts 9:6: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Corinthians 12:3.
iv) Paul was filled with the Spirit BEFORE his baptism in water in Acts 9:17,18: "Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou might receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received his sight therewith, and arose, and was baptised."
v) Revelation 1:5 and 7:14 both state that the Blood of Christ washes away sins, not water, as far as God is concerned. "unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Revelation 1:5. "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:14.
Question 2: What do the words "wash away thy sins" mean? Do they teach that water baptism brings salvation?
Answer: No. Because Paul was already cleansed spiritually. Water baptism is an outward picture expressing God's inner work of washing away sin. "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
End of the teaching.
Good morning, Tilley
Your friends really go to a lot of trouble trying to get around a simple command. Just remember -- and ask them -- that a lot of people believe in predestination. God saves them from eternity past and there is nothing they can do to be saved and nothing they can do to be lost. If they allow even faith to be the product of hearing the Word of God rather than as a supernatural gift, then the whole Calvinistic system (which even gagged Calvin) comes tumbling down
When you are talking about faith you mean that someone tells you something and gives credible evidence that it is true. You decide -- just as you decide everything with the mind God created in His own image that purpose -- whether you believe it or not. If you don't believe it then the conversation ceases. However, if you believe it, as the Jews and Proselytes did on the day of Pentecost, you naturally ask: "What must I do" to act upon what we believe. Peter then told them what they must do -- future tense -- "repent and be baptized for the remission of sins."
However, when they are talking about faith, they are not teaching a "one step plan of salvation." Rather, faith to them is God's high sign that they are one of God's chosen few. This is why they really look down upon anyone who would suggest that they need to do anything to be chosen since they are already chosen. They often have contempt because to believe, as Paul told the Romans in chapter ten, that faith comes from hearing, means that you are not one of the select few.
They have John Calvin as their teacher and will not listen to the simplicity of the gospel. One immediate hint is that the apostles did not know the whole plan until Christ as Spirit continued to guide them into all truth. Jesus made the same promise to Paul. Therefore, to have good news preached to him did not include being baptized because he was not yet "dead" to the old Saul. Paul decided to believe;
And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acts 22:10
When Paul arrived in Damascus, one of the things he was told to do was to be baptized.
Tilley, it is easy to make a convincing story if you ignore the context, parallel passages and even re-translate the inspired Words of Christ in order to defend a belief.
I will repeat every part of the argument in red and give you my comments in black. Most people get sidetracked because the answers are too long. However, to handle the Words of Christ honestly, they must be left in their context and not be distorted. There is an old analogy: in one second a person puts one drop of black ink into the pure white milk of the Word and it takes a life-time to get the black stain out. Let's look at the first statement
HERE IT IS:
This verse of Ananias speaking to Paul has four segments:
i)---Arise (which is a participle, meaning: arising).
ii)--Be baptised (a command to Paul).
iii)-Wash away your sins (a command meaning: "You Paul, wash away your sins"
iv)--Calling on the name of the Lord. ("Calling on" is not a present participle, but is an aorist (point in time) participle also translated "having called on" or "since you called upon." This means "having previously called on the name of the Lord."
Naaman speaks to those who refuse to accept God's grace through water:
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 1 Kings 5:9
Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed of every trace of his leprosy! 1 Kings 5:10LIV
But Naaman was angry and stalked away. "Look," he said, "I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 1 Kings 5:11
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 1 Kings 5:12
The Gentiles understood that when they converted to Judaism they called upon the name of God at their baptism:
"The conversion of the proselyte required Kavvahah/intention and the recitation of a benediction. The proselyte recites the benediction after the immersion because until then he cannot affirm the part which says "...God of our fathers...who has commanded us." The blessing for immersion of a convert is as follows;
"Blessed are You, O G-d, King of the universe, who has set us apart by your commandments, and commanded us concerning the immersion".
"The Talmud states, "as soon as the convert immerses and emerges he is like a Jew in every way." How does immersion in a Mikvah change a person: This can best be understood by another Talmudic teaching, that "a convert who embraces Judaism is like a new born child." We see an example of this in the conversion of the proselyte, he becomes a Jew in every way just as if he had been born a Jew."
In no system of baptism was it possible to call upon the Master or name yourself after the Master until baptism:
"At the latter ceremony two disciples of the wise stood by to tell him more of the light and heavy commandments. When he came up after the immersion, those assembled addressed him saying: 'Unto whom has thou given thyself? blessed art thou, thou hast given thyself to God; the world was created for the sake of Israel, and only Israelites are called the children of God... After his baptism he was considered (reckoned to be dead and now alive) to be a new man, 'a little child newly born'; a new name was given him." (Int Std Bible Ency, Proselyte).
"The effect of this baptism was held to be complete regeneration; he was born anew. He was called a little child just born, the child of one day. All his sins were remitted because God cannot punish sins committed before he was born." (Barclay, William, Romans, p. 84)
Now, your friends want you to believe that they have a first-century Greek Grammar. They didn't know until a hundred years ago that the New Testament was written in Koine Greek which was like me speaking my "Tennessee Hill" grammar. God deliberately did not use a language which hinges on modern rules of grammar made by men.
Rather than just listening to the Spirit of Christ as He fills us through His Word, a made-up scheme of Greek grammar wants to believe that Saul is only to be baptized because he has already called upon the name of the Lord. This calling, in turn, proves that he was saved before he was baptized. Any level of the Greek language could have made that perfectly clear to anyone. Throw in the Holy Spirit as "boot" and surely the Incarnate God of the universe could have said it right!
What can be said of first-century Greek grammars can also be said of first-century dictionaries. Therefore, when we quote Strong, we are looking at the ways in which a particular word is used throughout the rest of the Bible. That is, the Bible interprets the Bibl.
The word calling is:
Epikaleomai (g1941) ep-ee-kal-eh'-om-ahee; mid. from 1909 and 2564; to entitle; by impl. to invoke for aid, worship, testimony, decision, etc.): - appeal (unto), call (on, upon), surname.
Therefore, to call upon the Lord is not to cry out: "Lord, Lord," but it is to take on His family name at baptism. Some examples of this use of the word "called" are:
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Mt.10:3
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 1Co.1:2
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every mans work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 1Pe.1:17
This proves that the God we call upon is not a God who sends some little babies to hell and others to heaven just to prove that He has the power. Rather, He is not a respector of persons but judges by the actions our spirit causes us to take as the result of His Spirit Word.
Peter explained that baptism is the time and place where we call upon God as we request from Him a clear conscience which means to be fully aware:
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer (calling upon as a request) of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1 Pe 3:21
Answer is from the Greek and it does not mean that Paul said: "Be baptized as your answer to already being saved. As we can say that one is saved by faith when they are baptized, one is saved by prayer which is done in and through baptism. Baptism is how we pray to God in order for Him to reconcile us.
He meant that this is when and where we request God's free gift:
Eperotao (g1905) ep-er-o-tah'-o; from 1909 and 2065; to ask for, i.e. inquire, seek: - ask (after, questions), demand, desire, question.
Epi means "direction toward" a clear conscience, and
Erotao (g2065) er-o-tah'-o; appar. from 2046 [comp. 2045]; to interrogate; by impl. to request: - ask, beseech, desire, intreat, pray. Comp. 4441.
The good conscience comes after the assurance that our sins have been washed from our soul by the death of Christ at our identifying with Him. There is no other time when we are told where we can get hold of the grace of Christ through our faith in His finished work.
However, your friends may get their assurance -- and the right to join the church -- by having some body experience which is interpreted as a supernatural act -- a miracle -- of God verifying that they are one of the select few. This, I believe, is the result of human pride and it promotes human pride.
Peter agrees with Paul in Romans six: baptism is the time and place where we take the Name of Jesus after having identified ourselves with His suffering in death:
FORASMUCH then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm (weapon and clothe) yourselves likewise with the same mind (spirit):
for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 1 Peter 4:1
for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Gal 3:27NIV
Paul insisted that the body must be crucified and put to death. It is literal suffering to give up the human body and its senses in order to live with Christ in heavenly places or in the spirit. He told the Romans, in effect, that faith-only would have no bad effects upon their lives. Baptism was the trigger-point to tell the pagans and Jews that you had made the change which would bring on suffering:
Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. Romans 16:16
And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ. Galatians 1:22
For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: 1 Thessalonians 2:14
As circumcision was the only way to identify as a Jew, baptism was understood to be the time when the Jews denounced their old lives and became a member of a new community. Only then were the converts persecuted or even put to death.
Baptism, in a small way, is our willingness to suffer in the flesh. First, we humiliate ourselves by doing something our friends insist and chide "cannot have anything to do with salvation." It is part of the foolishness of preaching, taking on the shame of the cross, being man-handled and shoved down into the water where he could easily drown us, and bringing us forth wet, bedraggled, cold and uneasy as a pilgrim in a now and foreign land. Ceasing from sin is a voluntary action on our part just as baptism is a voluntary effort and not the result of predestination.
In Proselyte baptism and according to the command of Jesus, baptism is the time and place where you acknowledge that you are being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Proselytes might say, "As I come up out of the water, I take the name of Moses, etc."
Being saved by faith means being saved by what the system of faith teaches. For instance, Paul will speak of calling upon God but not before one is ready:
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; Romans 10:8
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. Romans 10: 9
For with the heart man believeth unto (not because of) righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10: 10
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10: 11
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Romans 10: 12 (There are not two gospels)
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. Romans 10: 13
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10: 14
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things Romans 10:15
Remember that Paul understood "calling upon the name of the Lord" from Ananias whom Christ sent to tell Saul what he must do:
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Acts 22:16
When one had heard, believed and confessed they had still not called upon the name of the Lord. Only in obeying what they had been taught could they identify with Christ?
Paul lists hearing, faith, repentance and confession. The only element missing is baptism. In the case of Paul Himself he understood that calling upon the Lord could not happen except at baptism
Elsewhere, calling upon the Lord was at the time and place of Baptism.
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? Romans 10: 16
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10: 17
Calvinists deny that faith is an act of obedience. Nothing can be attributed to mankind. Therefore, the faith comes from God. If this is true (it is not) then obeying the gospel is acquiring faith by making a decision about Christ and then doing what He said do: be baptized.
If those who reject the suffering of the cross enacted in baptism believe that predestinated faith is what marks them out as already saved, then they should not appeal to Paul who said that faith is a voluntary product of our hearing the preached gospel. If they are wrong about this, they might be wrong about baptism. We are "predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ" and not "predestinated" to go to heaven while "babies not an inch long are screaming in hell right now." Baptism is part of being conformed or imitating Christ and God's pre-plan was that believers be conformed. If we refuse to follow or conform to Him we are not predestinated. That conformity to the pattern does not end at faith only.
Peter spoke of calling on the name of the Lord by quoting Joel:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Joel 2:32
Calling upon the name of the Lord is not faith or confessiion or repentance. Rather, the prophesied calling is identical to the fulfilled callling:
Qara (h7121) kaw-raw'; a prim. root [rather ident. with 7121 through the idea of accosting a person met]; to call out to i. e. prop. address by name,
Peter proves that calling on the name of the Lord is only in baptism:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21
Then God called the people when Peter preached the gospel which, in a the sense of time, did not include baptism. Only when the people believed or had faith as a result of Peter's preaching did they ask what they must do. They had heard, believed and confessed. Yet, they lacked two elements:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ (calling upon the name of Christ) for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38
Paul linked faith to salvation. However, repeating the steps in an upward spiral, he linked calling upon the name with salvation. All of the natural elements must be present.
Again, baptism is the only place where one calls upon the name of Jesus Christ as their Savior. They were baptized, calling upon the name of the Lord. This is a parallelism: being baptized is calling upon the name of the Lord because He did the literal suffering.
Question 1: When was Paul saved? On the Damascus Road (which proves baptism does not save) or at Judas' house with Ananias?
Answer: Several reasons indicate that he was saved on the road to Damascus:
i) Ananias called him "Brother Saul" in Acts 22:13 and 9:17. 1 Corinthians 5:11 says that "brother" means "a believer": "if any man that is called a brother." Saul was called a brother.
First, we should note that the writers did not invent a new language for the bible. Therefore, the word "brother" is primarily a blood brother or a national brother - a fellow Jew or a fellow Gentile or a fellow silversmith or a fellow assassin. Even when used of fellow-believers it is not used to prove that one has been saved. Brother is from the Greek:
Adelphos (g80) ad-el-fos'; from 1 (as a connective particle) and deålphus , (the womb); a brother (lit. or fig.) near or remote [much like 1]: - brother
Paul used this same word of all of the Jews who were his fraternal brothers:
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren (g80), my kinsmen according to the flesh: Ro.9:3
Surely we can understand that being a brother did not mean that all of the Jews were saved. Ananias did not speak of him as brother Paul but brother Saul.
And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Acts 22:12
Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. Acts 22:13
Saulos (g4569) sow'-los; of Heb. Saulus (i.e. Shaul), the Jewish name of Paul: - Saul.
Brother is used in First Corinthians 5:11 in an accomodative sense by Paul. These people were not brothers but pretend brothers. They could never be true brothers until they lived like a brother. Can we believe that an idolater has been saved?
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called (professes to be) a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat. 1 Corinthians 5:11
Our conclusion is that this is an attempt to stretch Paul on the rack of theology to round up tidbits of Scripture to refute the overwhelming evidence that Christ demands that believers identify with Him and meet Him in the suffering of the death of the human body so that we can be alive in the spirit.
ii) The Gospel was presented to Saul on the Damascus Road directly by Christ not later on by Ananias. Galatians 1:11,12... "the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul says here that Ananias did not preach the gospel to him, but Jesus Christ did. Paul would not have rejected Christ's gospel message on the Damascus Road.
I am afraid that this is a certified untruth. One cannot be predestinated to be saved and marked out as saved by their faith and put falsehood into the mouth of Paul and Christ. What Paul said was:
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Gal 1:11
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Gal 1:12
This, of course, was not on the Damascus Road. Jesus, the Spirit, appeared to Paul at this time and told him:
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. 22:14
For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. Acts 22:15
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Acts 22:16
Paul saw the Just One and heard the voice of His mouth but he did not hear the gospel preached to him. Ananias then told the believing Paul that He must be baptized to remove his sins as he simultaneously called upon or identified with Jesus Christ as his Master Teacher.
In another account, Paul made it clear that Christ would continue to personally guide him as an apostle with supernatural power:
But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose,
to make thee a minister and a witness
both of these things which thou hast seen,
and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Acts 26:16
Was Paul saved by the view of Jesus as Full Deity as infinite Light? No.
Jesus did not appear to save Paul at this time. Rather, this was Paul's call to be a minister and a witness. He could tell people what had personally happened to Him on the road but he could not tell them the whole will of Christ. Therefore, Jesus said through Ananias that He would appear (future tense) to reveal what He should preach. Later, Paul explained how his physical blindness and physical healing was symbolic of the spiritual light he would bestow upon the people through his preaching:
Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, Acts 26:17
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Acts 26:18
Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: Acts 26:19
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles,
that they should repent
and turn to God,
and do works meet for repentance. Acts 26:20
Repentance does not mean conversion. Rather, it means that one has mentally turned away from their old path. To be converted they must turn to or into Christ.
Those who heard Paul preached were baptized by himself or others. This is not a work of human merit but actions which prove that they have repented. Acts 2:38 makes baptism a meet action for those who have mentally repented. Repentance (turning away) and being baptized (turning into) is what puts one into Christ.
iii) Paul had already submitted in faith to Christ by calling Him "Lord" in Acts 22:10: "What shall I do Lord?" and in Acts 9:6: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Corinthians 12:3.No. This is not true. The word Lord is a generic Greek word which one would use of anyone who is in control or whom one respects or even fears:
Kurios (g2962) koo'-ree-os; (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by impl. Mr. (as a respectful title): - God, Lord, master, Sir
Jesus answered this question by showing that to call Jesus Lord you had better be ready to do what He says to do without trying to wiggle out of it:
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Lu.6:46
For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 1 Corinthians 8:5
Paul simply understood that He was in the presence of a superior force. He had not yet called upon Jesus Christ as His Teacher and Savior which happened at baptism.
iv) Paul was filled with the Spirit BEFORE his baptism in water in Acts 9:17,18: "Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou might receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received his sight therewith, and arose, and was baptised."This passage does not say when he was filled. Notice that in the following table, being filled with the Holy Spirit happened when he arose and was baptized:
Is that too far fetched? Then listen to what the same Holy Spirit revealed to another apostle:
What was to happen to Saul
What actually happened to Saul
that thou mightest receive thy sight
He received his sight
and be filled with the Holy Ghost
he arose and was baptized
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts2:38
You will notice that the Acts 22 account is ignored in this false analysis. By showing the two accounts side-by-side Paul says the same thing using different words. To be filled with the Spirit is not to be filled with the third member of the Godhead. Rather, to be filled with the Spirit, according to the definition of the word "Spirit," is to be filled with the words of Christ and the mental disposition of Christ Himself. It is to think like God Himself:
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight,
- Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. Acts 22:13 (many could work miracles but only apostles could bestow this gift.)
- and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Acts 9:17
- And Jesus said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
- And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. Acts 22:14
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith,
- For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. Acts 22:15
- and arose, and was baptized. Acts 9:18
- And now why tarriest thou? arise, and
- be baptized, and
- wash away thy sins,
- calling on the name of the Lord. Acts 22:16
We should note that if Saul received the Holy Spirit after the Damascus road then he was not saved on the Damascus road. Ananias did not say that Saul would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was baptized. He simply said that at some future time he would be filled.
Ananias laid his hands on Saul in order for him to be healed of the blindness. This did not bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ananias meant what Peter had taught under direct inspiration of Christ:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38
The word Spirit does not mean another person separated from Christ. Rather, Spirit is the mind or mental disposition of Christ which comes from knowing about Christ. For instance,:
Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, Acts 13:9
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Acts 13:10
Paul suddenly had the same Mind Christ would have in seeing such evil. The Holy Spirit as a little person did not again jump into Paul's literal body.
By comparing Paul's two accounts of the same event it appears that being filled with the Holy Ghost means:
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. Acts 22:14
Question 2: What do the words "wash away thy sins" mean? Do they teach that water baptism brings salvation?
Answer: No. Because Paul was already cleansed spiritually. Water baptism is an outward picture expressing God's inner work of washing away sin. "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
First, if you have read these two accounts there is not the slightest hint that Paul was cleansed spiritually before his baptism. However, the mind is always deliberately prejudiced by speaking of "water regeneration." No one believes that water regenerates but everyone knows that water is the universal picture of God regenerating the "earth out of water and in the water."
Paul was happy that he had not baptized any of those in Corinth who were not ready to be baptized. He notes that division occurred because they did not understand that being baptized was where you called upon the name of Christ and not the preacher and not the water. You certainly were never baptized as a celebration of your own belief system.
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:12
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 1:13
To go out "preaching baptism" by any teacher of that day would say that disciples must be baptized into the name or "call upon the name of" the teacher. Only after one had signed up with a teacher could he be identified as a disciple of the teacher.
Therefore, Paul was simply saying that he was not an itenerant teacher who demanded baptism. To do so would mean that the disciples were baptized unto Paul's name.
Why do you suppose the Corinthians were baptized if Paul did not preach baptism? Paul even practiced baptism but that was not his mission. The only way he could keep predjuiced minds from identifying with Paul would be for Paul not to get involved in baptizing. Some could plant, some could water and some could harvest. This would eleminate the cult of personality.
He could preach by inspiration but Apollos could baptize them. Their baptism was invalid when they believed that the preacher performed some magic. What he was supposed to have done was to get the candidate to take on the name of Jesus Christ when they were baptized into discipleship to Him as their only Savior.
Notice that Paul speaks of several things in the questioners passage:
And such were some of you: but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11
Washed, like baptismos, demands that the entire body be washed in pure water as we ask for a clean conscience to be sanctified:
Apolouo (g628) ap-ol-oo'-o; from 575 and 3068; to wash fully, i.e. (fig.) have remitted (reflex): - wash (away).
Louo (g3068) loo'-o; a prim. verb; to bathe (the whole person; whereas 3538 means to wet a part only, and 4150 to wash, cleanse garments exclusively): - wash.
This is why Paul could say:
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22
This all agrees with the subject verse:
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Ac.22:16
Paul was not saved on the road to Damascus when he spoke to an unidentified "lord." He was saved when he called upon or put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Both the washing and the calling happened at the same time.
You simply cannot separate any of these things from the one time and place of baptism even though the order is not always the same. For instance, Peter wrote:
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1 Peter 3:20
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer (prayer or request for) of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 3:21
What is a "figure" in these verses? In Greek the word is:
Antitupon (g4991) an-teet'-oo-pon; neut. of a comp. of 473 and 5179; corresponding ["antitype"], i.e. a representative, counterpart: - (like) figure (whereunto).
It literally means "instead of." The earthly tabernacle was a type of heaven itself:
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Heb.9:24
Now washing the utensils of the tabernacle could not make them free of dirt or germs. However, because God ordained the legal process, the external washing made the vessels suitable for an external temple. However, it could never have any true spiritual value.
Christ was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness." That is, before He entered into the heavenly tabernacle, His body was washed with pure water. Only then could He as antitype enter into the sanctuary and present His blood before the Father..
Dare we argue that Christ entered into the Most Holy place by "faith only?" Or could we say that the heavenly tabernacle is just a type or symbol of the reality? No. The earthly tabernacle was the type but heaven itself is the anti-type or the actual reality.
In the same way, the Ark and the Red Sea were the symbols or types: literal baptism in water which affects spiritual salvation was the fulfillment or antitype. We cannot make the antitype into the symbol. This would put us back under legalism. Just as literal water could make the vessels pure or holy because it was the obedience of the Law, baptism in literal water is, according to Peter, still the time and place to ask God to confer purity on our souls which are transferred immediately into the heavenly kingdom.
When we submit to the burial in pure water and ask God for a clear conscience, our inner man which cannot be touched by the water is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, after we obey:
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 1 Peter 1:2
Take another look at what Peter said:
The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us
(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer (prayer or request for) of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 3:21
Why would Peter even mention baptism if literal washing in water was the type now fulfilled by faith only as the antytipe? No. Peter says that literal baptism is the antitype which saves because it is the way God ordained for us to pray or ask for for salvation we could never earn. As some ignore the parabolic language and insist upon salvation by faith only, others insist upon salvation by prayer only.
Peter says that Christian baptism is not the type in which the only effect was external washing. The anti-type or fulfillment still uses water but God bestows spiritual holyness because we do not trust the external law but ask God for a clean, purified conscience.
Everyone knows that it was out of pure grace that God saved Noah and his family in the ark. However, everyone knows that God choose not to save them until they obeyed Him by going into something like a coffin where they were "hidden in Christ" and shut in from the water which would surely drown them without their identifying with Him. No one puts the trust in the water but a lot of people put their trust in rejecting the water.
Ken Sublett