Bro Berry

Whenever I subscribe to a Christian forum I always see a large number of posts concerning if baptism is necessary for salvation. As some of the regulars know on this forum it gets a lot of attention.

I wanted to be sure I had the right understanding of this very important subject so I began a study of what the Old Testament says about baptism first. I found it hard to believe that the Jews of the first century had no clue what baptism was, since they had been doing ceremonial washing for centuries. For example;

Leviticus 14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
Leviticus 14:9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

There are many more passages that detail how a person who is unclean was to present himself before the Lord clean (Leviticus 16:23-28, Numbers 19:7-8, etc)

The washing's of the Old Testament are connected with these passages in Hebrews 9, let me explain;

Hebrews 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
Hebrews 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

When the tabernacle was made there was a veil separating the holy from the holiest, the high priest (after washing to be clean) would take blood for the sins of the people into the holiest to offer to God.

Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Hebrews 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Hebrews 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

The Holy Spirit lets us know that arrangement was not entrance into the true holy place (heaven) but was a shadow of good things to come. At that time gifts and sacrifices couldn't clear a persons conscience because every year on the Day of Atonement the people had to remember their past sins and go through the
same procedure again to be clean.

Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

But Christ has come and shed his blood to atone for our sins (by grace we are saved) making it no longer necessary for a priest to stand between us and God, Jesus is our High Priest now.

Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Old Testament requirements of offering bulls and goats, sprinkling ashes and I also believe those ceremonial washing's would only make a person clean on the outside. In order to cleanse our conscience of dead works we needed the blood of Christ to remove the guilt of sin forever. With the possibility of bringing our sins up again gone forever (instead of annually like the those of old) we can serve God with no fear of punishment.

Question; how does baptism in this new dispensation relate to what I am saying? The answer is found in 1 Peter 3:17-21

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Peter's discussion of suffering for righteousness sake is exemplified first by Jesus' suffering and victory.

1 Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1 Peter 3:20 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.

His second example is the suffering endured by Noah while the ark was being prepared who again gained the victory of being saved along with 7 others from his family.

1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Peter then says to those saints who are suffering persecution that they will also be saved because they have appealed to God to cleanse their conscience through baptism. Why baptism? Because that is where the Holy Spirit tells us the blood of Christ is for those that have repented and turned to Jesus for salvation. We read that in Romans 6 and Colossians 2.

Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

God has taken the Old Testament understanding of baptism just being for purification of the flesh to a higher level and made it for purification of the soul.