The
Truth About Baptism
By Ben Bailey
In the religious world, there is an amazing amount of confusion over the subject of baptism. While most will agree that baptism is important and should be done because Jesus did it, they do not believe it is a matter of salvation. Concerning baptism Robertson says, “Baptism is merely the picture of the new life not the means of securing it” (Robertson’s Word Pictures, comment on Mk. 16:16). While we do appreciate the works and efforts of such men as Mr. Robertson, their words are in contradiction with what Jesus and His Apostles said about baptism. Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved, he that believes not will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Peter also said, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38). In the following series of articles, our goal will be to openly and unbiasedly examine the biblical information on the subject of baptism in order to discern the truth on this matter.
The mode of baptism is the way or method by which it is performed. Concerning the baptismal mode, there are two variances in Christendom: sprinkling or immersion. Those who support sprinkling would be Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites, etc. While there are many who claim the proper mode for baptism is sprinkling, we must not let the majority but the Bible be our guide (Acts 17:11, Jn. 12:48, Ex. 23:2). So, the question remains, “Is there any word from the Lord” on the subject of baptism (Jer. 37:17)? Yes! The Bible does not teach that baptism is sprinkling. In fact, there are two testimonies that will prove that baptism is full body immersion.
The first testimony is that of the Greek language. The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word baptidzo. Concerning the meaning of baptidzo, all the accepted scholars and lexicons of our day agree that it always means immersion, or to submerge. For example, Arndt and Gingrich define baptidzo as to “dip, immerse, dip oneself…in Non-Christian lit… plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm” (Arndt & Gingrich Greek Lexicon, pg. 131). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon also defines baptidzo as “to dip repeatedly, to immerge, or to submerge” (Thayer’s, pg. 94). Concerning baptidzo, Vincent notes that “in Classical Greek the primary meaning is ‘to immerse.’ Thus, Polybius (i., 51, 6), describing a naval battle of the Romans and Carthaginians, says, ‘They SANK ebaptizon many of the ships’” (Vincent’s Word Studies, comment on Mk. 7:4). Have you ever seen a ship sunken (baptized) by a little rain shower? No! Likewise, the word will not allow sprinkling to be a method of baptism. Also, Vine’s says baptidzo “was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another, etc. Plutarchus uses it of the drawing of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl” (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, pg. 50). Truly, the testimony of the Greek language proves baptism means and would have been translated better as immersion.
The second and most awakening testimony is that of Scripture. While we believe that lexicons are an important way to learn the meaning of words, we could define baptism simply from the text of the New Testament. There are at least four passages in the New Testament that clearly teach that baptism is full body immersion.
The first passage is Mark 1:9-10. This is Mark’s account of the baptism of Jesus. It says in verse 10, “and immediately coming up from the water, He saw the heaven parting and Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.” Notice in the first part of this verse that it is said that the mode of Jesus baptism required him to “come up from the water.” Question: What do you first have to do to come up out of the water? You must first go down into the water. It is clear from this passage that Jesus was immersed. He had to go down in to the water to come up from the water. There is no possible way that one can say this text even hints at sprinkling.
The second passage that proves baptism to be immersion is Acts 8:38. This is the account of the Ethiopian nobleman’s conversion. Notice that this mode of baptism required Phillip and the eunuch to go down in to the water. Why did they both have to go down into the water? If sprinkling was used in this case there would have been no need for both of them to go down into the water. Either Phillip or the eunuch could have gone and got the water. Also, those who claim that the eunuch was sprinkled make him out to be a traveling idiot. Remember that the eunuch is traveling from Jerusalem back to Ethiopia. This would be a very long journey. And, no doubt, the eunuch would have been carrying a bottle of water with him for this trip. Why did they have to find water to be baptized? Could not Phillip have poured some water from the eunuch’s drinking container and sprinkled him? Again, why did they both go down into the water? Because the eunuch had to be immersed not sprinkled.
A third passage that shows baptism to be immersion is John 3:23. In this passage the Bible records that “…John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there… (John 3:23). When reading this passage one must honestly and openly ask himself, “Why did John need to be baptizing where there was much water?” The truth be known, it doesn’t take much water to sprinkle someone. John must have had a reason to go to Aenon and baptize. And, the reason was because he needed enough water to produce full body immersion.
The fourth and final passage that proves baptism to be immersion is Romans 6:1-4. In this context, baptism is likened to a burial. Stop and think back to the last time you went to a funeral. Do you remember what they did with the body after the services were over? Did they sprinkle a little dirt on the body? Or, did they bury his full body six feet under the ground? Everyone knows the answer is they buried his full body under the ground. Likewise, baptism is a burial of the full body in water. It would be ridiculous to say that baptism is sprinkling after clearly thinking about this illustration. Now, stop where you are in your religious life. Think back to your own baptism. Were you immersed or sprinkled? I think it can clearly be seen that baptism is not sprinkling, but immersion. If you have not followed the proper mode of immersion, we would encourage you to prepare yourself to do that.
Not everyone who requests baptism is a proper candidate for it. There are certain definite requirements that one must meet before he can be buried with Christ in baptism (Rom. 6:4). I especially feel that this is a vital part to understanding the whole truth about baptism because I fear that some “brethren” have simply got wet and were not ready to be baptized. For example, at Christian camp several older teenagers make up their mind to be immersed. Because of the excitement this draws, the emotional high it creates and the attention they receive several younger teenagers, who have never contemplated baptism before nor counted the cost (Lk. 14:26-35), decide to be baptized for the wrong reasons. Or, a husband who has been married to a Christian wife for several years finally succumbs to the encouragement of his wife to be immersed but was never really convicted nor repented of his past life. Were these two examples proper candidates for baptism, or was their baptism a placebo, which fools them into thinking they are saved when in reality they only got wet, and are still lost? The Bible teaches neither of these examples were a proper candidate for baptism. There are several biblical prerequisites one must meet before he is a biblical candidate for immersion.
1. Age of Accountability. The first prerequisite to baptism is that one must reach a certain age or rather, maturity level where he becomes accountable for his own sins. We can know there is an “age of accountability” because the Bible teaches that children are innocent, pure and sinless (Matt. 18:3, Ezek 28:15) and adults are responsible for their sins (2 Cor 5:10ff). Somewhere in between childhood and adulthood a person becomes mature enough to understand right and wrong and is accountable to God for his actions. There are at least two passages in the Bible that teach the age of accountability. The first verse is Isaiah 7:16, “Before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.” Notice that there is a certain time before a child knows to refuse evil and accept the good. This is the point in a child’s life when he is still innocent and not accountable for his sins. As was said of the King of Tyre, who may have become king at a young age, “You were perfect in all your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ezek. 28:15). A second verse that teaches the age of accountability is Romans 7:9. Paul here says that he was “alive once without the law.” When was Paul ever without or not amenable to the Old Testament Law? The only answer there can be is when Paul was a child, before the age of accountability, when he was pure, innocent and spiritually alive in God’s sight. But, when the commandment came to knowledge and realization in Paul’s mind, he realized good, evil and his own sinfulness; he then died spiritually(Rom. 3:23, 6:23). Whiteside makes a very insightful comment saying,
“The only time Paul was without law was during the years of his childhood, before he reached the years of accountability…his life as a child was untouched by numberless demands of law, which accumulated with his moral development; at that period whole regions of his life were purely impulsive; one after another they came under the touch of law, and with each new pressure of law upon his consciousness, the sphere, in which it was possible to sin, was enlarged” (Whiteside, Romans, pg. 150-151)
2. Knowledge. In John 8:31-32 Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” As Jesus states in this verse, your salvation depends upon what you know. Before baptism, one must know certain teachings of the Bible and hold a conviction concerning them. For example, one must realize that he is in sin and lost (Ezek. 18:4, Rom. 3;23). One must realize that God alone can save him (Eph. 2:8-9, Jn. 3:16). One must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (Jn. 8:24). One must be willing to confess Jesus as Lord (Matt. 10:32-33, Rom. 10:9-10). One must repent of his former sins (Lk. 13:3). And, one must understand the truth about God’s “one of a kind” bride they are about to become a part of. It is interesting to note in Acts 8:5 Phillip went to Samaria to preach Christ to them. When Phillip arrived in Samaria, “he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ…” (Acts 8:12). One can not truly teach someone about the Jesus whom they must believe in without teaching them about the kingdom that He promised to build (Matt. 16:13-19). Just as one cannot separate a head from a body, one cannot teach the truth about Jesus without telling some one about the one church He promised to build (Eph. 5:22-23, 4:4).
3. Repentance.
The final prerequisite to being immersed is repentance. In Luke 3:3-8, John the Immerser refused to
baptize certain Jews because they did not understand nor fulfill the command to
repent. I am afraid that we do not have
enough John the Immersers’ in the church today who are willing to refuse
baptism to those who are not ready. The
result of this premature baptism is that some of our young people (and not a
few of our older people) have not had their sins washed away because they were
not prepared to be baptized. If then
repentance is such an important step, what does it mean and require? Simply stated, repentance is a changed will that leads to a changed way
of life. To repent one must first
make up his mind to change his lifestyle.
Then, he must follow that up with a lifestyle that proves he is bringing
fruits worthy of repentance (read Matt. 21:28-30; Lk. 3:6). Repentance is a 180-degree change in one’s
life. As Peter said, “Repent and turn
again so that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19). Have you reached the age of maturity to know
good and evil? Have you studied the
Bible to gain knowledge of Christ and His kingdom? Have you truly repented of your sins? If you have answered yes to all three of
these questions then you are a proper candidate for baptism.
If you were to ask your denominational friends why they were baptized the one unanimous answer would be “because Jesus was.” Really and truly this is both illogical and a far cry from the Bible teaching on baptism. When we turn to the Scriptures, we find that there are several pertinent reasons for being immersed. Notice what the Bible teaches the purposes of baptism are.
The first purpose of baptism is to save your soul from a sinner’s Hell. To deny that baptism is for the salvation of the soul is to deny the explicit words of the Bible. Peter said, “…Baptism now saves you…” (NASB, I Peter 3:21). In the every-day world, we understand statements like this very clearly. For example, you go to the doctor, and he informs you that you have a life threatening cancer. However, he does tell you that there is one cure. He then tells you that radiation and chemotherapy will now save you from cancer. You do not have to wonder what that statement means. You know he means that unless you undergo therapy you will die. Likewise, Peter meant unless one is baptized for the remission of sins he cannot be saved and will die spiritually. Jesus also taught baptism was for the salvation of the soul. In Mark 16:16 Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved, he that does not believe will be condemned.” Notice how simply Jesus says belief plus baptism equals salvation. Again, if you and I were to apply this same sentence with the corresponding syntax (two conditions equals a reward) we would not have any difficulty understanding it. For example, the local radio station in your town is having a promotional give away and the DJ says “whoever comes down to the station and clucks like a chicken will receive 100 dollars.” From this statement, you know you have to both go down to the station (condition #1) and cluck like a chicken (condition #2) to receive 100 dollars (the reward). You also know that if you go down to the station and moo like a cow you will not receive the reward. Or, if you don’t go down to the station, but do stand in front of your radio and cluck like a chicken you will not get the money. Why? Because you did not do exactly what was required of you. While this may be a rather crude illustration in some ways, it expresses the point very clearly. Unless one meets both of the conditions expressed by Jesus (belief and baptism) he will not be saved.
A second purpose for baptism in the New Testament is to enter the kingdom of God. In John 3:1-8, Nicodemus comes to Jesus to compliment and flatter the Savior for His marvelous works. However, Jesus does not respond to Nicodemus’ flattery but looks deeper into his spiritual condition and tells him that he cannot get into the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and Spirit. What exactly does it mean to be born of water and Spirit? This was the thought of Nicodemus no doubt. For, he responded by saying, “Can a man be born again?” Nicodemus, like some today, thought that a person had to be physically born into the Kingdom of God (a popular view among Jews). But, Jesus tells him that he must not be born again physically, but spiritually. To be born of water means to be immersed. After one becomes a child of God he is in many ways like a baby (Rom. 6:4, I Pet. 2:2). In fact, the Apostle Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17). Baptism is the point in one’s spiritual search where he becomes clean, naked from the world’s allurement’s, washed in blood, and is adopted into a new family (Col. 3:1ff, Acts 22:16, Gal. 4:4-7). Sounds pretty much like a birth to me! Also one might note that to be born of the Spirit means to be born by the word of God, the tool of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). As Peter said, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…” (I Pet. 1:23).
A third purpose for baptism in the New Testament is to get into Christ. There are two passages in the New Testament that teach one cannot get into Christ without being immersed (Gal. 3:27, Rom. 6:1-4). In Galatians 3:27 Paul said, “For as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” It is interesting to notice that the Apostle Paul uses the Greek word eis, which means into, in or unto. Paul is here saying that the only way to get into Jesus is by immersion. Notice the importance of this statement. In 2 Timothy 2:10 Paul said that salvation is in (eis) Christ. In Ephesians 1:3 Paul said all spiritual blessings are in Jesus. In Romans 8:1 Paul said there is no condemnation to those who are in Jesus. Did you get the point? Salvation, all spiritual blessing, and no condemnation are in Jesus and the only way to get into Jesus is by baptism. Simply stated, one cannot receive salvation or the blessing of God without being immersed into Christ. To say that baptism is not essential to one’s salvation is to ignore the plain teaching of these passages.
A fourth purpose for baptism is to wash away or remove your sins (Acts 22:16, 2:38). It is a biblical fact that all men have sinned, been separated from God and are lost (Rom. 3:23, 6:23). Isaiah said that “your sins have separated you from your God and your iniquities have hidden His face from you” (Isa. 59:1-2). Here is the problem. God is too holy to look upon sin (Hab. 1:13). Man is stained grossly with sin (Gen. 3). Therefore, sin must be removed from man’s conscience before he can have a relationship with God. If then, we can find in the New Testament at what point a person’s sins are washed away, we can know of a surety that is the point of salvation and reconciliation to God. And, the Bible does tell us very clearly when that is. In Acts 9:6 the blinded Apostle Paul cried out to God, “Lord what would you have me to do?” The answer to Paul’s question is found in Acts 22:16, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord (emph. mine). This text very clearly teaches that the point where a man’s sins are washed away is at baptism, not a moment before or a moment after. I really wonder how people can say that they were saved when they prayed Jesus into their heart, then they were baptized two weeks later. Or, baptism is just an outward sign that you have already been saved. I do not know what they were saved from (i.e. from knowing the truth, going to heaven, obeying God) but it sure was not the salvation from sin and a devil’s hell. We need to wake up and reexamine our “conversion experiences” according to the word of God and not according to what our catechism, confession of faith, discipline book, or “Pastor” says. I want to encourage you to stop right now and think back to your own conversion. Would you say you were saved before or after baptism? If you said before, then friend, we would kindly but firmly say to you that after reading these purposes for baptism you were not correctly immersed, are still lost in sin, and desperately need to obey the gospel as the Bible teaches.
A fifth reason for baptism in the New Testament is to get into the church. In the religious world, you hear people talk about “joining the church” or “placing membership” at a church. This is not biblically accurate. To join or become a member of the Lord’s church, He must add you to it (Acts 2:47). The Scriptures teach that God adds you to the church when you are immersed into it. Paul said in I Corinthians 12:13, “For with one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body.” To fully understand this verse one must understand what kind of a body Paul is talking about. In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul said, “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Notice from this text we learn that the words “body” and “church” are used synonymously to represent the collective group of saved people. Now that we have learned that the body is the church, let us apply this principle to I Corinthians 12:13. Paul is very simply saying that the only way a person can enter into (become a part of) the group of saved people is by being immersed into it. The Bible cannot make it any clearer that a man must be immersed in water to be in the church. Therefore, those who have followed the teachings of men and have not been immersed, are not a part of Christ’s spiritual body. They are a part of a man-made denomination with their salvation depending upon a man, who could never save them.
A sixth purpose for baptism is for the remission of sins. While this point may be akin to the teaching of Acts 22:16, it portrays a slightly different purpose for baptism. In direct response to the greatest question ever asked (Acts 2:37) Peter said, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” A key word in this passage is remission. Remission means to take away, to forgive, to not hold against. The Bible teaches that God is able to remember our sins no more (Heb. 8:12), to cast our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18), and to remove our sins as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:10-12). But for God to do this we must do two things, repent and be baptized (Mark 16:16). Another vitally important word in this verse is “for”. The Greek word translated “for” is eis. This Greek word is used to represent a going into, an indication of purpose, or the going in the direction of a goal. Hence, the purpose or goal of baptism is the forgiveness of one’s sins. However, it is important for us at this time to discuss a major false doctrine spawned involving Acts 2:38. Certain denominationalists and false teachers have tried to make the word “for” (Gr. eis) mean “because of”. Therefore, Peter would be saying to the Jews, repent and be baptized because you have already received the remission of sins. This is known as the causal view of eis argument. While this view may sound good to those trying to propagate faith only doctrine, it has several glaring errors that prove it false. (1). Logic demands that this view of Acts 2:38 cannot be true. Is Peter here telling the Jews that they need to repent and be baptized because they have already been forgiven of their sins? But wait just a minute Peter. If I have already been forgiven of my sins, I do not have to do anything. It is highly illogical for someone to ask you what do to be saved (The question of Acts 2:37), then you tell them they have to do two things, not to be saved but because they are already saved. (2) This view of Acts 2:38 is in contradiction with the very words of Jesus. Jesus taught that for a man to be saved he had to repent before, not after he had been forgiven of his sins. In Luke 13:3 Jesus told certain people who were still in sin that they had to repent to get out of sin. Jesus simply said, “I tell you no, but unless you repent you shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3). If the causal view of Acts 2:38 is true then Peter and Jesus are in disagreement on what one must do before salvation. Not only that, but also this would make the infallible Bible not so infallible. Does the Bible contradict itself, or does the false doctrine of men contradict the Bible? (3). While there is no proof that the causal argument is justifiable in any case, for the sake of argument let us assume that it is. The Greek word eis is used some 1,768 times in the New Testament. Of all the uses of this Greek word, there are only about five instances where the causal case would make sense and would be grammatically correct. Do you know what kind of a statistic that is? These numbers tell us that the chance of the causal view of eis occurring is about .3 percent. 99.7% of the time this word does not mean because of. Therefore, to translate “for” as “because of” there would have to be strong textual indicators and justifiable evidence for doing so. But, there is no evidence or indicators to base this view on. In fact, when the evidence is gathered it is against this view. Therefore, we can truly say that baptism is for the remission of past sins!!
A seventh purpose for baptism in the New Testament is to obey the command of God. Before we look at the Scripture reference for this purpose, let me ask you a question. Must a person be obedient to God to be in a saved state and get to Heaven? Or, will the disobedient be in Heaven? The Bible clearly teaches that one must obey God to please Him. Jesus poignantly said “Not everyone who say to me ‘Lord’, ‘Lord’ will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Again, Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord’, ‘Lord’ and do not do the things which I say” (Lk 6:46). The Hebrew writer clearly said that Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him (Heb. 5:8-9). From these verses we can know that one must be obedient to God to be in a saved state.
Now, let us turn our attention to what Peter commanded Cornelius and his household to do. Acts 10:48 records, “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” Baptism must be performed because it is a command of God! Those who have not been immersed, or have not been immersed for the right reasons have not obeyed God and are not pleasing Him.
In the Christian era, God’s express will is found in the New Testament. The Old Testament is “obsolete and vanishing away”(Heb. 8:13). It has been nailed to the cross and taken out of the way (Col. 2:14ff, Eph. 2:14ff). If one wants to learn how to be saved today, he must look to the New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Jn. 12:48). Therefore, we can learn that an eighth purpose for baptism is it is what people did to be saved in the book of Acts. Notice every instance of conversion in this book involves baptism.
1. The Pentecostians (Acts 2:38).
2. The Samaritans and Simon (Acts 8:12ff).
3. The Ethiopian Nobleman (Acts 8:36ff).
4. Paul (Acts 9:6, 22:16).
5. Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:47-48).
6. Lydia and her household (Acts 16:15).
7. The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:33).
8. The Corinthians (Acts 18:8).
9.
John’s disciples (Acts 19:1ff).
Did you get the picture Acts is trying to convey? If a person is going to be saved, then baptism must be at the center or heart of their salvation. Baptism is the point where a person is washed in the blood of Jesus (Rev. 1:5, Acts 22:16). Thank God for the simplicity and clarity of the New Testament!!
The first and most popular objection to baptism is the thief on the cross. At first glance, the thief may seem to be a plausible excuse for not being immersed. For indeed, if the thief did not have to be baptized to go to Paradise, then we should not have to either. However, the thief on the cross is not a proper example of salvation today for at least three reasons.
First, the thief is not a proper example of New Testament salvation because he lived under the Old Testament. The law of Christ, or New Testament, did not go into effect until after Jesus died on the cross of Calvary (Read Eph. 2:14ff, Col. 2:13ff). As the Hebrew writer said, “…a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has not power at all while the testator lives” (Heb. 9:17). If someone wants to learn what to do to be saved today, they would not look to the Old Testament. To find New Testament Examples of how people were saved, one would want to look to the Book of Acts.
Second, the thief on the cross is not an example for salvation today because while the Lord was on the earth He had power to forgive sins in any way He desired. Jesus Himself said, “…that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins…” (Mk. 2:10). Although Christ did have the power to forgive sins on earth, we know that He is no longer on the earth. He has been resurrected to the right hand of God in Heaven (Heb. 1:1-3). Since the Lord is no longer on earth, we must look to His written will to find out what we must do to be saved (Col. 3:17). And, in that written will He has specified that “He that believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mk. 16:16).
Third, the thief on the cross is not a proper objection to baptism because he may have been immersed. It is possible, even likely, that the thief was baptized before the events of the cross. The Bible says that, “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him (John), and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matt. 3:5-6). How do we know that the thief was not one of those who was baptized by John? The word “all” does convey that John performed an all inclusive revival which resulted in all or everyone in those regions being immersed. One can only suppose that the thief was not baptized. The point is, we cannot know for if the thief was or was not baptized. Therefore, we should not use the thief on the cross as an example of salvation. The Bible teaches that one should not base his salvation on supposition but “prove all things” (I Thes. 5:21). The thief cannot stand up to this criteria, therefore, we should abandon him as an excuse not to be immersed for the remission of sins.
A second objection to baptism is rooted in the views and beliefs of salvation by loved ones who have passed away. When a person is presented with the truth on baptism and begins to see the importance of baptism in their life, many times they will balk because of what close loved ones did or did not do. I have had people respond to the plea to be baptized into Christ by saying, “to be immersed for the remission of my sins would be condemning my grandmother and grandfather to Hell and I just cannot do that.” In response to this, two things are important to remember. First, your obedience to God will not condemn or save your loved ones. Each person will give an account for his own sins and shortcomings, not for the sins of others (2 Cor. 5:10). Secondly, if your loved ones were lost because they did not obey the gospel, I can honestly say that the one thing they want you to do most is obey the truth. How do I know that? I know because a rich man told me so. In Luke 16:19ff, a rich man failed to live faithful to God and was lost in a sinners Hell for eternity. When the rich man realized that he was lost and there was nothing more he could do about his situation, his one desire was to let his family know how to stay away from this place. Listen to his own words. “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment” (Luke 16:27-28). Friend, if your parents or grandparents were lost because they did not obey the truth about baptism, the one thing they want the most is for you to obey the gospel. They do not care about their reputation or family beliefs where they are. They want you to become a New Testament Christian and escape a sinner’s Hell. May God help us not to be so prideful and foolish as to follow on the heels of our loved ones who were in error but to accept the simplicity of the Bible and obey it.