Is Baptism for the Remission of Sins?

God’s greatest gift was Jesus on the cross (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:15; James 1:17). Jesus died that men might have re­mission of sins (Matthew 26:28). After His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection, He told His disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be con­demned” (Mark 16:15–16).

This generation of Christians descends from a long line of preachers who have taken their turn at announcing remission of sins to a lost generation (2 Timothy 2:2). Tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) are baptized every year to wash away their sins. We average more than five baptisms a day just with the House to House/Heart to Heart minis­try. Helping sinners receive salvation is a labor of love.

On the church’s inauguration Sunday, Peter preached, “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” (Acts 2:38). The word translated “for” in the phrase “for the remission of sins” is the Greek preposition eis.

That small word has been the subject of controversy through the years. Those who teach salvation by faith only contend that it means “because of.” That is, one is baptized because he is already saved. Churches of Christ (among others) say that it means that baptism is “in order to” be saved. Which interpretation is correct?

ALWAYS POINTS FORWARD

Eis never points backward. When one is driving along and sees an arrow on the pavement for a turning lane, he knows what is coming ahead. If one sees arrows pointing the opposite way than he is going, then he knows he is going the wrong direction and must turn around before he has an accident.

D. A. Penick, Professor of Classical Lan­guages at the University of Texas, said, “Normally ‘eis’ looks forward, and I know of no case in the New Testament where it looks back” (quoted in Warren and Bal­lard 187). So, eis does not point to what has already happened (salvation at the point of faith), but forward to what is about to hap­pen (salvation at the point of baptism).

The reason one chooses to be baptized is important. If one was baptized to get his parents or wife off his back, then he was not baptized scripturally. If one was immersed in water simply because her friends at camp or a revival were, she has not been scripturally baptized. If one was immersed only to join a re­ligious group, he has not been baptized according to Acts 2:38. If one was im­mersed to demonstrate a saved condi­tion and not for remission of sins, he has not been baptized for the right reason. In God’s mind, one has been baptized only when he is immersed by another, understanding the purpose of baptism is to have sins removed.

“IN ORDER TO OBTAIN”

The Bible is the best commentary on the Bible. That is, if one verse or phrase is dif­ficult to understand, the student should find another verse on the same subject or using the same phrase, and it will make the meaning clearer.

In this case, Matthew 26:28 uses the identical phrase found in Acts 2:38. There, Jesus said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Try substituting “because of” in the place of “for” in this sentence: “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many because of the remission of sins.” Is this correct? Did Jesus die because the world was already saved, or did He die so the world could be saved? Clearly, it was the latter.

What do Greek scholars say about eis?¹

• George Abbot-Smith says baptidzo (the word for “baptize”) with eis refers to “purpose or result.”
• Edward Robinson says eis takes the role of “marking the object and effect of the rite of baptism.”
• Greek grammarian G. B. Winer says, “The purpose and end [is] in view” in Acts 2:38.
• Horatio B. Hackett, Baptist scholar and once professor of Latin, Greek, and He­brew Languages at Brown University (1835–1839), wrote, “This clause states a result of baptism in language derived from the nature of that act. It answers to ‘for the remission of sins,’ as in Acts 2:38; that is, submit to the rite in order to be forgiven.”
• H. A. W. Meyer, a German Lutheran scholar who published a translation of the New Testament (1829), wrote, “‘Eis’ denotes the object of the baptism which is the remission of guilt contracted in the state before repentance.”
• Carl H. Morgan, Dean at the East­ern Baptist Theological Seminary (1940–1961), wrote, “I do not know of any Greek Lexicon which gives to ‘eis’ the meaning of ‘because of’” (quoted in Warren and Ballard 186–187).
• James W. Willmarth, editor of the Advanced Quarterly of the American Baptist Publication Society, Modera­tor of the West New Jersey and Phila­delphia Associations, and Trustee of Crozier Theological Seminary, wrote a dissertation on the meaning of the Greek preposition eis as found in Acts 2:38. In it, he says that “in or­der to” is the “natural and obvious meaning” of eis and chides his breth­ren for insisting on “because of,” say­ing, “Such methods of interpretation are unworthy of Christian scholars,” and “The truth will suffer nothing by giving to eis its true signification.”
• Edgar J. Goodspeed, in his translation of the New Testament, rendered Acts 2:38, “You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Je­sus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven, then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

BETWEEN A COMMAND AND A BLESSING

The preposition, when appearing be­tween a command and a blessing, always suggests the command must be obeyed before the blessing can be enjoyed.

• Romans 10:8–10: Belief unto righteous­ness.
• Acts 11:18: Repentance unto life.
• Romans 10:8–10: Confession unto sal­vation.
• Acts 2:38: Baptism unto remission.

The larger context of the New Testa­ment shows that salvation is by faith, but not by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8–9). Jesus declared, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the king­dom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21); and “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Read also James 2.

IN THE MIND OF GOD

Forgiveness takes place in one place—the mind of God in heaven. Only God can forgive. Therefore, man cannot change or dictate terms of forgiveness. He can only accept or reject them. God is not obligated to do as man desires. Man is blessed to be able to do what God requires. The right to forgiveness belongs to God as man’s…

• Creator (Genesis 1:26–27). He owns our copyright.
• Proprietor (Proverbs 16:1–4). He has a greater right to us than we have to our­selves.
• Sovereign (Genesis 18:14). He is Lord over us, as we are His creatures.
• Governor. He governs the world (Psalm 22:28; 124:1–5), and we are tenants on His property.

Man can claim salvation at the point of un-obedient faith, but that does not make it take place in God’s mind. James said, “What does it profit, my brethren, if some­one says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ,,,Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?,,, You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:14–24; cf. Romans 6:17–18; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 2:3–5).

CONCLUSION

Every sinner on earth needs remission of sins (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Forgiveness is required to remove the following:

• The wrath of God. Forgiveness brings peace with God (Romans 5:9; 1 Thes­salonians 1:10; 5:9).
• The curse of the law. We are acceptable to God through Christ (Galatians 3:10, 13).
• An accusing conscience. Forgiveness means no guilt over past sins (Hebrews 9:9, 13–14; 10:22).
• The fear of death. Death becomes the door to God (Philippians 1:21; He­brews 2:15).
• The awfulness of eternity without God. We look forward to bliss with Him (Psalm 16:11; Philippians 3:19).

A straightforward reading of Jesus’ words on baptism could only be interpreted to mean “for the remission of sins” (John 3:5; Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:18–20). The Spirit inspired Jesus’ apostles to preach the same doctrine to the early church (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Galatians 3:26–27; Colossians 2:12–13; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21).

No one should leave earth without being baptized for the remission of sins. Do you need forgiveness of sins?

Endnotes

¹These academic scholars are from a variety of religious backgrounds, and so far as I know, none is a member of the church of Christ (except Thomas B. Warren). This is a small sampling of the wide literature available that shows the same conclusion.

Works Cited

Abbot-Smith, George. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Goodspeed, Edgar J. The New Testament: An Ameri­can Translation. University of Chicago Press, 1923.

Hackett, Horatio B. A Commentary on Acts of Apos­tles. American Baptist Publication Society, 1882.

Meyer, H. A. W. Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. T & T Clark, 1873–1893. 21 vols. Acts Volume 1.

Robinson, Edward. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Harper & Brothers, 1855.

Warren, Thomas B., and L. S. Ballard. The Warren- Ballard Debate on the Plan of Salvation. National Christian Press, 1953.

Willmarth, James W. “Baptism and Remission.” Bap­tist Quarterly, July 1877, 304–305.

Winer, G. B. Grammar of the Greek New Testament. T & T Clark, 1882.

Winkler, Wendell. The Church Everybody Is Talking About. Winkler Publications, 1988, 114.