Faith & Works FAQ
Question:
I have always wanted an authoritative source to explain how a "work," baptism, could save someone, when Ephesians 2:8,9 very clearly states the contrary.
Answer:
First, one would need to prove that baptism is the kind of work that is excluded from Eph. 2:8-9. I would define "work" as something done to earn salvation. I don't believe baptism is that kind of activity at all. Colossians 2:11-12 says that it is the work of God, not man! Why do people say baptism is a work man does when the Bible says God does it?
Man is not saved by works, man cannot earn salvation. However, being baptized no more earns salvation or "works" one into heaven then faith does.
Do you believe faith is a work? Jesus said it was in John 6:29. Did you think you earned salvation when you trusted Christ? Of course not! Neither do I believe that I earned salvation by being immersed. Yet I expect you would say faith was necessary to receive God's grace and mercy and be saved. Why can't baptism be the same thing? Why is it a de facto rule out, particularly in light of 1 Peter 3:21 and Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16 and Romans 6:1 ff and Colossians 2:11-12?