There were two thieves. One was penitent and the other
was not. The impenitent thief derided the Lord Jesus and challenged Him: “If
thou be Christ, save thyself and us” (Luke 23:379). The sceptics are always
challenging God: “IF THOU BE!” The devil challenged Christ in the wilderness
with the same scepticism: “If Thou be” (Matt 4:3, 6). Today’s sceptics
are saying the same thing: “If He is God…” The truth is that God had come down
and revealed Himself in the person Jesus Christ and true enough, the
unbelievers still remain in their unbelief. Christ had performed many miracles
that proved Him to be the Son of God but the Jews did not believe Him but
crucified Him. The impenitent thief would remain in his unbelief even if Jesus
had saved them.
The penitent thief was different. He said: “Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). It was here
that Jesus replied: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke
23:43).
The denominations are quick to jump on this statement
and say: “See, the thief on the cross was saved without baptism. Baptism is
therefore not necessary for salvation.”
They have forgotten these facts:
1. The thief on the cross is not an example of
salvation for us to follow. His salvation is never a pattern for us to follow.
He was in an extraordinary circumstance with an extraordinary person beside him
who had the power to forgive sin (Mark 2:5, 10).
2. With reference to Baptism,
there is no proof that the thief had not previously submitted to John's
baptism. He could also have been submitted to Christ’s baptism during His ministry
(John 4:1).
3. The thief knew about the kingdom. Both John and
Jesus preached about the coming kingdom (Matt 3:2; 4:17). The thief could have
been a disciple of John or Christ at one point in time. He showed remorse at
the cross and returned to God and was admitted into the kingdom.
4. The thief lived under a different dispensation. The
New Covenant did not come into effect until Christ died (Heb 9:15-18). Christ
was still alive when He made that statement.
5. The baptism of the Great Commission was given only
almost forty days later after the crucifixion (Mark 16:16). The thief could not
obey a command that was not yet given.
The denomination chose to ignore the nine cases of
conversion by baptism in the book of Acts but selectively chose one which was
never the pattern of the New Testament conversion for us to follow and
intentionally ignoring the fact the command to baptise was given only after
Christ had resurrected from the tomb.
Baptism was a command of the Lord Jesus: "He
that believeth (the gospel) and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:
16). The apostolic testimony is: "Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:
38). It follows a pattern of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ:
"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 ; for if we are planted together in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Rom 6:4,
5).
The devil does not want anyone to have his sins wash
away and therefore the doctrine that rejects baptism that washes away sins is a
doctrine of the devil. The scripture teaches that when one has believed, it is
necessary to be baptized; that those who do so have all their past sins
forgiven, and are thus introduced into Christ, whose death and resurrection is
symbolized by their being buried in water, and then raised out of it. Those who
are not so "planted in the likeness of Christ's death" have
not "put on Christ," and will never be "planted in the
likeness of his resurrection."
Baptism washes away sins (Acts 22:16) and does save us
(1 Pet 3:21). The thief on the cross is not a pattern for us and has never
been. Let us abide by the command of the Lord: “He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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