Luke 23:39-43 - Jesus was crucified between two criminals (thieves). As the three of them were suspended, one thief ridiculed Jesus, but the other defended Him. Jesus promised this one would be in Paradise that day.
This saying of
Jesus has become a center of controversy. Many believe Jesus saves people on
the basis of "faith alone," so baptism is not essential to receive
forgiveness of sins. When the subject is discussed, people commonly bring up
the thief as someone who was saved without baptism. They conclude that if Jesus
would save this man without baptism, He would also save us without baptism.
Let us consider
further. What does this case teach us about the terms of forgiveness under the
gospel?
1. Do We Really
Know that the Thief Was Never Baptized?
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This point is not
as significant as others we will consider. Obviously the thief was not baptized
on the cross, but does that prove he had never been baptized beforehand?
Jesus wasn't
baptized on the cross either, but does that prove He had never been baptized?
No, He was baptized by John the Baptist.
Matthew 3:5,6 -
People from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region round about were baptized
by John.
John 4:1,2 -
Later, Jesus' disciples began baptizing people to make them Jesus' disciples.
In fact, Jesus baptized more disciples than John did.
True, some people
were not baptized by John or by Jesus' disciples. But if the thief had been
among those who were baptized and then later fell into sin, then he would have
been an erring child of God not in need of baptism.
Someone may ask,
"Can you prove the thief was baptized?" But, remember, I'm not using
the thief to prove baptism one way or the other. We will see that the
importance of baptism is proved by many other passages. But if people want to
use the thief to prove baptism is not necessary, then to be fair, don't they
first have to know that he was never baptized? If there is a reasonable chance
that he may have been baptized, then have they really proved their point?
Someone may point
out that the thief could not have received the baptism of the gospel like we
must receive today, but we will see that the thief also did not have the same
kind of faith we must have today. The reason the thief could not receive the
same baptism we do is that the terms of salvation under the gospel were not yet
in effect when the thief was crucified. So the example of the thief actually
teaches nothing about the specific steps that we must take to be saved today.
2. The Thief
Cannot Be Used as an Example of Salvation by Gospel Faith.
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The reason people
try to use the thief to prove that people can be saved without baptism is that
they believe in salvation by faith alone. But did the thief have the kind of
faith we must have to be saved under the gospel?
Romans 10:9 - If
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God
has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So, to have the faith required
by the gospel, we must believe that God "has raised" Jesus from the
dead.
1 Corinthians
15:1-4 - Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection are the fundamental facts of
the gospel that we must receive, believe, and hold fast in order to be saved.
The thief on the cross could not possibly believe Jesus had been raised from
the dead, because He had not yet died, let alone been buried and raised.
So, if it is true
that the thief could not have received the baptism of the gospel, then it is
also true that he could not have possessed the same faith that the gospel
requires of us today. The gospel requires us to believe that Jesus has died,
been buried, and been raised. The thief could not have believed this, because
it had not happened. All that he could have believed would be to look forward
to these events, even as John's baptism looked forward to them (Acts 19:1-5).
The thief was no
more saved by the faith of the gospel than he was saved by the baptism of the
gospel. Would it be proper for people to try to use the thief to prove that
people can be saved today without believing that Jesus has been raised from the
dead? No, and likewise it is not proper to use the thief to prove people today
can be saved without baptism.
The point is that
the thief was saved before the terms of the gospel came into effect. So we
cannot use his case to prove one way or the other what people must do today to
be saved.
3. Many
Scriptures Teach that Baptism Is Essential to Receive Forgiveness under the
Gospel.
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In order to
understand what salvation requires today, we must study the terms of the gospel
itself. Many passages state that, in addition to faith, repentance, and
confession, the gospel requires people to be baptized to be saved.
Mark 16:16,15 -
The gospel teaches that he who believes and is baptized will be saved.
Acts 2:38 -
Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
Acts 22:16 - Be
baptized and wash away your sins.
Romans 6:3,4;
Galatians 3:26,27 - We are baptized into Christ, into His death. We have
newness of life after we have been baptized (John 3:3,5).
1 Peter 3:21 -
Baptism now saves us.
Note carefully
that all these passages state terms of salvation under the gospel - not the
terms of salvation for people before the gospel came into effect.
The gospel
clearly teaches that baptism is essential to receive remission. God's word does
not contradict itself. The case of the thief could not possibly prove that
people are saved without baptism, because that would contradict other gospel
passages.
4. The Thief Was
Forgiven before the Gospel Came into Effect.
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The truth is that
the thief was not saved under the same law and dispensation that we are under.
He was still under the Old Testament, not the gospel. That is why he was not
required to believed what we must believe nor to receive the same baptism that
we must receive. The terms of his forgiveness teach us nothing about what we
must do to be saved.
The Old Testament
was in effect when the thief was forgiven.
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Galatians 4:4 -
Jesus Himself was born and lived under the Old Testament law till He died. That
is why He taught people, in His lifetime, to obey the Old Law, including
circumcision, the Sabbath, animal sacrifices, etc. (Luke 4:16; 2:21; 2:22-24;
Matt. 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 2:22ff; cf. Lev. 14:1-32; etc.). Must we do these
things today to be saved?
Matthew 5:17,18 -
He said not one jot or tittle would pass from the law till He had fulfilled it
all. But He had not fulfilled it all till He died and rose from the dead.
Colossians 2:14 -
Jesus removed the first ordinances nailing them to His cross. So the Jews
remained subject to the Old Testament until Jesus died.
Ephesians 2:13-16
- He abolished the Old Law through His blood on the cross (vv 13,16).
Hebrews 10:9,10;
9:16,17 - Jesus removed the first testament and replaced it with His new
covenant, the gospel. It is under this New Testament that we are saved by
Jesus' death. But Jesus had to die to bring this about. [Cf. Gal. 3:13; Rom.
7:4.]
So, the Old Law
was in effect until Jesus died. But the thief was forgiven before Jesus died,
while the first covenant was still in effect. The conditions he had to meet to
be forgiven prove nothing about the conditions under which we are forgiven
under the gospel.
The case of the
thief proves no more about how we should be saved than do David, Moses, Noah,
or Abraham. Why not use these examples to try to show that baptism is not
necessary today? Because these people lived under a different covenant. But the
same is true of the thief. None of these people were required to believe what
we do, nor were they required to be baptized like we are, because they did not
live under the same covenant as we do.
For further
discussion of the Old Testament law, see our article on that subject on our
Bible Instruction web site at www.gospelway.com/instruct (See the section about
the Bible to find this article.)
The terms of
salvation under the gospel were first preached as being in effect after Jesus'
resurrection.
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Mark 16:15,16;
Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46,47 - Only after He died and was raised did Jesus
teach His disciples to take the message of salvation under the gospel to all
mankind. That message was first preached as being in effect on Pentecost in
Acts 2. This is the message that requires gospel faith and gospel baptism.
1 Corinthians
15:1-7 - Salvation under the gospel is based on Jesus' death, burial, and
resurrection, so it could not have been preached as being in effect before
those events occurred.
Romans 6:3,4;
Colossians 2:12, 13 - In fact, the gospel teaches us to be baptized into
Christ's death and resurrection. So no one could have received the baptism of
the gospel before Jesus' resurrection. The thief did not receive gospel baptism
for the simple reason that it was not in effect when he was forgiven, just as
the other terms of the gospel were not yet in effect.
5. Before His
Death, Jesus Forgave People Directly as He Chose. After His Death, We Must Meet
the Terms of His Will to Be Forgiven.
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Mark 2:5-12; Luke
7:48,49; cf. John 8:1-11 - Before His death Jesus directly granted forgiveness
to several people. Apparently the thief is another such case. But He did not
forgive any of these people under the terms of the gospel, since the gospel was
not yet in effect.
Hebrews 9:16,17 -
Jesus' death not only removed the Old Law, but it was necessary to institute
the terms of the New Testament (see also the verses above). As with any will or
testament, Jesus had to die to bring His testament into force.
During his
lifetime, a man may distribute his possessions to anyone he wishes in any way
he wishes. But after the man's death, no one has any right to receive any of
his possessions except according to the terms of his will or testament. The
will does not come into effect till He dies.
In the same way,
Jesus directly forgave people during His lifetime (apparently based on His
ability to read their hearts and observe their lives). His New Testament, the
gospel, came into effect after He died and arose. People today receive
forgiveness only by complying with the terms of Jesus' will. Those terms
require baptism, as well as faith, as shown in the verses already listed.
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(C) Copyright
1999, David E. Pratte
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