I’ve noticed an unsettling trend in what pastors (including me!) say before baptizing someone. We sometimes play a prelude that sounds something like this: “Now, we all know baptism doesn’t save you. This is merely something we do after salvation. It is an outward expression of an inward decision. In fact, nothing special is happening up here. I don’t even know why we do this, it’s pretty pointless. You should probably all look away, but here we go anyway…”
Ok, I jest a little. But in seriousness, too often pastors say, “baptism does not save anyone.” My problem with that is it is almost a quote from 1 Peter 3:21—except with a “not” thrown in. The result is that pastors end up saying the opposite of what the text says.
The text: “baptism now saves you.”
Pastors: “baptism does not now save you.”
The text: “ummmm…. You sure about that?”
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