{"id":931,"date":"2024-02-06T12:40:05","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T19:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/?p=931"},"modified":"2024-02-06T13:06:30","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:06:30","slug":"is-baptism-because-of-or-for-the-forgiveness-of-sins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/2024\/02\/06\/is-baptism-because-of-or-for-the-forgiveness-of-sins\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Baptism \u201cBecause Of\u201d or \u201cFor\u201d the Forgiveness of Sins?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Is Baptism \u201cBecause Of\u201d or \u201cFor\u201d the Forgiveness of Sins?<br>by Wes | Oct 11, 2017 | Theology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Acts 2:38 Peter told a crowd of people, \u201cRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ <strong>for the forgiveness of your sins<\/strong>, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u201d The question we will consider today is this: Was Peter telling the people to be baptized <strong>in order to be<\/strong> forgiven or was he telling them to be baptized <strong>because<\/strong> they were already forgiven?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/baptism-for.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-932\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Preposition \u201cEis\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word translated \u201cfor\u201d in Acts 2:38 is the Greek word \u201ceis.\u201d Two scholars, A.T. Robertson and J.R. Mantey, have argued that in this passage the word \u201ceis\u201d means, \u201cbecause.\u201d They argued that Peter was telling the crowd, \u201cRepent and be baptized because of the forgiveness of your sins.\u201d In other words, be baptized in order to show that your sins have already been forgiven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem with Robertson and Mantey\u2019s argument is that the word \u201ceis\u201d simply does NOT mean, \u201cbecause of.\u201d It doesn\u2019t mean that in this passage\u2026or in any passage. It often has the following meanings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>into<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>unto<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>towards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>among<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>at<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is used over 1,700 times in the New Testament and it shows movement toward a goal. It indicates purpose. The popular site, GotQuestions.org falsely claims that Matthew 12:41 proves \u201ceis\u201d can mean \u201cbecause.\u201d Matthew 12:41 says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented <strong>at<\/strong> the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this passage, \u201ceis\u201d is translated \u201cat.\u201d But it doesn\u2019t mean \u201cbecause\u201d it means \u201cat the point of\u201d or \u201cwhen.\u201d The people of Nineveh repented \u201cwhen\u201d Jonah preached to them. Jesus is saying the current generation would be condemned by the people of Nineveh because (Greek \u201choti\u201d) the people of Nineveh repented at the point of (\u201ceis\u201d) Jonah\u2019s preaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word \u201ceis\u201d never ever means \u201cbecause\u201d in the New Testament. That\u2019s simply not how the word was used. Those who claim otherwise are twisting the word to fit their preconceived theological ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For the Forgiveness of Sins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, there is another time the exact phrase, \u201cfor the forgiveness of sins\u201d appears in the New Testament. In Matthew 26:27-28, Jesus says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, \u2018Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many<strong> for the forgiveness of sins.<\/strong>&#8216;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you catch that? Jesus said His blood would be poured out \u201cfor the forgiveness of sins.\u201d Could He have meant that His blood was poured out \u201cbecause\u201d sins had already been forgiven? Could He have meant He was going to die as an outward sign that sins were forgiven without His blood? Surely that conclusion is preposterous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the Greek phrase in Matthew 26:28 means \u201cin order for sins to be forgiven\u201d then why doesn\u2019t the exact same phrase in Acts 2:38 mean the same thing? The truth is, it does mean the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How It is Translated<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though many preachers, pastors, teachers, and commentators continue to argue for \u201cbecause of\u201d in Acts 2:38, it seems that translators of the Bible are almost always scholarly enough to treat the text well. Consider all of these translations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ESV \u2013 \u201cfor the forgiveness of your sins\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NIV \u2013 \u201cfor the forgiveness of your sins\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KJV \u2013 \u201cfor the remission of sins\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NASB \u2013 \u201cfor the forgiveness of your sins\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even many of the paraphrase Bibles do not accept the \u201cbecause of\u201d argument:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>MSG \u2013 \u201cbe baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NLT \u2013 \u201cfor the forgiveness of your sins\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ERV \u2013 \u201cbe baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CEV \u2013 \u201cso that your sins will be forgiven\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is simply NOT accurate to say Acts 2:38 means, \u201cbecause of the forgiveness of your sins.\u201d There may be some fringe translation somewhere that translates it that way, but I don\u2019t know what translation that would be. Every reputable Bible I have ever seen makes the point clear, sins are forgiven at the point of baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter was NOT teaching, nor am I teaching, that a person is saved by works and not by grace. Baptism does NOT merit salvation. Baptism is simply the point at which Jesus saves us. It is the point at which we are \u201cunited with\u201d His saving work (Romans 6:1-7). It is the point at which we are resurrected from our state of spiritual deadness (Colossians 2:12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baptism is a penitent appeal of faith for the forgiveness of our sins (see 1 Peter 3:21). It is saying to God, \u201cI trust you. I surrender to you. I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I believe He will wash my sins away and raise me from the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>None of that contradicts the idea that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We are saved totally by grace and totally by faith when we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I love you and God loves you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wes McAdams<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Copied from: <a href=\"https:\/\/radicallychristian.com\/is-baptism-because-of-or-for-the-forgiveness-of-sins\/\">Radically Christian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Baptism \u201cBecause Of\u201d or \u201cFor\u201d the Forgiveness of Sins?by Wes | Oct 11, 2017 | Theology In Acts 2:38 Peter told a crowd of people, \u201cRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/2024\/02\/06\/is-baptism-because-of-or-for-the-forgiveness-of-sins\/\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":934,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rom120.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}