“Waterless Places”

Thursday, December 27, 2012

If the water pipes broke and the baptistery was bone dry, would my salvation have to wait until the plumber showed up?  If I were to die before then, would I go to hell?  If obedience to water baptism is the means of forgiveness of sins, then I would.

Sincerely,
Water Resistant

Dear Water Resistant,

Oh, the wonderful power of the ‘what-if’ question!  Hypothetical questions are the most powerful debating tool in the world because they don’t need to have any basis in reality… the reality is that if the pipes break at the building, there are rivers and streams nearby, and bathtubs, and hot tubs, and public pools, etc.  Our first answer to your question would be simply – there is always water to get baptized in.  After all, it’s water; two-thirds of the world is covered in the stuff.

The second part of our answer would be that God in His providence watches over those who are truly seeking baptism.  Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened (Matt 7:7).  God promises that if we want to obey Him that He will make it possible.  Therefore, if someone wants to be baptized, God is going to protect them until they can get to water.  God wants us to be saved; He finds no pleasure in people going to hell (Ezek 33:11).  If someone wants to be baptized for salvation (Mk 16:16, Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21)… God is going to make sure they can be.

Share