By: Obed Pineda
When a piece of information is trying to be identified as fact or fiction, consistency is elemental in this endeavor. Take for example the prosecution’s responsibility in a criminal case as it pertains to the burden of proof. Remember that the burden of proof is referring to the obligation an individual has in providing sufficient proof which supports that the claim he is making is true. The judicial system in the United States declares that a person (“defendant”) accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Ergo, it is the duty of the prosecutor to convince a judge or jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty of committing the crime he is being charged with. Under US law, all the evidence and testimony submitted by the prosecution to the jury must leave zero doubt in the jurors minds that the accused is in fact guilty as charged. In order to protect the defendant’s freedom from being wrongfully taken away, the standard which the prosecution team must meet to successfully prove guilt in a criminal trial is purposely set very high. This legal paradigm, too, obligates the judge or jury to pay close attention to the details of the evidence and testimony provided, so that a sound, righteous judgment can be made. For this reason, consistency must be present between the accusation made, along with the evidence and testimony presented in order to eliminate all reasonable doubt. There is no question that when an inconsistency appears in the prosecutor’s case, doubt erases the burden of proof thus failing to substantiate the allegation. Furthermore, this demonstrates that truth always remains constant because it never ceases to be true; regardless of changes in time, culture, or opinion. Taking into account the value that constancy has in revealing truth, one has to wonder why doctrinal issues are not approached in the same manner by humanity? God clearly does so, since He vehemently declares that He “is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1st Corinthians 14:33). This Divine declaration is validated when one draws near to God’s holy Word and begins to humbly examine it. The words of the inspired Psalmist, “For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth,” are verified with the discovery of the infallible and flawless cohesion found in all of sacred Scripture. This unbreakable chain of Holy Writ achieves solidifying that the Bible is truly “God-breathed” (i.e. inspired by God) and, because of this, it is the sole authority in declaring what doctrinal practices are approved by God (cf. Acts 20:17-28, Galatians 1:6-10, 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 1:1-2, 2nd Peter 1:16-21). It is imperative to comprehend that because God is immutable, “the counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11). These sacred Scriptures are important to keep firmly in mind when seeking to understand what God approves and disproves. It would be inconsistent for the Bible to declare that God is unchanging and inerrant, if it is impossible to show that what is required today to gain God’s salvation was also required of those past generations in the times of old. Case in point: baptism. The question of whether or not baptism is essential today for obtaining God’s saving grace has tragically often been approached through human thought, ignoring Divine counsel. A primary reason for this is because the doctrine of grace has been grotesquely polluted by too many false doctrines which sprung from the imagination of men. Yet, it is must be accepted that if the doctrine of baptism and redemption are perpetually linked with one another throughout all of Scriptures, then it must not be denied as essential for salvation. The transliterated word baptism is defined as to immerse or submerge; to make fully wet (Strong, G907). This reveals two very important facts: 1. water must be present, and 2. that a person must be fully surrounded by water, as if buried completely under it. Therefore, to be able to establish the burden of proof confirming this doctrinal practice as dictated by God, this concept must be present in every dispensation of history, constantly having the same end result. Let us recall that the Bible speaks about three specific eras (i.e. dispensations): the Patriarchal Age, the Mosaic Age, and the Christian Age. Observe what the Holy Spirit espouses regarding the first dispensation: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an anti-type which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of good conscience toward God)” (1st Peter 3:18-21). It is unquestionable that the ark which Noah built was completely surrounded by water because when the Great Flood commenced “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:11b-12). Genesis’ account concurs with Peter’s conclusion that Noah and his family alone were saved from drowning in the flood, because they entered into the ark in accordance to God’s command (cf. Genesis 6:13-7:16). Even though it is clear that the type (or foreshadow) of baptism and redemption are seen in the Patriarchal Age, can it be found again in the Mosaic Age? The inspired Paul pens, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1st Corinthians 10:1-2). The apostle Paul is speaking about the day that Israel was redeemed from Egyptian bondage when “the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore” (Exodus 14:29-30). The Bible provides a second type, in the Mosaic Age, heralding baptism as the path leading to God’s saving grace. It is now necessary to manifest in the current Christian age that baptism leads to salvation. It was declared to the Romans, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4, cf. 2nd Corinthians 5:17-6:2, Galatians 3:26-29). Baptism and redemption are indeed consistently linked together in every era and thus, the burden of proof is established. Ergo, it cannot be denied that baptism is essential for salvation.