When Elisha told Naaman, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean” (2 Kgs. 5:10), did Elisha really have to go and “wash in the Jordan seven times” in order for his flesh to be restored? Isn’t that a silly question? The instructions are simple: “go and wash.” The promised results are simple: “restored” and “clean.” For anyone to come along and argue that Naaman could be “restored” and “clean” without washing in the Jordan would be shameful, irrational and erroneous!
And yet, that is exactly what folks today are doing with the simple instructions from God to be baptized in order to be saved from sins. Their efforts are shameful, irrational and erroneous! They do all sorts of contortions to try to explain away clear Bible teaching! Consider one example. In the comments on Acts 2:38 written by Stanley D. Toussaint in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck)—which I do not recommend to you at all—note how blatantly the author discards the plain instruction given in the verse. Toussaint writes, “One [view of this passage] is that both repentance and baptism result in remission of sins. In this view, baptism is essential for salvation. The problem with this interpretation is that elsewhere in Scripture forgiveness of sins is based on faith alone,” and he cites several passages which he claims thus teach.
When the inspired preacher (i.e., Peter, not Toussaint) answered the multitude and said, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,” was it difficult to understand what Peter was making “essential for salvation”? It was NO more difficult to understand what Peter was making essential than it was for Naaman to understand what Elisha was making essential! The requirement was to obey the clear instructions of God in order to obtain the promises of God! In Acts 2:38, the instructions include BOTH “repent” AND “be baptized” to be forgiven!
There is not a single verse anywhere in the Bible that teaches salvation by “faith alone”! In fact, James 2:14-26 teaches just the opposite of that false conclusion. True Biblical faith was and is always an obedient faith (cf. Heb. 11:1-40; 3:16-19; Rom. 1:5; 16:26; John 3:36; etc.). Thus, faith saves from sin when that faith obeys what God says to do (cf. Matt. 7:21-27; Heb. 5:9; Jas. 1:22-25).
How shameful, irrational and erroneous to claim, when commenting on Acts 2:38, that forgiveness is “based on faith alone,” completely contradicting (and thus eliminating) God’s requirement of both repentance and baptism in that very verse! Let us follow God’s teaching and NOT man’s!