Answering the common charge that the doctrine of baptismal regeneration means one “earns” salvation, Orpheus J. Heyward, a member of the Church of Christ (“Campbellites”), in a volume defending this doctrine, offered the following insightful comments:
Those who are opposed to the essentiality of baptism often make the accusation that advocates of the position are guilty of teaching salvation through meritorious works, which is a denial of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. The idea is that if baptism is necessary, then it nullifies the grace of God, and makes salvation that which is earned. This is a common misconception. Taking the position that baptism is essential to salvation is not equivalent to salvation being earned. In addition, while the Bible does teach salvation by grace through faith, it does not teach salvation by grace alone through faith alone, separate and from conditions of salvation . . . a gift can be granted and have conditions that are stipulated or reception. It does not change the fact that it is a gift. An Old Testament example of this is the giving of Jericho into the hands of Israel. God gave it to them (Josh. 6:1-2), but they had to meet the conditions of marching around the wall one time each day, and seven times on the final day (Josh. 6:3-4). Did the marching around the wall indicate they earned the victory? Not at all. They simply obeyed God’s conditions by faith, trusting in his power, and God granted them the gift of Jericho. Notice Hebrews 11:30. It states, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down AFTER they had been encircled for seven days. This Old Testament narrative is a perfect example of how grace, faith, and obedience work in concert to receive God’s blessings . . .Paul, in Ephesians 2:8, is not in opposition to baptism or obedience but against the achievement of righteousness through the old covenant law system. Therefore, salvation by grace does not mean unconditional salvation or salvation without baptism for that matter. This is contextually foreign and ignores the intent of the apostle Paul in this passage. The passage declares unmerited salvation that cannot be earned/merited by the legality of law. It should be noted that New Testament baptism is never described as a meritorious work . . . The problem with this accusation is that it does not consider the fact that baptism is never described as a meritorious work that we do, but a passive action in which one is acted upon. Interestingly enough, in addition to being buried in water by a baptizer, God is viewed as the one who works in baptism. Paul mentions the “operation/working” of God in the context of the baptismal experience in which God works, and not the one being baptized (Col. 2:11-12) . . . Constantine Campbell’s book on, “Colossians and Philemon: A Handbook on the Greek Text,” also observes the grammatical relationship between the circumcision and baptism stating, “The participle (buried with him) modifies περιετμήθητε (circumcise) (v. 11) and most likely expresses means, specifying the way in which the spiritual circumcision is experienced by means of being buried with him in baptism. Subsequently, we are risen with him by the working of God. This eliminates the notion that baptism is a work of man, seeing that Paul depicts this process as the work of God.
Interestingly, verse 13 reiterates the salvation experience received on the occasion of baptism using language that pictures resurrection from the dead. He said, “he made you alive together with him,” having forgiven you all trespasses.” Once again, Paul uses a main verb followed by a participle to explain the action. The meaning is God made you alive by forgiving all your trespasses.
The moment of forgiveness is the moment of being made alive. Additionally, whatever is essential to be forgiven is essential to be made alive. If baptism is essential to be made alive, it is essential to being forgiven. In the context of Colossians 2:11-12, baptism is essential to forgiveness, and therefore to being made alive. (Orpheus J. Heyward, Dead, Dipped, Delivered: A grammatical and contextual analysis of baptism passages [2017], 19-20, 21, 23, 38, 110-11, emphasis in original)
Elsewhere, commenting on 1 Cor 1:17, another favourite proof-text for those who reject baptismal regeneration, Heyward correctly noted the following:
The term used for “baptize” (βαπτίζειν) is in the verb form, to which Paul is referring to the act of baptizing, and not the function of baptism in the redemptive process. He places the act of baptizing juxtapose to the act of preaching. To this end, Paul is claiming that he was not called to perform the act of baptizing, but the act of preaching. Paul does not refer to the redemptive function of these two activities, but simply which activity in which he was commanded to engage. To make this passage a discussion of the function of baptism is to interject a point that is beyond the scope of the author’s intention. (Ibid., 119-20)
For more on 1 Cor 1:17 and other texts, such as Acts 2:38, see, for instance:
