Was the Thief on the Cross Saved without Baptism?
The thief on the cross was saved, but was he saved without baptism? We do not know. We cannot say that he was NEVER baptized. John baptized many. Matthew 3:5-6 says, “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” John 4:1 says, “…Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.” How could one absolutely KNOW that the thief on the cross was not among these people? Given Matthew and John’s statements regarding the number of people who were baptized, it is more likely that he was.
Luke 7:29-30 says, “And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” Rank sinners were baptized! The people were baptized! The Pharisees and lawyers were not. Luke says that they “rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized of him.” One cannot prove that the thief was never baptized.
Moreover, the thief lived under the Law of Moses. Today, we live under the New Covenant of Christ. We live after the resurrection. We live after Jesus was given all authority (Matthew 28:18). We live after Jesus commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). The thief was an example of salvation under the Law of Moses, not under the New Covenant of Christ. He was saved like Moses, David, Daniel, and others. Christ’s resurrection changed things. The standard of forgiveness is now the gospel, not the Law of Moses. We preach salvation by the gospel! To be saved by the gospel, one must be baptized (Romans 6:1-11).
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley