Wayne Jackson wrote this article which appeared in the March, 1980 Christian Courier. The paper was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California and was edited by Jackson.
The entire 15th chapter of First Corinthians deals with the subject of the bodily resurrection of the dead. This great chapter easily divides into four sections: (1) The resurrection of Jesus Christ proved (1-11). (2) Christ's resurrection as the guarantee of the future resurrection (12-34); (3) The nature of the resurrection (35-49); and (4) The ultimate effect of the resurrection (50-58). In the midst of this chapter the apostle writes, "Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?" (15:29) It is well known of course, that the Mormon Church attempts to justify its doctrine of vicarious baptism on the basis of this passage. Joseph Smith, Jr. said, "A man may act as a proxy for his own relatives...we may be baptized for those whom we have much friendship for..." (B.H. Roberts, Ed., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, 1950, VI, p.366). The Mormons however, are wrong in their view of First Corinthians 15:29. Whatever else the verse may possibly mean, it certainly cannot imply "proxy baptism" for the following reasons.
1. In Ezekiel 18:20 the Bible clearly shows that neither righteousness nor wickedness is transferable from one generation to another. Every soul is accountable for his own actions; "...the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." If a living person can submit to an act of righteousness (baptism) and have the attendant blessing transferred to someone in the realm of the dead, why could not a living person yield to an act of wickedness (i.e., murder or robbery) and have the resultant condemnation transferred to another soul in the state of the dead? Scripture teaches that judgment will be of "each one" according "to what he has done, whether it be good or bad" (II Corinthians 5:10). Again, "each one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12).
2. In the Lord's great parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1ff) the foolish virgins who failed to secure sufficient oil, that is they made not adequate preparation, and who subsequently, "slumbered and slept" (i.e., they dies; see Daniel 12:2; First Thessalonians 4:13-14), met the Bridegroom in that same unprepared condition! Significantly, when they attempted to "borrow" preparation from the faithful, they were refused. Moreover, if remission of sins could be given to the wicked in their place of punishment, then they could depart that place of torment and enter into the realm of the comforted. Yet Christ taught that, there is a great gulf fixed" between the two states so that, "none may cross over" (Luke 16:26). Interestingly, the verb rendered "is fixed" (esteriktai) is a perfect tense, passive voice term indicating that the boundary is permanent and that by divine authority! If one could pass from the realm of the lost to that of the saved, might it not be possible to slip from the state of bliss to that of condemnation?
Exegesis In Context - I Corinthians 15:29 is a difficult passage. More than thirty views have been suggested by commentators. In approaching the passage, two principles must be borne in mind. First, no view must be taken of this verse which contradicts other clear passages of Scripture. Secondly, a correct interpretation of the verse will harmonize with the contextual theme of the bodily resurrection. Let us consider several options.
a. Since Paul uses the third person pronoun, "what shall they do that are baptized for the dead" some suggest that the apostle refers to a heretical sect who though practicing a proxy baptism, denied the resurrection. According to this view, Paul by use of an ad hominem argument (i.e., reasoning from their position) exposes their theological inconsistency. But though proxy baptism was later practiced there is no evidence that it was practiced as early as the time when this passage was written (Bloomfield, Greek New Testament, II, p. 166).
b. Some interpret the phrase "for (huper) the dead" as expressing the motive for the baptism (Arndt & Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon, p. 846). Hermann Cremer notes that, "It is not said that the baptism was for the advantage of the dead, but that the dead, inasmuch, namely as they will rise again (for only in this sense can mention be made of them) give the living occasion to be baptized..." (Biblico-Theological Lexicon, p. 128). According to this view, Paul would be saying (to those at Corinth who denied the resurrection), "If there is to be no resurrection why do you continue to follow the example of those Christians (now dead) who were baptized?" In other words, there is no virtue in the continuing practice of baptism (present tense forms), thus depicting a burial and resurrection if there is to be no resurrection from the dead (cf. Lenski, I Corinthians, p. 690).
c. Others suggest that the preposition huper is used in the sense of "in place of" or "in the stead of." If so, the meaning would be that people were being baptized to replace those saints who had died. The point would thus be, why be baptized to fill the ranks left vacant by the dead if they will not be raised? (cf. Macknight, Apostolical Epistles, p. 203).
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