IS BAPTISM ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION?

Baptism is a vital topic. In the view of many Bible students, baptism is an essential part of our salvation. But many denominational doctrines are opposed to this, claiming that baptism is, at best, merely "an outward sign of an inward grace." In this view it is an outward testimony to the world that one has previously accepted Christ and has been saved before baptism. And there are some denominations that have done away with baptism altogether, evidently considering it of no value, such as the Salvation Army and the Christian Science Church.

Why is this such an important topic? If Christ has taught us through his revealed Word that baptism is essential to salvation, then one cannot hope to enter heaven without it. Thus one can see why this is so important. Let us consider what the Scriptures have to say on the matter. We will not go to human opinions, church creeds or Biblical commentaries, but only to the Word of God.

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". (John 3:1-5)

In this passage, Christ has plainly stated that one cannot enter into the kingdom of God without this new birth of "water" and "the Spirit." Since we are focusing on what the water is, we will leave consideration of the meaning of "the Spirit" for another time. There are basically three views as to what the water is:

(1) that it is the water in the mother's womb at the time of birth;

(2) that it refers to the Word (the Bible), and

(3) that it is baptism.

As to referring to the water in a natural birth, we must observe that a man (an adult) must be born again of both "water" and "the Spirit." Thus the context does not agree that this is the water associated with natural birth. With respect to the second view, that water refers to the Bible, there is strong evidence that being born again of "the Spirit" has reference to the Holy Spirit's influence upon our new birth through the revealed Word (I Peter 1:22-23, etc.). So if "water" means "Word," then Christ is saying that we must be born again of word and word. And that wouldn't make much sense. Furthermore, if the Lord had meant to say "Word," why did he say "water?" The only conclusion that fits the context is that this water is baptism. To further support this, we refer to Romans 6:3-5, where baptism is clearly depicted as a birth to a new life.

"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."

Do you see that we are "raised from the dead" in baptism that we might "walk in newness of life?" That fits exactly the idea expressed in John 3 in Christ's conversation with Nicodemus--"new birth" equals "new life." Next we turn to Mark 16:16, as Christ is giving his final word to the disciples before he leaves to return to heaven. "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." How could it be said in a plainer way? Consider an illustration. "He who has bought a ticket and boarded the train shall reach his destination; but he who has not bought a ticket shall be stuck at home." Was it necessary for the man to have bought the ticket in order to reach his destination? Obviously. Would we also have to say, "He who has not bought a ticket and not boarded the train shall be stuck at home?" We can easily see that "not boarded the train" would be unnecessary, since he would not board the train without the ticket. Now, what do we understand Christ to have said? Could it be read, "He who has believed and has not been baptized shall be saved?" Can we take such liberty with the words of our Lord? Consider something that Luke said concerning the Pharisees:

"But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John" (Luke 7:30).

Now, if these religious leaders "rejected God's purpose" when they refused to be baptized by John the Baptist, then what is our situation if we "reject God's purpose" in refusing to honor the necessity of the command of Christ?

In looking at the book of Acts, we see thousands and thousands of people being baptized. This began at the beginning of the preaching of the gospel--the day of Pentecost. As Peter and the other apostles convinced their audience that the man whom they had crucified was indeed the Son of God, many hearers were convicted of sin, and asked what they might do to remove their guilt. Notice the narrative in Acts 2:36-38:

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

The result of this is seen in v. 41:

"So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls."

Note that those who "received his word" were baptized. Is it safe to assume that those who were not baptized did not "receive his word?" We observe that that very day some 3,000 were baptized. That is contrary to denominational practices today that may make one wait weeks, months, or even years before they are allowed to be baptized, or which would eliminate baptism altogether.

Some try to get around the force of Acts 2:38 by claiming that Peter was teaching that the real meaning is "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ BECAUSE OF the forgiveness of your sins." In the English language, "for" can have different meanings. "I went shopping for a new coat," means "in order to obtain" a new coat. But "I went to jail for bank robbery," means that I went to jail because of a crime I committed. So, what does Acts 2:38 mean? There are three things to consider.

(1) Can we find a similar passage where the meaning is without question;
(2) does the original Greek of the New Testament give us any help;
(3) Does the context of v. 38 gives us any clues?

(1) As to a similar passage, we note Matthew 26:27, 28, where Christ is instituting the Lord's Supper:

"And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."

The point to be made here is that we have the same wording in both passages. In Acts it says baptism is "for forgiveness of sins," while in Matthew it says that Christ's blood was poured out "for forgiveness of sins." Do we believe that Christ shed his blood because sins had already been forgiven? Obviously not! Therefore it does not seem likely that baptism was commanded because sins have already been forgiven.

(2) In the original Greek, the words are identical in both passages. Furthermore, the Greek word "eis," which is translated "for," may also be translated "in order to" or "unto," and carries the idea of "with a view towards." It is never translated "because of."

(3) As to the context of the verse, we note that Peter commanded two things: "Repent, and let each of you be baptized..." There is a little word that connects the two commands-"and." The rules of grammar tell us that "and" is "a coordinate conjunction connecting words, phrases or clauses of equal rank." Thus repent and be baptized are equally important in the verse, and both would be qualified by the same modifiers. Now, if "be baptized" is to be done because sins were already forgiven, then the command to "repent" would also be because sins had already been forgiven. That conclusion is ludicrous. How can the word "for" have two different meanings in the same verse? Nowhere in the Scriptures are we taught that sins are forgiven before we even repent. Thus the quibbles made against the clear meaning of Acts 2:38 do not hold up in the light of investigation.

In the eighth chapter of Acts, we have the story of an Ethiopian government official who was taught the Word of God by Philip the evangelist. Philip was teaching this man as they rode in the eunuch's chariot.

"And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, 'Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?' And Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:35-39).

There are at least three points to make from this narrative.

(1) Philip "preached Jesus," to this man, which then led to the question about baptism. Obviously, "preaching Jesus" includes preaching baptism, or else the eunuch would not have known to ask about it.

(2) It was water that was the element in which the baptism took place. Some try to argue that the baptism commanded in the Great Commission is Holy Spirit baptism, or baptism in fire, or maybe even something else, but this passage, coupled with Acts 10:47, John 3:3-5; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:20-21, etc., show that water is the element under consideration.

(3) Again we note that baptism was an immersion in water. It would be somewhat foolish to go "down into the water" just to pour or sprinkle some water on the head.

Turning to Acts 22:16, we find the apostle Paul retelling the story of his conversion. The Lord encountered Saul (as he was then known) in a blinding light on the road to Damascus. When Paul was convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, he was instructed to go into the city to a certain place where he would receive instructions. In time Ananias came to him with the word of the Lord:

"And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name."

When did the "washing away of sins" take place, before, or after, the baptism? Note that Paul had believed three days before, yet was still in his sins when Ananias came to him. And no, the Bible does not teach that the water of baptism literally takes away sin as it takes away dirt. But God teaches that he takes away our sins when we conform to his will at the point of baptism.

Perhaps an Old Testament story may serve to illustrate the part water has to play in our salvation. In II Kings 5, an army captain came to the prophet Elisha to be healed of his leprosy. He was told to go wash in the Jordan River seven times, and his health would be restored. At first he was furious at such a dumb instruction, but at the urging of a servant, he repented and went to the river. When he came up the seventh time, his skin was like that of a little child. Now, what cleansed him? It was not the water, but God, who bestowed his grace and mercy upon Naaman. But would he have been cleansed if he had not obeyed by going into the river? Similarly, the water of baptism does not cleanse us from sin. God does that through his grace and mercy. But God has connected water and cleansing from sin in the same way that he connected water with cleansing from leprosy. The truth is that our salvation is a combination of grace and an obedient faith.

Turning next to the letter to the church at Rome, we consider a passage to which we have already made reference, Romans 6:3-5:

"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."

There are two significant matters to consider here.

(1) Baptism is a burial in water, not a sprinkling of water. Although the "mode" of baptism is not the subject of this treatise, it is noteworthy that the Bible itself claims that baptism is a "burial," and that it is a depiction of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is a fact that the definition of the Greek word "baptizo" literally means "to dip, plunge, submerge." And Bible students and commentators from all religious viewpoints agree that immersion in water was the practice of the early church.

(2) Note also that one is baptized into Christ. If one is saved before baptism, then one is saved before one is in Christ. But that is impossible, for salvation is found only in Christ, in a spiritual relationship with him.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians. 1:3).

Can we find any passage teaching that one can be saved apart from Christ? There is no such passage. Therefore, with confidence we can say that one cannot be saved without being baptized into Christ in the manner that the Scriptures teach--by immersion, a burial in water.

In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul dealt with some serious problems. The first thing he tackled was the division that was evident, as some were more concerned about following men than simply following Christ.

"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (I Cor. 1:10-13).

As Paul was chiding them, he reminded them of two significant things, namely

(1) that Paul had not been crucified for them, and
(2) that they had not been baptized in the name of, or by the authority of, Paul.

What lessons can we draw from this? Among other things, we can note that if one could rightly claim to be "of Christ," there were two things necessary:

(1) Christ had to have been crucified for them, and
(2) they had to have been baptized by the authority of Christ.

Therefore, if one has not been baptized according to the teaching of Christ, he cannot in truth belong to Christ--cannot be "of Christ."

As we continue our search through the Holy Scriptures to find teaching about baptism, we come across Galatians 3:26, 27:

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

People become "sons of God" through "the faith," i.e., the system or body of faith that God gave (the word "the" is in the original Greek). The location of our sonship is "in Christ Jesus," which should be obvious, for salvation is in Christ. But when does this sonship take place? When do we become "clothed with Christ?" It is at the point of baptism! If someone disputes this, then they can argue with the inspired apostle Paul. That's what he said about it, under direction of the Holy Spirit. And also note that the expression, "baptized into Christ" is the same that was used in Romans 6:3-5.

There is an interesting passage in Colossians that gives a perspective on baptism that differs from what many denominations say about baptism. Many claim that baptism is a work, and since we are not saved by works, therefore baptism has nothing to do with our salvation. But note the wording in Col. 2:12:

"...having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

There are two points to consider here:

(1) We again note that baptism is called a burial, not a sprinkling, and
(2) baptism is called a "working of God," rather than a working of man.

Baptism has to do with our "faith in the working of God," who raised us up with Christ in the act of baptism. Question: Can one be saved without this "working of God?" Note also that Christ called faith itself a "work" that is approved of God (John 6:29). If it is true that we are saved without any kind of work or obedience, then we are saved without faith. Who can believe that? You see, faith or believing is something that man does, in considering the evidence and drawing a conclusion.

Titus 3:4-7 has some interesting points to consider.

"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Please consider what is affirmed in this passage.

(1) We are not saved by works of human merit, "but"
(2) we are saved "by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Therefore
(3) the "washing of regeneration" is not a work of human merit.
(4) Being saved "through the washing of regeneration" is equated with "being justified by His grace." What is the "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit?" Do you see a parallel with the statement of Christ in John 3:3-5, where Nicodemus was told to be "born again of water and the Spirit?"
"washing of regeneration" "renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5)
"born again of water" "and the Spirit" (John 3:5)

Also note in the passage in Titus that the "washing of regeneration" stands in contrast to the "deeds...done in righteousness" or the works of human merit. So the Bible itself denies that baptism is a work that we do in order to earn salvation, in spite of what some men would claim.

A clear passage dealing with baptism is I Peter 3:20, 21, as Peter writes about the preaching that was done to the people in Noah's day

"who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Now, many "preachers" say that "baptism does not save us," but the Word of God clearly states, "baptism now saves you." Which are we to believe--God's Word, or the word of men? Peter is making the point that Noah's salvation by water is a figure of our salvation by water. As Noah was separated from the destruction that was in the world as the water floated the ark, so we are separated from the destruction of sin by the water of baptism. And note, as has been shown before, that it is "not the removal of dirt from the flesh" to which the passage refers, but rather it is "an appeal to God for a good conscience." My appeal to God is after baptism, not before. In a sense God says, "If you do this, I will take away your sins." I then comply with God's will, and then I appeal to God as I present myself as one who has obeyed his will. Is that difficult to understand? According to this passage, does baptism save us, or not save us?

Written by: Jefferson David Tant
From: Thoughts On Baptism