In the world today, there are a few sects and movements that think the Bible tells us that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Is this what the Bible really says?
This research paper will illustrate how baptism is not a requirement for salvation.
Heretical Teaching #1:
"The scriptures include baptism in the plan of salvation by Jesus Christ and the apostles." The most common scriptures used to argue this point are Matthew 28, Mark 16, and 1 Peter 3.
Rebuttal from Scripture:
Matthew 28:18-20 reads, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.'"
In this passage, we see Jesus telling His disciples a few things. This is sometimes called "The Great Commission." Jesus empowers and exhorts His disciples with these final words recorded in Matthew.
In order to prove that baptism was necessary for salvation, we would need a direct statement. We would need Jesus to tell us that those who do not get baptized go to Hell. However, we don't see this here or anywhere else in the scriptures.
Baptism is a command from Jesus. It is also a command in several, other places in the New Testament. This research paper will not reveal its unimportance. However, it will reveal its true meaning and how it is a command for believers; it is one of the very first things they should do after getting saved. Baptism isn't something that one does to earn or receive salvation, though.
Mark 16:16 reads, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." This is an interesting verse and if you read it closely, you will understand it. Who will be condemned? Are the condemned the ones that don't get baptized? No, the condemned are the ones that don't believe.
Mark 16:17 is an important verse, too. It reads, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;" Will unbelievers cast out demons and speak in tongues to the glory of God? Of course not. However, the camp that believes baptism is required for salvation would have to insert it into this scripture for their doctrine to be correct.
1 Peter 3:21 is common used by baptism for salvation adherents as a verse that supports their cause. However, this verse actually does the opposite! It reads, "There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Water baptism is specifically mentioned as something that does NOT save us! What does save us? "The answer of a good conscience toward God." Once again, we see the doctrine of salvation including an intangible action and not a work or deed.
Heretical Teaching #2:
"There is no example in Acts of someone becoming a Christian without being baptized."
Rebuttal from Scripture:
Acts 10:44-48 reads, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days."
In other passages of scripture, we see people believing before baptism (Acts 8:13), receiving the Word before baptism (Acts 2:41), hearing and believing before baptism (Acts 18:8), and in this passage, we see them filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues before baptism.
Can an unsaved, unbeliever be filled with the Holy Spirit? Of course not. Can an unsaved person glorify God with the gift of tongues? Absolutely not. Therefore, we can safely conclude that these people were saved before their baptism.
Paul puts baptism in proper perspective in 1 Corinthians 1:17. It reads, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." If Paul wasn't even sent to baptize, then how can it possibly be a prerequisite for salvation? If it were, Paul surely would have been sent to preach the gospel and baptize.
Did you know that Jesus Christ never baptized anyone? John 4:2 reads, "Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples (baptized)."
We can suffice it to say that Jesus didn't come to baptize either. Therefore, we have the two most prominent and influential teachers in Christianity, and in the entire history of the world, and they did not come to baptize. How could baptism possibly be a prerequisite for salvation? The answer is simple. It cannot be.
Heretical Teaching #3:
"Baptism isn't a work."
Rebuttal from Scripture:
Christians know that they aren't saved by works. We see this in the scriptures and know that salvation is by grace through faith. Titus 3:4-7 reads, "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
In this passage, the Greek word for "works" is "ergon." It is defined as: "effort, act, or deed."
Throughout the scriptures, we read about the biblical doctrine of salvation. Intangible things always encompass it: repenting from one's sins (e.g. asking God for forgiveness, deciding to avoid sin, etc.), believing in your heart, trusting Christ, and accepting Him as Lord and Savior. None of those things demand "ergon" or physical actions.
Baptism is a work because it is an action. You even need help from another person. You also need to find water. Sometimes, you have to wait until Sunday or even a few weeks to get on the list to get baptized. Is this what Jesus Christ had in mind when He taught on salvation? Did He ever say or imply that salvation wasn't given until you could be baptized? We never see anything like this in the scriptures because it isn't true.
An Incomplete, Salvation Message?
If baptism is required for salvation, then a misleading gospel message is rampant in the scriptures. If God really intended on telling people that they needed to be immersed in water before they could go to Heaven, then He failed to convey the message appropriately. Of course, God conveyed His message quite well and baptism for salvation was not part of it.
Here are some gospel messages that tell us how to be saved. You'll surely notice several of the verses below as the most popular and influential verses in history; and none of them mention baptism.
Romans 10:9 and 10 read, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Luke 19:8-10 reads, "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'”
John 3:14-16 reads, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Romans 1:16 reads, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
Romans 13:11 reads, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed."
Acts 16:29-31 reads, "Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'
So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'"
Ephesians 1:13 reads, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."
Here is a list of passages that indicate a salvation message, but omit baptism. It is implausible that they are all corrupt and wrong. They are surely correct and baptism is surely not part of saving faith.
Luke 1:77, Luke 2:30, Luke 3:6, Acts 4:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 14, 2 Timothy 3:15
Did You Know?
Not one form of the word "baptism" is even mentioned in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, or Revelation!
It's only mentioned once in all of the following books: Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 Peter.
My Experience
When I was 7 years old, I got saved. I decided to repent from my sins and believe, trust, and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I know the Holy Spirit came to live inside of me. I felt His conviction and I felt God's love.
When I was 20 years old, I was baptized for the first time. I'm 100% certain that I was saved before this time. I had spent ample time in prayer. I understood the gospel fully. As I said before, I had repented from my sins and believed, trusted, and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. There is no way that I wasn't saved before my baptism.
My wife was saved at a young age. She surely had salvation before I even met her. However, she was baptized, for the first time, four months after our wedding. "Baptism for salvation" adherents would claim that I became unequally yoked with an unbeliever.
A person who claims that baptism is a requirement for salvation is an elitist. Only a person that could tell others that they are ignorant about their own salvation and experience and relationship with the biblical God could do such a thing.
It would be silly to espouse that another person could understand the gospel enough to repent from their sins, trust, believe, and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, yet remain unsaved because they haven't been baptized. Could a person like this even exist? Would it be possible for someone to have a fake relationship with Jesus Christ and actually, mistakenly cultivate a relationship with the Devil, based solely on their lack of baptism? Of course not.
Conclusion
It is difficult to write a paper like this and still affirm the value and necessity of baptism. According to the scriptures, believers should get saved, then they should be baptized. However, many passages of scripture affirm the gospel message and do not mention baptism.
Jesus didn't baptize anyone and He didn't command baptism as a means to gain salvation. Paul admitted that Jesus didn't send him to baptize. Jesus sent him to preach the gospel.
All forms of the word baptism aren't even mentioned in 16 books of the New Testament. Baptism is only mentioned once in 5 of the books.
It's logically and spiritually impossible for a person like myself (or my wife, or thousands of others) to be unsaved, yet deceived for 13 years, for the sole reason of baptism. It's implausible for me to have repented from my sins and trusted, believed, and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, believed the entire Bible - nothing more and nothing less - and still be Hellbound because I wasn't baptized.
Question: How could baptism possibly be a part of the salvation message? Answer: It cannot be.
* For more on baptism, please go here: Baptism
