Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation?

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03/28/13 - Baptism

What is not meant by the question.

Before answering this question, it is important to state that I do not mean to suggest that belief (faith), repentance and confession have no role in salvation. This section of material assumes that there is common agreement that belief (faith), repentance and confession are absolutely essential for one to be saved. 

What is meant by the question.

The question means, is baptism in water necessary for one to be saved? To expand that more, is it necessary to be baptized before one is forgiven of sins? Put simply, is it necessary to be baptized before a person is separated from his sins by the blood of Jesus. 

What did Jesus teach?

Before leaving this earth Jesus charged His apostles with a teaching responsibility. In Mark 16:15-16 He said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." 

Many have a problem with this passage. The problem is in its simplicity. To be saved one must believe and be baptized. Who will argue with the words of Jesus? Some do, saying, he did not say if one is not baptized he will not be saved. Jesus gave two conditions for salvation (belief and baptism) and only one for condemnation (not believing). What unbeliever would be baptized? That is why there is only one condition for being condemned - those who do not believe are not going to do anything else Jesus teaches. 

Carefully consider this. If you do not believe baptism is necessary for salvation, as Jesus taught here, are you really a believer? 

What did Peter teach?

As we saw on Page 4, Peter preached the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost. He taught about Jesus' death and resurrection and called upon those Jews to believe in Him. When they asked what they must do, Peter told 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." Act 2:38

Some have asked if baptism in this passage is baptism in the Holy Spirit rather than in water. Consider the following verses. 

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" In this verse we see that the apostles were told to go and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The apostles baptized people in water. The Bible says Jesus is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11) 

Acts 8:14-16 "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Here we see people who had been baptized in the name of Jesus but the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them. 

These two passages should answer the question fully enough. Baptism in the name of Jesus is water baptism. So Acts 2 teaches that before the remission of sins is granted by Jesus, one must believe (v 36), repent and be baptized (v 38). 

What about the blood of Jesus?

Is there any connection between the blood of Jesus and baptism? Let's see. Read each verse in the following table from your own Bible. The middle column shows what Jesus' blood and baptism accomplish for us. 

 
The left column of verses teach us that Jesus' blood justifies or saves us, gives us remission of sins and washes away our sins. The right column of verses say that baptism does exactly the same thing. How can this be? Do these verses contradict each other? Romans 6 helps to clear this up. 

"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." Romans 6:3-4

This passage teaches us that we are baptized INTO Jesus' death. Where did Jesus shed His blood? In His death. By being baptized into His death, we contact His blood. Therefore it can be said of baptism, it saves us, gives us remission of sins, and washes away our sins. Baptism is the means by which we reach Jesus' blood. 

If someone claims to have been freed from sin prior to being baptized, they were freed by something other than Jesus' blood. Since we know there is no remission without the blood of Jesus, then we also know there is no remission of sins until after baptism. To this agree the words of Jesus and Peter, but not many preachers of today. 

Compare the Bible to the teaching of men. 

Consider the verses above and what man teaches. Are the words beside man's teaching what you have always understood? Do you see a difference in what you have been taught and what the Lord says in His word? Do you want to follow the Lord and His word? If so, you need to think very seriously about these verses and what you have been taught. You also need to consider whether or not you ever contacted the blood of Jesus and received remission of your sins. Remember, never base you salvation on feelings or the teaching of a man. Always rely on the word of God.  Please email us if you want to talk about this more. Relying upon God's word also means you are not to believe something because you found it a web site page. Believe it because you found it on the pages of God's word

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