IS BAPTISM NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?
There are some people who teach that baptism is not necessary for salvation. The following, for example, is an excerpt from an online article captioned “Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?” by Got Questions Ministries:
“The belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is also known as “baptismal regeneration.” It is our contention that baptism is an important step of obedience for a Christian, but we adamantly reject baptism as being required for salvation… If baptism is it necessary for salvation, why would Paul have said, “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius” (1 Cor. 1:14)? Why would he have said, “for Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with words of human wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor. 1:17)? … Further, when Paul gives a detailed outline of what he considers the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-8), why does he neglect to mention baptism? If baptism is a requirement for salvation how could any presentation of the gospel lack a mention of baptism?”
These statements are self-contradictory, erroneous and invalid. Many refutations can be brought against them:
- Our Lord Jesus Christ called the rite of baptism a fulfillment of “all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). The New Living Translation (NLT) renders it “But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So, John agreed to baptize him.” (Emphases added throughout.) We see here that the rite of baptism is required by God. It is therefore very necessary for salvation.
- Apostle Pauls’ words in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 were made by him to emphasize the need of unity in the church and to avoid placing any of Christ’s messengers above the others. He gave two important examples. One is that neither himself nor Apollos nor Cephas was crucified for the believers in Corinth. Christ who was crucified and who rose from death after three days is the important one. The second important example he gave is baptism. His statement in verses 13 to 17 simply means that the fact that he baptized only a few people means he was not to be regarded as superior to any other apostle. If he were that special, he would have been the only one that baptized all those who got converted through his ministry. That he baptized a few people meant that the duty of baptizing converts was not given him as a primary job function. That does not mean that the converts were not baptized by other members of his ministry. Compare John 4:13 where it is recorded that Christ’s converts were baptized, not by Himself but by His disciples. If baptism was not necessary, why would Christ and His apostles spend any time at all baptizing anyone?
- Got Questions Ministries admitted that baptism is an important step of obedience to the commands of the Lord. It is good that they admitted that fact. They are therefore estopped from saying that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Anyone who is born again but refused to be baptized is in disobedience. Such a person cannot be saved. I am not unaware of the textual arguments brought against Mark’s authorship of the text in Mark 16:9-20. I know also that the Trinitarian baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 has been called to question by many Bible scholars. But no one has been able to deny the fact that Jesus Christ did command the pioneer Christians to baptize all those who will believe in the gospel message. It is undeniably evident in the ministries of the apostles. How can anyone be right when he says that adherence to a rite ordained by God (Matt. 3:15; John 7:16) is not necessary for salvation?
The final instruction given by Jesus Christ to His followers was that they should teach all people to do all that he had commanded them (Matt. 28:20). Disobedience to this command is an act of unbelief which will lead to forfeiture of God’s salvation.
- The Scriptures which talk of salvation have been greatly misunderstood by many Christians. Being saved has been erroneously equated with conversion or being born again. But becoming born again and getting saved are not the same thing. The former takes place at the point of believing the gospel, repenting of one’s sins, and submitting oneself to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The latter, that is salvation, is a future thing; it will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:28 Acts 15:11). Before His return every believer hopes to be saved (1 Thes. 5:8-9; compare Rom. 8:23-24). What Paul was saying in Romans 8:23-24 is that we hope to receive what we have not got. No one hopes for what he already has. Until Christ brings salvation at His second advent, all believers are having the hope that they will partake of the salvation of God through Christ. None of us is saved now. We are persevering in faith, in obedience, and in holy living so that we will be saved on the day of salvation which is the day of Christ’s second coming.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said it is only those who persevere to the end that will be saved (Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13). The salvation of anyone will be determined only at the end, not now. Peter, at the Christian Council of Jerusalem said that they, who were already made apostles by Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as the Gentiles will (Acts 15:11). Paul said that we who have been justified by Christ’s blood will be saved by him from God’s wrath which is yet to be poured out on the unbelieving and unrepentant sinners (Rom. 5:9-10). In the same letter to the Roman Christians, he told them to be awake [spiritually] because“our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11).
Peter said, we are kept through faith for a salvation which will be revealed in the last time [or last day] (1 Pet. 1:5). Then in verse 9, he said that the end result of the faith of every Christian is the salvation of our souls.
Paul said that the believer should wear as helmet the hope of salvation (1 Thes. 5:8). In other words, the believer goes about with the hope that he will be saved at the end and he carries this hope as helmet on his head. It is this hope that keeps him watchful and prayerful so as not to fall from the grace of God. Then, the writer of the Book of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ will bring salvation at His second coming to all believers who are eagerly waiting for Him (Heb. 9:27-28).
The summary of these scriptures is that a believer in Christ is justified by his faith in Christ. So, he or she is born again because he or she is reconciled to God through Christ (1 Tim. 2:5; Rom. 5:9-10). But he or she is hoping for the salvation which Christ will bring in the end and he or she is carrying this hope as a helmet on his or her head because it is this hope that makes him or her resist all the subtle tricks and fiery arrows of Satan. The salvation of God is earned at the end if the Christian perseveres to the end (Rev. 12:10). Salvation is determined at the end of the race, at the end of the battle (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7-8). We are not yet saved; the battle is still on.
The ordinance of baptism is a requirement of God which must be done by all who believe in Christ. In the ministries of the pioneer disciples of Christ, the ordinance was performed immediately people believed in the gospel message.
- Sound biblical hermeneutics require of us the duty of seeing the whole Bible as the complete context from which the true and correct meaning of any teaching is to be determined. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be confined to 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 alone. The entire New Testament give details of the gospel. Even the Old Testament testifies of Jesus Christ (John 5:39; Luke 24:27-45). Therefore, the argument that Paul’s failure to mention baptism in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 means that baptism is not necessary for salvation is untenable.
- It is erroneous to teach baptismal regeneration because the rite does not wash away sins. We believe that the way Acts 2:38 is translated is what has misled some people to believe in baptismal regeneration. However, it is wrong to say that the subject of baptism as a prerequisite to salvation is the same thing as baptismal regeneration. The two should not be linked. Baptism is necessary to salvation because it is an act of obedience to the express command of the Lord. Whoever claims to believe in the Good News but fails or refuses to be baptized is in disobedience as long as he or she remains unbaptized. Disobedience is sin. Anyone who remains in sin cannot be saved.
- An online article has the following in it: “It is interesting to note that Jesus did not baptize … If water baptism were necessary for salvation, wouldn’t Jesus have baptized? Jesus presented Himself to the Jews as their Messiah with signs and Messianic miracles, but He did not baptize them” – www.allaboutgod.com.
They quoted John 4:1-2 in support of this argument. But in that very passage John said that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John the Baptist. Therefore, the fact that He was not the one who did the actual baptizing should not be made a subject of debate. It is a known fact that Jesus Christ is the one who actually created all things (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2; Col. 1:15-18). But He did the creating under the instruction of His God and Father who, during the creation, was giving Him the, “let there be” commands. Will anyone be right to say that God did not create all things? Of course, that will be a terrible error. God, as it were, did the design before Christ did the creating. God is therefore the one who created all things through His only begotten Son.
Prophet Nathan told David, “you have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword …” (2 Sam. 12:9). We all agree that it was David who killed Uriah. But was he the one who struck him with the sword? No. David was the murderer of Uriah because he was the one who told Joab, the commander of his army, to hand him over to the Ammonites to be killed.
The disciples of Jesus who were baptizing the believers into Christ (John 4:2) did the baptizing under the supervision of their Master, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus was the one who was technically doing the baptizing. The Jews and some of the disciples of John the Baptist were not wrong when they told John, “behold He [Jesus] is baptizing and all are coming to Him” (John 3:25, 26). It is therefore ridiculous to say that Jesus Christ did not baptize anyone. In fact, it is impossible for any successful servant of Christ to baptize everyone who hears and believes the gospel through him. Apostle Peter alone could not have been able to baptize about 3000 converts in one day (Acts 2:41). Peter did not baptize all of his converts (Acts 10:47-48). Neither was Paul (1 Cor. 1: 14-16). And I cannot imagine any church leader or evangelist today who has baptized more than a few of the people who get converted through his ministry. I sincerely urge www.allaboutgod.com to seek light on this all-important subject of baptism.
- The utmost urgency with which the first century servants of Christ baptized their converts bears an irrefutable witness to the necessity of baptism as a prerequisite to salvation. After the Pentecost day message given by Peter, about 3000 people were baptized the same day (Acts 2:41). The huge number of converts did not make them delay the baptism or shift the baptism of some of the converts to other days. The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized on the way from Jerusalem to Ethiopia the very day Philip preached Christ to him (Acts 8:36-38). Apostle Paul was baptized the same day the gospel was preached to him and after he had received the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17,18). A Philippian jailer and members of his household were baptized in the very night the gospel was preached to them. Paul and Silas did not wait for the morning light which was a few hours ahead to break before baptizing the jailer and his family members (Acts 16:32-35).
The great speed with which the apostles baptized their converts is indicative of two things: (i) they did it in strict and needed obedience to the command of God (John 7:16; 12:48-50; Mark 16:15-16), and (ii) the apostles feared that anyone who was not baptized immediately could lose salvation or eternal life if the convert died a few moments later without being baptized. Although this second point is not expressly written in the scriptures, it can be inferred from the alacritous manner in which they conducted the baptisms.
Baptism is the other leg to believing or faith which are required for salvation. Luke’s account of the gospel message to an Ethiopian eunuch is found in Acts 8:26-40. Verses 36 to 38 reads, “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then 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.” So, he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” (NKJV). We can infer from the narrative that Philip must have told the eunuch of the need to be baptized because it is the outward expression of the inward belief and, more importantly, it was commanded by the Lord. We see here that until the rite of baptism is performed, the confession of faith with the mouth (Rom. 10:9-11) is incomplete.
The following is also excerpted from Got Questions Ministries’ online article “Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?”:
“Requiring anything in addition to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is a works-based salvation. To add anything to the gospel is to say that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation. To say that baptism is necessary for salvation is to say that we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ’s death in order to make it sufficient for salvation. Jesus’ death alone paid for our sins (Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus’ payment for our sins is appropriated to our “account” by faith alone.”
This argument portrays unsound knowledge of biblical faith compared with works, and God’s righteousness versus self-righteousness. Real or biblical faith in Christ is not an abstract thing. When we believe in Christ’s redemptive work for humanity, we are not only forgiven our sins, we are also given the grace to live righteous and holy lives, to the pleasing of God Almighty. We are enabled to obey God right from the heart. All forms of indulgence in sinful living and recklessness is replaced by our willingness to obey all of God’s commands which leads to, or brings, eternal life or salvation (John 12:48-50).
Baptism is an act of obedience to God’s command. It is also a part of one’s confession of faith which Paul says leads to salvation (Rom. 10:10-11). It is not a rite established by human reasoning. It is therefore not something that anyone can rightly call “works” as if it is meant to fulfill manmade rules or traditions. Our Lord Jesus Christ said it is a “fulfillment of God’s righteousness” which some versions say is the fulfillment of “all that God requires” (Matt. 3:15). So, it is very wrong to term the ordinance of baptism as something which is extraneous to faith.
Apostle James says “faith alone” which is not supported with action that proves that we really believe is fake (Jam. 2:17-26). This is the kind of faith that Got Questions Ministries are teaching vis-à-vis baptism.
I agree with them that baptismal regeneration is inconsistent with biblical truth. But to say that baptism is not necessary for salvation is equally untrue. I would like the brethren in Got Questions Ministries to undertake a review of the subject of salvation. They will find out that salvation is something that will be determined at the end of the age. To partake of that salvation, every believer needs to remain faithful, obedient to all of God’s commands and persistently persevere in faith to the end. If obedience to the end is necessary for one to be a partaker of that salvation, baptism must be a prerequisite to salvation because it is also an act of obedience to God’s command (Matt. 28:18-20; John 12:48-50). Baptism is also an act of confession of one’s belief in Christ Jesus (Acts 8: 36-38; Rom. 10:10-11). It is therefore necessary for salvation.
CONCLUSION
Baptismal regeneration cannot be biblically and logically defended; there is nothing in the Bible which says that the rite of being immersed in water takes away sin. But this does not mean that baptism is not a necessary prerequisite to salvation. Faith and obedience are necessary prerequisite to salvation. Baptism is an act of obedience to God’s ordinance and it also forms an integral part of one’s confession of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as cogently exemplified in Acts 8:36-38.
The scriptural concept of salvation mentioned by Christ and His apostles is one of the teachings that have been twisted over time. Salvation is the hope of all true believers. It will be realized or given as a gift as well as a prize to all faithful believers who remain faithful to the end, on the day of Christ’s return. To become born again as a result of faith in Christ Jesus is a prerequisite to salvation. Being born again puts one on the way of salvation. This is one cardinal truth that has been distorted by theologians who lacked proper insight into the scriptures.
The “emergency” speed with which the direct apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ baptized their converts, as seen in many places in the Acts of the Apostles, was not a display of a kind of carnival but a demonstration of their deep conviction that the converts risked being lost should they remain unbaptized after they had believed in the gospel message. They also did not want to be charged for negligence or disobedience to the express command of the Lord to baptize all believers.
Got Questions Ministries and those who say that baptism is not necessary for salvation have portrayed the ordinance of baptism as something frivolous or superfluous. God has never commanded anyone to spend any minutest amount of time in doing anything which is irrelevant or unnecessary. We may not understand why the Supreme Creator of all things require it. But whatever He says we should do; we must do because He knows why He commanded it to be done.
Jesus Christ who knew no sin had to be baptized because He was a human and he passed through a sinful vessel into the world. Apostle Paul, Cornelius and his friends and family members were baptized after they had been filled with the Holy Spirit which was a seal or mark of God’s ownership of them. If Christ and these people still needed to be baptized, there is no shred of argument any true Christian can bring against water baptism. Christian leaders of today must avoid delay in baptizing all the people who express their faith in Christ through their gospel messages.
