Is Baptism Required for Salvation?
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you.”
That’s a partial quote from 1 Peter 3:21. At first blush, does this sound like he’s saying the physical act of baptism is what causes your salvation?
Or how about this quote:
“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (that’s from Acts 2:38).
What does the Apostle Peter mean when he says this? Is he saying that baptism is required for salvation? What if a person is never baptized? Can that person be saved? What does the Bible actually teach about this? That’s what we’re going to unpack in this episode.
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So is baptism required for salvation?
This came up in conversation with a friend recently. I found out they were attending a Church of Christ church. And I knew this about the Church of Christ—they teach that water baptism is actually necessary for salvation.
Maybe you have a friend who believes this. And maybe they believe it about infant baptism, or about immersion. Either way, this is a question you need to know how to answer. Maybe you’ve even wrestled with it yourself.
So as you listen, you’ll hear a response to these four questions:
Whom should be baptized?
Does baptism cause your sins to be forgiven?
Why does Peter say “Baptism saves you” in 1 Peter 3:20–22?
And is baptism necessary for salvation?
Then, again, you’ll hear my dialogue with the gentleman about baptism.
First things first: baptism is commanded by Jesus Christ.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).
1. Who is to be baptized?
Answer:
Disciples, i.e. followers/students of Jesus.
These are believers being inaugurated into the church (see note on 1 Cor. 12:13 below). Baptism is a subordinate clause to the dominant clause, literally reading "Disciple all nations" or "make disciples of all nations." This is describing the extent of the apostolic mission (global) and the process by which it is executed (going, baptizing and teaching).
Obviously you don’t baptize non-Christians.
Are unbelievers, even rightly called disciples, when they haven't repented and trusted in Christ (because unable to do so)? If not, are they candidates for baptism according to Christ's words here?
But if baptism is necessary for salvation, then baptism is necessary to be a Christian. Which means the person becoming baptized is not a Christian.
And you don’t baptize non-Christians.
Jesus says you baptize disciples.
2. Does Baptism cause your sins to be forgiven?
Peter (said) to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’ (Acts 2:38)
Response:
What does Peter say is the prerequisite for baptism and forgiveness? Repentance. No one argues that Peter would have baptized his audience if they had not understood or believed his message, or if they had not repented.
3. Why does Peter say “Baptism now saves you?”
1 Peter 3:20–22: “...because[a] they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
This passage doesn't merely say baptism is connected with salvation, but that it "saves!" That's strong language. So what about baptism saves?
Is it not that, by being baptized, the disciple identifies with the "resurrection of Jesus Christ?"
Further, the word rendered "pledge" is ἐπερώτημα (eperotema), an "enquiry," "demand," or "craving." The ESV renders it "appeal." In other words, is Peter not saying that baptism is associated with an "appeal" to God for a clear conscience—for forgiveness of sins? Is this not what we call repentance and faith?
Peter is speaking of baptism as part of repentance. There was no lengthy waiting period between commitment to Christ and the baptism “ceremony.” That came up later in the church, and for various wise reasons.
But when you read the text, you realize that Peter is not speaking of baptism as a saving work, but rather the condition of the heart as being that which belongs to a saved person. A repentant person. A person who has faith.
4: Is baptism necessary for salvation?
What does Jesus mean in John 3:6, when he says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).
John 3:5 cannot be mandating baptism as a requirement for entering God's kingdom, because this would rule out the thief on the cross (who died without being baptized and yet was promised to see Jesus in paradise (Luke 23:39-43), as well as every Old Testament believer (who, while they descended to Sheol prior to Christ's death, will certainly see the kingdom of God (cf. Hebrews 11:40).
Rather, John 3:6 is likely a callback to Ezekiel 36:25-27: "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean... And I will put my Spirit within you."
And we see many such passages in Scripture, using water figuratively to convey the idea of being washed and purified.
We see it in the Old Testament, like in Zechariah. In chapter 12:10 it says, ““And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. “ So the people of God will receive God’s Spirit of grace, plea for mercy (an expression of faith), and look on Jesus—the one they pierced. Then verse 13 says, when that happens: “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
So water signifies washing and cleaning from sin.
And we see it in the New Testament, as in 1 Corinthians 16:11: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
In fact, the very act of being baptized is meaningful, in part, because it signifies washing. We’re doing something that we normally do to physically cleanse ourselves (i.e. taking a bath, so to speak) to show that we have been spiritually cleansed.
Even if Jesus is referring to the physical baptism here, he is referring to baptism as an expression of faith. It’s parallel to Romans 10:9–10, which states, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
That outward confession of the Lord Jesus was done at baptism. And that was a very risky thing to do during the days of the Early Church.
It’s still a risky thing to do in certain parts of the world.
But Jesus says in Matthew 10:33, that, “but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Those who trust in Jesus must do so unashamedly. And baptism is the sign that Jesus has commanded that we undergo in order to demonstrate that we are unashamed of him.
It’s also not important that Jesus says not just dunked in water, but “born of water and the spirit,” or even more specifically “born out of water and the Spirit.” He’s directly connecting baptism with the Holy Spirit, and discussing the two as a single, new, birth.
He connects baptism with receiving the Holy Spirit.
And when does a person receive the Holy Spirit? When he believes: "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:3).
So it seems that Jesus is doing the same thing that Peter does: he’s directly connecting repentance and faith with the act of baptism.
Baptism isn’t the act that saves you. If it were, then no one who was ever unbaptized would be saved. No Old Covenant Christian, no unbaptized martyr, no thief on the cross.
But saved people should be baptized. People who are born of the Spirit should indicate that they’ve been washed. They should be baptized.
The idea that baptism is a physical act that saves, is put to rest by Ephesians 2:8–9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
See also Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you have to do something to receive it, then it’s not a free gift. As Romans 4:4 says, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”
(And yes, baptism is a work. Repentance and faith is not a work. Baptism is a physical act. It’s a work. The dunking is a work. The faith is not).
But salvation is free. And baptism is an expression of having received that free gift.
Now does this mean that a person who has saving faith in Jesus, can ignore the command to be baptized? Not in any way, shape or form.
If you believe in Jesus, and you have been saved, then you should obey Him. That’s how you show that you believe in Him. And that you love Him.
Jesus says in John 14:5 that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
That’s the proper understanding of baptism: it’s not something you must do in order to be saved.
You contribute nothing to your salvation. Not even baptism.
So now you know:
Whom should be baptized? Disciples of Jesus Christ. Those who already believe in Jesus. Who have repented. Who have received the Holy Spirit. Those who are born again. Yes, this has implications for infant baptism too… but we’ll get into that another time.
Does baptism cause your sins to be forgiven? No. But Peter, and even Jesus associate baptism with repentance. There wasn’t a long, drawn-out waiting period between repentance and faith, and water baptism, as there often is today.
Why does Peter say “Baptism saves you” in 1 Peter 3:20–22? Peter was describing repentance and faith as something that is inseparable from water baptism. It’s not the baptism that saves, but baptism is a response to saving faith.
And is baptism necessary for salvation? No. If it were, then the thief on the cross, as well as every Old Testament Saint, as well as every unbaptized martyr and Christian throughout the ages, would never have gone to Heaven.
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