Depending on where you live and what culture you were raised in, this question either comes up all the time or it’s never even been touched for you. It’s an important question to address with the Bible because there are many implications both ways with the answer. So is baptism necessary for salvation?
Scripture is both clear on what baptism is and if it is indeed necessary in order to be saved.
Most arguments claiming that baptism is necessary is found from Acts 2:38, “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.”
All throughout the book of Acts, we see the early Church starting to form and take place after Jesus ascends into heaven. Jesus commanded His disciples to go make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, and to teach them to observe all that He command them (Matthew 28:19-20).
Baptism is demonstrated in Acts as a sign of conversion, but not the means of it. Believers decided to trust in Jesus and follow Him for the rest of their lives, and at the moment, received the Holy Spirit…meaning they were saved because of trusting in Jesus. Then after that, they were baptized (Acts 10:47).
We even have an example of a thief on a cross next to Jesus as He was crucified. The thief clearly believed in Jesus being the Son of God and Jesus replied to him saying, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). He was never baptized, but he was saved by Jesus.
On top of that, we have multiple areas in the Bible as well talking about how we are saved by faith in Jesus, not by any work we can do such as baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 1:17, Acts 16:30-31).
Lastly, baptism can’t be necessary for salvation. If it was, then what was the point of Jesus? Would it be for Him to complete part 1 of salvation, and then we complete part 2? That doesn’t make sense and puts way too much emphasis on something we can do to earn our salvation. Reality is, there’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation and that can only happen through Jesus.
Why Get Baptized Then?
So if baptism is not necessary for salvation, why should we even do it then?
- It is a public demonstration and a sign that you are a follower of Christ.
- Christ commanded it before He ascended into heaven.
- It sets us apart as believers and joins us into His Church.
- It’s part of our repentance and turning away from sin by proclaiming we are now His.
When Peter referenced that people could not be saved apart from baptism (Acts 2:38), he meant that if people were to genuinely repent from their sins and trust in Jesus, then an evidence of that would be their baptism.
If someone is a follower of Christ, it’s really a matter of why would you not get baptized? There’s no reason not to outside of fears or rejections that someone could face, but we must be reminded of the rejections that Jesus faced on our behalf. He went through much more pain and rejection than we ever will and is worthy of our praise and obedience to Him through baptism.
When we get baptized, it symbolizes that we are a follower of Christ. When the water rushes over us, it symbolizes Jesus’ blood shed on our behalf to pay the penalty for our sins. We are cleansed and made new because of Jesus as we rise out of the water. We get baptized as followers of Christ out of a joyful obedience for what He has done for us on the cross.
“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.” – Galatians 3:26-27
Here are other Frequently Asked Questions and how the Bible answers them.
Thanks for the article. If Jesus himself felt that he needed to be baptized then surely we do.
I believe that unless Jesus decides for whatever reason, someone will be saved without baptism , we should not apply that to ourselves. Scripture clearly states that we must repent and be baptized.
I think sometimes people make the scriptures say what they want to hear and that to me is just asking for trouble.
Thanks for sharing Dawn. The thief on the cross is a good example of someone who was clearly saved and didn’t get baptized…literally didn’t have the chance. I do think it’s important to note like you said Jesus got baptized and we are commanded to do so as believers. The emphasis on salvation though is only Jesus and nothing else. Also gives hope for those on their last breath to still be able to call out and believe in Jesus and still be saved. Amazing the mercy that God has for us.
The Apostle Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, wrote by the pen of inspiration that baptism saves. (I Peter 3:21). In that context, he likens the cleansing from sin that the earth underwent, to our being cleansed during the act of baptism. Further, there are only 2 places in scripture that tell us how to “get into Christ” – Romans 6 and Galatians 3. You can throw out Acts 2:38, and still have multiple examples of those who were converted to Christ being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. In fact, you can’t find an instance of a person… Read more »
Thanks Rod for the reply.
I don’t believe that is the correct context for 1 Peter 3:21. In fact, here’s a great blog post detailing how that wasn’t the point of the text and how Baptism isn’t what saves a person. I’d encourage you to check it out:
http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/what-is-baptism-and-does-it-save
Thanks so much for commenting!
Thanks for the link, Mike. I agree with much of what was said in the article, but, it seems the author misses the point entirely for I Peter 3:21. He asks the question, “What is baptism? Baptism is a symbolic expression of the heart’s “appeal to God.” Baptism is a calling on God.” This I wholeheartedly agree with. I believe the hangup is in the phrase “calling on God” and using it the way the bible uses it. What does it mean to call on God? Paul recounts his conversion in Acts 22:7-16 beginning with what he was told by… Read more »
Appreciate the response Rod. Looks like we will have to disagree on this because our belief is that Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but is crucial for followers of Christ to do because of reasons like these:
-It is a public demonstration and a sign that you are a follower of Christ.
-Christ commanded it before He ascended into heaven.
-It sets us apart as believers and joins us into His Church.
-It’s part of our repentance and turning away from sin by proclaiming we are now His.
Thanks for the conversation!
If it’s not required for salvation then why would you say it’s “crucial for followers of Christ to do”? That sounds a bit contradictory. You are basically saying you have to do it even if it’s not necessary. Also if salvation is such a joyous occasion then the Apostle Paul was the most miserable convert in the Bible until his baptism. Also the Ethiopian eunuch did not rejoice until after he was baptized. Another verse that you failed to mention was Mark 16:16 “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Notice Jesus said that both believe and baptism… Read more »
Hey JS, thanks for sharing. It’s not required for salvation because Jesus is the only way we are saved….it’s all about what He has done, not what we can do. The thief on the cross is one of the best examples of this. He never gets a chance to get baptized, literally because he dies so quickly after he and Jesus talk, but Jesus tells Him that on that day, he will be with Him in paradise. Meaning he will be saved because he put his faith and trust in Jesus. It’s crucial because if a follower of Jesus hasn’t… Read more »
So, you are saying that Jesus actually meant to say “he who believes is saved and will be baptized” not “he who believes and is baptized will be saved”? Did He make a mistake? Was there a translation error? Somebody obviously messed up there if baptism isn’t necessary.
As for the thief, while on earth Jesus could save people anyway He wanted. After His death His “Last Will and Testament” went into effect and he required baptism for salvation.
No, not changing what Jesus said, but believe that Jesus saves because of the cross at the end of the day. It’s everything that He has done, not what we can do.
Faith without works is dead (James 2), and therefore useless.
Agreed JS. Faith without works is dead like the Bible says. That’s why everyone who is a follower of Christ should go get baptized. If someone who follows Jesus isn’t willing to get baptized, that has a lot to say about their relationship with Him.
Do you realize that you are contradicting yourself? I don’t mean that in an ugly way or anything. Just pointing it out. Anyways, what I am referring to is that you are saying it’s not necessary but we have to do it anyways. If it’s not necessary why should we have to do it? The plan/steps of salvation isn’t working to earn anything. It’s just fulfilling requirements to complete something. For example, if you were needing to fly to, say, Nashville. You would need to buy a ticket and board the plane in order to fly there. You are not… Read more »
JS, sometimes this can be the problem with comment threads, but if you read through the post again, you’ll see the whole point isn’t saying that Baptism is meaningless, but that it is not required for salvation. Should Christians do it? Yes, absolutely. Is it required? No. What Jesus did was enough including for the thief on the cross. Yes, we should still get baptized, but if you trust and believe and follow Jesus within your last moments, you will be saved. Lastly, many still put it upon themselves to save themselves. As if they do something that earns salvation,… Read more »
I guess it’s just confusing trying to understand how it’s not necessary but you HAVE to do it. If it isn’t necessary then you don’t have to do it regardless. BTW, did you know that faith/belief is a work as well? We choose to believe. It is not done for, or to, us. However, we don’t do baptism, it is done to us. We submit to being baptized. Question, can one be saved if they are still in their sins and have not put on Christ? If not, then at what point are our sins washed away and we put… Read more »
Appreciate you sharing JS. I’ll wrap things up here by encouraging you to read the post again and others on this site to show you what the beliefs are here at BTC. Thanks again.
I don’t mean this in an ugly way or anything, but it doesn’t really matter what the beliefs of BTC are. What matters is what does the Bible say?! If what one believes isn’t what the Bible says then their beliefs are wrong.
Anyways, would you please attempt, at least, to answer the questions I asked previously? Thanks!
JS, what I mean is those are the viewpoints here at BTC. In regards to your question, no one can be saved without believing and trusting in Jesus Christ. John 3:16-17 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. And as you confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, that is the moment the person is saved and… Read more »
I thought you said that all you have to do is believe? Now you are saying believe and confess. What about repentance? At any rate, no one is disputing that you have to believe or that you have to confess. The problem is that no where in the Bible does it say “believe only”, “confess only”, or “believe and confess only”. In fact, the only place the Bible says ” belief/faith only” is James 2:24, and it says that we are NOT saved by faith only. To be honest, you didn’t really answer the questions I asked. I had asked… Read more »
I think the problem is looking at baptism as an act separate from conversion, and then trying to figure out the relationship between these two events. I see baptism as the New Testament altar call. I don’t think ancient peoples separated the physical from the mental/volitional/emotional/spiritual in the way we do. If someone asked you as a believer in the first century, “How do I get saved?” the answer would have been, “Believe and be baptized.” We human beings need initiation ceremonies. God created us that way. So I think “only a symbol” misses the point, and “special work of… Read more »
Thanks Keith for the comment!
Appreciate your viewpoint on this. I definitely think in our culture today, baptism is not something that is followed up as quickly as it was for the early Church when someone decided to follow Christ and that’s a miss.
The hope is when someone is discipled or surrenders to Christ, God can lead them to baptism immediately…maybe even through those in their local Church or if someone was involved in making them a disciple. Either way, it’s important to get baptized soon afterwards…I would agree.
Good post. However, I have to disagree. Baptism is not just a sign of conversion nor is it a means of conversion. It is necessary for salvation …..and this is the qualifier…..Baptism is necessary for salvation …….for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. It’s a sacrament…. and outer sign of inner grace. Refusal to be baptised means no salvation > if the Gospel has been proclaimed to you and you have the possibility of asking to be baptised. The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for… Read more »
Thanks for the comment Therese. I think there’s a great point in this that when a follower won’t get Baptized…the question would be why not and have they really surrendered to Christ? However, I would disagree with you that it’s necessary. That would also mean a whole lot of people would be going to hell that have surrendered to Christ on their death bed or at the last minute of their lives. Plus, it would contradict the thief. Lastly, it takes away that what Christ did was fully enough. To add something we must do on top of what He… Read more »
I have been baptized twice ,once in my youth and then again 6 months ago and 45 years later reaffirming my faith.I have friends that are Christians that have not been baptized yet I believe they have a place in Heaven.I am a simple man that attempts to obey the scriptures and depending upon interpration it can be confusing to me.I am glad to have been baptized and personally feel it has brought me closer to the Lord by acknowlging my faith openly to the world and more importantly to God.I pray that those that haven’t (both those I know… Read more »
Thanks Perry for your comment and for the encouragement!
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that baptism is necessary for saving grace. Concerning the thief, if you look again at what is written in bold “for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament” – baptism is necessary for salvation. Obviously it wasn’t possible for the thief to be baptised with water! But he sure did have a different kind of baptism! Also the above in bold covers all those who did not have a chance to be baptised – that’s a different situation to refusal.… Read more »
Thanks Therese, I’m not aware of where that bold statement is in the Bible, and would still have to disagree because the belief is that everything Jesus did on the cross was enough for salvation. Nothing more than that. Baptism is the symbol and proclamation that we are followers of Christ. Thanks so much for the comment!
You’re welcome Mike. Authentic Scripture interpretation takes the whole of the Scriptures as one unit. The passages cannot be understood as stand alone passages to be interpreted subjectively. That is why Catholics believe that Scripture and Tradition (and not traditions with a small ‘t’) go hand in hand because the apostles passed on orally first and then in writing what was understood by the twelve to be what Our Lord commanded his disciples to do in order to save souls. Of course I do respect your own opinion on this as something you live by, but for nearly all Christian… Read more »
“However, I would disagree with you that it’s necessary. That would also mean a whole lot of people would be going to hell that have surrendered to Christ on their death bed or at the last minute of their lives. Plus, it would contradict the thief.”
Reread Matthew 7:13-23 Mike.
“However, to say for those followers of Christ who didn’t get a chance to get b baptized….are no longer saved or never got salvation, I think would be wrong to say or believe.” What followers of Christ didn’t get a chance to be baptized? Someone who, now scared and realizing maybe they lived their life for their self, decides in their last hours of their, say, 80 year life? Those “followers”? I would hardly call someone who “says” they believe on their death bed a “follower” of Christ. I have a hard time believing that someone all the sudden “believed”… Read more »
C K, it’s definitely a sobering reality that there will be many who won’t follow Jesus at the end of the day, but there are plenty of examples of people in their death bed choosing to surrender over to Jesus at the last second. The thief on the cross was a great example of someone who believed in his final minutes and that glorified God and Jesus told him that he would be with him in paradise that day. While that should encourage someone late in their life, it shouldn’t be a license to continue sinning until “the end” because… Read more »