Ask Pastor Jonathan: Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
As we kick off our “Ask Pastor Jonathan Burning Questions” summer, I have been asked a really deep one to start the summer off.
Is baptism necessary for salvation?
This question comes from someone in our congregation who has encountered someone from the Church of Christ. The Church of Christ believes that one must be baptized in order to be saved - namely what is called baptismal regeneration. But is this what the Bible teaches?
Let’s start with prayer and then jump into the Scriptures to answer this great question...
Prayer
Before getting to the heart of the question, let’s start by understanding the definition of the word baptize as stated in the Scriptures.
Baptize in Greek is baptizō.
The definition of this word is to wash, immerse, submerge.
The very definition, as well as the other Scriptural examples of baptism in the Bible, lets us know the preferred mode of Biblical baptism - namely immersion. Although we could go into much detail about this, being a Baptist church where immersion is the standard way of practicing baptism, we will hold off on going off on a tangent with this conversation.
And finally, another important understanding before directly addressing the question at hand is the understanding of believer’s baptism. We practice believer’s baptism, which means that we baptize those who are believers - namely those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and have repented of their sins. The beauty of baptism is that it is a wonderful symbol showing our uniting with Christ in His death and resurrection (Colossians 2:12-13, Romans 6:4, Galatians 3:27). We believe that baptism is a public pronouncement of one’s true salvation that has already occurred.
With all of that said, I want to start off this conversation with making sure that we do not diminish the need for baptism. It is the first command after one is saved. To not be baptized is to remain disobedient to God. We should desire to be obedient to Christ because of our love for Him. Consider John 14:15
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
We should show Christ our love for Him by obeying Him and walking in His commands. So, I charge anyone who has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ to be baptized!
We must understand that the theological disagreement between those who believe in baptismal regeneration verses those who hold to believer’s baptism is not an argument about whether one should be baptized. Both sides would argue that one should most certainly be baptized. The issue at hand is a soteriological question - meaning a disagreement regarding the nature of salvation. This is a huge issue because it is a Gospel issue.
Adding works to salvation is a grave error and leads one into an improper understanding of the free gift of salvation.
Let’s start by describing some Scriptures that clearly articulate salvation by grace through faith and not by works. The first and most clear is 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.
The Scriptures are clear that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works.
Is Baptism a Work?
It sure seems like one. Whereas repenting and believing in Christ alone for salvation is done by God in and through us as He draws us and reveals His glory to us and by our response to such drawing, baptism requires effort.
Baptism requires planning and effort to arrange it and to perform it.
As we can clearly see here, such a belief would fly in the face of the clarity of Ephesians 2:8-9.
And even more importantly, adding a work to salvation is an attack on the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection. We must beware of adding any work to what Christ did. The cross was enough. Jesus is enough. We must never add anything to the Gospel.
Next we come to one of the most familiar verses in the Bible, John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
This Scripture clearly articulates the means of salvation being through faith alone as well.
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.
This Scripture is one of the most clear passages on salvation and again states that faith alone is required for salvation.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Here we see the Gospel presented clearly. We are saved by Christ’s work and not our own.
Were People Declared Saved Before Baptism?
This is an important question to answer as well. Listen to a few verses that describe people described as being believers before they were baptized. Again, they were baptized shortly after - showing the importance of baptism. However, it is not a means of salvation - it is a sign that one was already saved…
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Those who had received the word were saved - and then they were baptized. This understanding of receiving his word is to say that they believed in the Gospel message that Peter had preached. They repented and trusted in Jesus in faith and then were baptized.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
These people get saved and then get baptized later. However, the message given here is to believe and be saved.
But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Again, they had believed and then were baptized.
What do we do with verses that seem to imply that baptism is necessary for salvation?
As we briefly mentioned before, the phrase that those who hold that baptism is necessary for salvation is called baptismal regeneration. They do not believe that one is born again unless he is baptized. There are around 4 verses that are commonly used to argue this position. Let’s explain each of these one by one.
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,
The key word in this verse is corresponds. The Greek word here means represents. It is a word that describes a metaphor. The surrounding context has compared salvation on the ark through the flood to the believer’s salvation through Christ.
The Flood symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection. Though judgment occurred, Noah and his family were saved because of the ark. Thus believers are saved from the judgment of hell because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Baptism corresponds to the Flood by symbolizing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Thus baptism doesn’t save you - Jesus saves you. Baptism symbolizes the salvation Jesus has already completed.
Yet, one is saved from a bad conscience through baptism by being obedient to Christ in following through with this act of obedience. The act itself does not save - thus alluded to by Peter saying that the removal of dirt - or namely the physical act does not save you. But it does provide one with a good conscience before the Lord.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
This verse clearly shows the importance of baptism. However, note that when speaking of condemnation - or those who are not saved - baptism is not repeated. Thus this verse does not prove baptismal regeneration.
This verse emphasizes that unbelief is what sends people to hell - not a lack of baptism.
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.
Again, this verse has the command for baptism clearly articulated. Yet, this does not prove that baptism leads to one being saved. It is a command for those who are already saved as shown a couple verses later in Acts 2:41.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
This Scripture is likely an allusion to Ezekiel 36:25-27. We see in this prophecy that God will cleanse His people with water and transform them by His Spirit.
John the Baptist had been baptizing with water. Only those who were repentant were to be baptized. Thus baptism here points to the need for repentance and faith in order for one to be regenerated, or born again, by the Holy Spirit. Only those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and repented of his or her sins can be saved.
This, again, does not mean that baptism is necessary for salvation.
However, there are even more clear passages that argue against baptismal regeneration that we have not covered yet.
Paul explicitly teaches that baptism is less important than salvation in 1 Corinthians 1:14:
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
Paul was all about salvation and the Gospel. This is the same man who said that if anyone preached a gospel different from what he preached that they be accursed - actually twice in Galatians 1:8-9!
And here Paul actually downplays who he had baptized because of the infighting among believers. He goes on in 1 Corinthians 1:17 to make this even more explicit:
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Here, again, we see that there is a distinction between baptism and the Gospel. Baptism is a symbolic act showing that one has been saved. It is extremely important, yet not necessary for salvation.
For Paul to speak in such a way would not make sense if he taught that baptism was necessary for salvation. He, in essence, would be saying that he didn’t come to preach the Gospel but instead came to preach the Gospel. This would be a nonsensical statement.
Another text that would disagree with a baptismal regeneration understanding would be thief on the cross:
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This man was obviously not baptized, yet Christ promised eternal life in heaven to this man.
Those who would want to make exception for this man would make God unjust - by allowing one to be saved by grace through faith and requiring works from another. God is unchanging and consistent. He does not have a moving target for salvation. It is by grace alone and faith alone.
There are countless other verses that speak of salvation and do not include baptism. I have given only a handful of this. Although we could go into much more detail into this discussion, we have seen a clear argument from the Bible that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Yet it is also clear from the Bible that baptism is something that all of us should do in obedience to Christ.
Thanks for listening and I pray that this has been helpful. Have a wonderful day.
