Is Baptism Required for Salvation?
Spontaneous Ponderings
Churches today have many different beliefs and practices when it comes to baptism. Some denominations practice infant baptism, whereas others practice a believer’s baptism. Some denominations sprinkle or pour, and others require full immersion. But there’s one other question that Christians disagree about when it comes to baptism: Is baptism required for salvation? Today, we are going to look at some verses or arguments related to this question.
Personally, I believe that baptism is not required for salvation, and I’ll give some reasons why I believe that based on Scripture. But I also don’t want to totally discount the other side, so we’ll look at some reasons why people believe that baptism is required for salvation based on Scripture. Then I’ll let you look at the evidence and decide for yourself what you believe the Bible says. I’d even encourage you to do your own research on both sides of the question.
Reasons Why Baptism Is Not Required for Salvation
1. Salvation is based on faith alone
This is the strongest reason I see that baptism is not required for salvation. The Bible tells us that salvation is based on faith alone, not on any works or deeds that we do. Baptism is an action, a work or deed. Although baptism can be used to symbolize our connection to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, it is not in itself a means of salvation. Let’s look at some verses that tell us that salvation is through faith alone. I’ll let them speak for themselves.
Let me start with the very words of Jesus:
John 3:14-18: 14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 5:24: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
These verses focus on belief in Jesus as the only way to salvation, not baptism. Even John the Baptism didn’t claim that baptism was required for salvation. Instead, he said that belief in Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
John 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Paul, one of the greatest apostles, also continually emphasized belief in Jesus as the only means of salvation.
Acts 16:31: They [Paul and Silas] replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Ephesians 2:8-9: 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 10:9: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
These verses are just a few of the many verses that tell us that belief in Jesus is the only path to salvation.
2. Baptism and belief do not always happen at the same time
In Acts 10, we find the story of Cornelius. Cornelius was a Gentile who feared God. The Bible says this about him:
Acts 10:2: He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
An angel appeared to Cornelius in a vision, telling him to send for Peter. Peter also had a vision that confirmed that God accepted Gentiles and did not view them as unclean. So when Peter got the message to go to Cornelius, he went. Peter preached a message to Cornelius and all those with him about the truth of Jesus, and to everyone’s surprised, the Holy Spirit came on everyone who heard Peter’s message—even the Gentiles.
The appearance of the Holy Spirit here is significant. The Holy Spirit does not come on those who are unbelievers, those who are not saved. The Holy Spirit is reserved for those who are saved. He is a seal on believers to mark them as God’s people, as we see in Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:13-14: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
In the story of Cornelius, Cornelius believed, was a faithful follower of God, then he heard the new of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. At this point, I believe that Cornelius was saved. It is only after he received the Holy Spirit that he is baptized.
Acts 10:47-48: Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Cornelius believed in God long before he was baptized, and he was marked with God’s seal, the Holy Spirit, before he was baptized. Yes, he was baptized shortly after he received the Holy Spirit, but he was saved through Christ’s work on the cross before he went through the physical act of baptism.
3. Paul didn’t baptize people
Paul was one of the greatest apostles and evangelists in the Bible. He wrote much of the New Testament through inspired letters to the churches. He was passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, including the need to believe and be saved. Yet Paul himself claims that he didn’t baptize people.
1 Corinthians 1:13-17: 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Paul often traveled with a companion—Silas, Timothy, John Mark, and others. Maybe these people did the baptizing as Paul preached the message? It’s a possibility, but the Bible doesn’t tell us this. Instead, the Bible emphasizes that Paul didn’t baptize people. If baptism is required for salvation, don’t you think Paul would have been more concerned about baptism?
4. Even Jesus didn’t baptize people
At the end of what we see of the ministry of John the Baptist, the Bible takes a turn and talks about Jesus and his disciples baptizing people:
John 3:22: After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
Eventually, the Pharisees heard that Jesus was baptizing more than John:
John 4:1-2: 1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
Except it also points out that Jesus didn’t do the actual baptizing—his disciples did. Yes, maybe Jesus didn’t baptize because he had 12 others to help him with the task, and to baptize all those people by himself would have overtaken his ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing.
But what is more interesting to me is that this story is the only mention in the gospels—the time during Jesus’s ministry on earth—of Jesus or his disciples baptizing people. Other than this one mention, baptism doesn’t seem to be a focus of Jesus’s ministry, at least not that is recorded for future believers to see. If baptism is required for salvation, don’t you think the ministry of Jesus would have a greater focus on baptism?
Reasons Why Baptism Is Required for Salvation
1. Baptism and salvation are frequently linked
Although we see many places in the Bible that talk about salvation through faith alone, we can’t deny that in the New Testament, baptism is frequently linked to salvation. Let’s look at a few verses that show us this link between baptism and salvation.
As we did earlier, we’ll start with the words of Jesus.
Mark 16:15-16: 15 He [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Note that these words are in italics because the earliest Biblical manuscripts do not contain these verses. However, they are included in most traditional Bibles, so we need to consider them. In this passage, it appears that both belief and baptism are required for salvation. Yet lack of baptism is not included in the reasons why someone would be condemned—that focus is on lack of belief alone. This leaves me to question the role of baptism in salvation.
Similarly, Peter seems to link repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit, which we’ve already identified as a mark of salvation.
Acts 2:38: 38 Peter replied, “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, there seems to be a link between baptism and salvation in this verse, but the true nature of the connection is not stated explicitly.
Finally, we see many stories that link belief, baptism, and salvation through their close timeframe. Over and over again, we find that people believe and then are immediately baptized. They don’t have to go through a baptism class or check a bunch of boxes to make sure that they really believe and are saved. They just believe and are baptized. There is often very little delay between these events. Presumably, this combination means they are saved.
We’ll start with the full story of the jailers who were baptized by Paul and Silas, which we’ve already looked at briefly:
Acts 16:29-34: 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
In this story, the jailer asks what he can do to be saved, and Paul and Silas indicate that belief in Jesus is the next step to salvation. Baptism follows shortly after that. Yet the passage doesn’t say that baptism is required. It just is the logical step to take after belief.
Another story in which we see this close timeframe between belief and baptism is in the story of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8). Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch along the road. The eunuch is returning from worshipping in Jerusalem, and he is studying the Scriptures, but he is confused by them. Philip begins to explain how the passage is related to Jesus, and immediately, the eunuch wants to be baptized:
Acts 8:36-38: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Again, the verse in italics is not included in some manuscripts. But it confirms that belief and baptism often happen within the same timeframe in the Scriptures, perhaps indicating that baptism is important for salvation.
2. Some verses talk about baptism saving us
One of the key verses that people point to when they say that baptism is required for salvation is 1 Peter 3:21. Let’s look at it in context.
1 Peter 3:19-22: 19 After being made alive, he [Jesus] went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
This is a passage that is confusing to me for several reasons. Who are the imprisoned spirits in this passage? Where are these imprisoned spirits? What is the link between Noah, the flood, baptism, and salvation? What is the link between baptism, the resurrection, and salvation? In our previous lesson on Baptism by Water, we looked at the connection between baptism and resurrection. Does this passage tell us that we have to go through the act of baptism to participate in Jesus’s resurrection? I don’t have the answer to this.
An article by David Mathis at DesiringGod may have further insight.
Peter anticipates we will be surprised to hear “baptism . . . saves you,” so he immediately explains. He does not mean that the external act of baptism, “as a removal of dirt from the body,” has salvific power on its own. Rather, the instrument connecting the believer to Christ for salvation is the invisible condition of the heart (faith) that is being externally expressed in baptism.
Baptism demonstrates objectively and externally the subjective and internal “appeal to God for a good conscience.” Baptism saves not as an outward act but through the inward faith it expresses. Peter’s statement hangs together on baptism expressing a saving, spiritually newborn condition of heart in the believer.
Is the physical act of baptism required for salvation? Taken on the surface, the passage in 1 Peter 3 seems to say that. Yet when we look deeper, this is likely not the point Paul was trying to make.
For further thoughts on baptism being required for salvation, consider reading this article from Centered on Christ, which was written by someone who believes that baptism is required for salvation.
Conclusion
After looking at the evidence, what do you believe about baptism and salvation? I tend to lean toward salvation through faith alone, with baptism as an act that demonstrates that belief. Baptism should be an act that follows shortly after belief and salvation, but it is not always approached that way in our current churches. Maybe it should be.