Acts 2:1-4, 8:14-17). With this hyperbolic speech, Paul is stressing that it doesn’t matter by whom you’re baptized. Whether it’s Apollos, Cephas, or Paul who baptizes, we’re all incorporated into the same “fellowship of [God’s] Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. Here at Grace to You Europe we take our data protection responsibilities very seriously and, as you would expect, have undertaken a significant programme of work to ensure that we are ready for this important legislative change. So water baptism followed their salvation. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. Luke 24:47; John 3:18; Acts 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18; Ephesians 5:26). Nay, since Paul is the only one of them who has put on the garment of Christ's baptism, either the peril of all the others who lack the water of Christ is prejudged, that the prescript may be maintained, or else the prescript is rescinded if salvation has been ordained even for the unbaptized." It has been shown that there is no text in the Scripture which proves the necessity of baptism for salvation. he is one of the four biblical scholars of our day of hell, Bishop said. Baptism is not necessary for salvation. A third possibility exists, as Wallace explains in Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: It is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. Now, we will consider scriptures that seem to state that baptism is necessary for a person to have eternal salvation. Acts 22:16 And […] Guest. They contend that while baptism does not make us worthy of salvation, it is the act which results in salvation … 1:17). That being said, baptism is a necessary part of the outworking of our salvation, our obedience and sanctification. Baptism is mentioned in the first part of the verse because it was the outward symbol that always accompanied the inward belief. Peter is shown to make the strong connection between these two in chapters 10 and 11. Modern translations render it as “freed from sin” because the context is clearly about sanctification. The main reason why He picked this river Aenon was that there was plenty of water there and the availability of that water met the need of those who came. A second way to meet the challenge is point out that Paul is using hyperbole, and he’s using it to emphasize two things: 1) it doesn’t matter by whom you’re baptized, and 2) his apostolic role is not restricted to administering baptism but also involves preaching the gospel. Yes, there are some verses that seem to indicate baptism as a requirement for salvation. There is no mention of baptism. Some Protestants like to use 1 Corinthians 1:17 to claim that this teaching contradicts the Bible. Paul goes on to articulate the effects of this baptismal death and resurrection: We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Apparently, the Corinthians were adopting religious affiliations based on the minister who baptized them. In 11:15-16 he recounts the conversion of Cornelius and friends, pointing out that at the point of their conversion they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. For instance, 1 Peter 3:21 says “Baptism now saves you.” For instance, 1 Peter 3:21 says “Baptism now saves you.” What i… As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018. Acts 22:16. Notice that the basis for condemnation in that verse is not the failure to be baptized, but only the failure to believe. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a … If baptism were a requirement for salvation, we would certainly say that. Please respond to confirm your registration. For a detailed exposition of those passages, I refer you to my commentaries on Galatians and Romans, or the transcripts my sermons on Galatians 3 and Romans 6. This is the same kind of language that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 1:17. 4:8; Gen. 45:8; and Titus 3:5. Titus 3:4-8). He is referring to immersion in Christ's death and resurrection through "an appeal to God for a good conscience," or repentance. Those who champion the argument for the necessity of baptism for salvation often bring up these verses and others: Mark 16:15 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. So, any interpretation which comes to the conclusion that baptism, or any other act, is necessary for salvation is a … 1 Peter 3:21 - The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away … In Acts 22:16, Paul recounts the words of Ananias to him following his experience on the Damascus road: "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." Baptism is an important step of obedience that every Christian should take. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. It is quite clear from such passages as Acts 15 and Romans 4 … All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2Ti 3:16) We can be sure what baptism is because we’ve studied God’s word the Bible, which we respect as entirely His word and have identified God’s mind on the matter. However, the New Testament does not teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. 1 Peter 3:21 ESV / 1,966 helpful votes. Given Paul’s teaching elsewhere that baptism justifies and sanctifies us, his use of hyperbole in the passage in question, and the fact that the challenge doesn’t work even if we take him literally, the appeal to 1 Corinthians 1:17 fails as a challenge to the Catholic belief that baptism is an essential aspect of the gospel and thus necessary for salvation. Other examples include John 6:27 and 12:44; 1 Cor. With that in mind, let's look briefly at some passages that appear to teach that baptism is required for salvation. Jesus said in verse three that Nicodemus needed to be born “again.” It is used in that sense in Matthew 3:11; 12:41; and Luke 11:32. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. I also do not believe water baptism is in view in Romans 6 or Galatians 3. Paul writes, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Those who appeal to this verse argue that Paul dissociates baptism from the gospel. I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius; lest anyone should say that you were baptized in my name (vv.13-14). In Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius and those with him were converted through Peter's message. Not faith plus baptism. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. Since the Bible doesn't contradict itself, any interpretation of a specific passage that contradicts the general teaching of the Bible is to be rejected. As quoted above, Paul speaks of those who have died the death of baptism as “no longer enslaved to sin” (v.6). In subsequent verses, Paul gives a hint as to why the Corinthians were identifying themselves with different ministers: [W]ere you baptized in the name of Paul? Those passages are difficult to understand if water baptism is necessary for salvation. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. We have already established the truth as seen in God's Word that Baptism is the way to Salvation. ... Bishop John Shelby has devoted his entire life to the study of Scripture and at the age of ninety. The English word "baptism" is simply a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means "to immerse." It is also possible to take the clause "and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" as parenthetical. Some Protestants like to use 1 Corinthians 1:17 to claim that this teaching contradicts the Bible. No. However, you must ask yourself. For 1300 years after the church was established on the day of Pentecost baptism was uniformly practiced by the immersion of a person under water. 122-128, and William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Mark, pp. It is possible to translate the Greek preposition eis--"because of," or "on the basis of," instead of "for." That is not the case, however. So, baptism is important, but it is not necessary to be saved – otherwise, we would not be saved by faith, but by faith and a ceremony. We sent you an email. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ” (1 Cor. v. 47). His preaching of the gospel could have included the necessity of baptism for salvation—with the administration of the actual rite of baptism left to other ministers. The knowledge and diligent seeking of the gospel and truth must be undertaken and obtained before baptism can take place. I see in those passages a reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit (cf. You will notice that the Bible ties baptism to salvation. “And now why do you wait? In my book Meeting the Protestant Challenge, I offer three ways we can meet this challenge. 6:3-4). It is within this context that Paul says, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. Baptism is a public declaration of faith in Christ. But you can find a thorough discussion in Bruce Metzger, et al., A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, pp. Neither is it a “second step” that completes our position in Christ. Mark 16:16, a verse often quoted to prove baptism is necessary for salvation, is actually a proof of the opposite. Paul writes, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” This is the old "leaky bucket" argument. If we connect it with "be baptized," the Greek participle epikalesamenos ("calling") would have no antecedent. If baptism were part of the gospel itself, necessary for salvation, what good would it have done Paul to preach the gospel, but not baptize? 682-687. If baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sin, why didn't Peter say so in Acts 3? Scripture states that a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). After he had seen this, he declared, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit..." (10:47). Jesus said to him, ‘Today shalt thou be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23:43).” The Bible teaches that it is only through baptism you can be saved and that upon being baptized after following God’s criteria, your status will be changed from being a sinner, not related to the covenants of promise, to being a son or daughter of God, precious in His sight and in God’s … It points to the fact that river Jordan was not the only place that is acceptable for Baptism. We know that Paul’s statement, “For Christ did not send me to baptize,” is hyperbolic because Jesus commanded all the apostles to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them (Matt.28:19-20). Baptism is not enough for salvation. Paul writes. There has to be inward change of heart. Now all you need to understand about what he says is this, baptism is an important part in our salvation. Register. What does and doesn’t constitute the gospel is not Paul’s concern here. This page is also available in: हिन्दी (Hindi) Is baptism necessary for salvation? The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (page 1372) says, “This is similar to the circumstances at Jerusalem and Samaria in that each time, many believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit at the same time (cf. But the answer should be based on scripture. Paul never made water baptism any part of his gospel presentations. A common argument cites the example of the robber on the cross to show that baptism is not a requisite for salvation, for the robber was saved without going through baptism. With the “not . It is best to connect the phrase "wash away your sins" with "calling on His name." Some people argue that Acts 2:38 teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation.. 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.Acts 2:38 1:9). Either baptism was not necessary for salvation, or they received the Holy Ghost without being saved. The use of hyperbole is similar to Jesus’ teaching in John 12:44: “He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.” Of course, Jesus doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t believe in him. For he who has died is freed from sin (6-7). Jesus epitomized this and as much as we should desire to be baptized with the Holy Ghost, we need the physical immersion into water too as it is very symbolic just as Jesus Christ has demonstrated. 28:18-20), but it is not a prerequisite to spiritual regeneration. Baptism is not necessary for salvation. But as we’ll see in our next two ways of meeting the challenge, we have good reason to not take Paul’s statement in a strict sense. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul states that "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel," thus clearly differentiating the gospel from baptism. Those who believe baptism is necessary for salvation are quick to argue that baptism is not a work that earns salvation, but rather is a work that God requires before He grants salvation. That they were saved before being baptized is evident from their reception of the Holy Spirit (v. 44) and the gifts of the Spirit (v. 46) before their baptism. Is it necessary for salvation?” It is a fair and necessary question which one must answer. For more information about this crucial expression of obedience, John's audio message, "Understanding Baptism", is an excellent resource. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. This concludes the commentary on texts purported to support the doctrine that baptism in water is necessary for salvation. Yet, the angel had told Cornelius to send for Peter, "Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" ( Acts 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. We should be careful not to fall prey to the old argument, "Well, no one of them proves it, but if you look at them all together, if you take them in combination, they give such strong evidence of the fact that you really cannot deny it." What’s interesting about this passage is that the Greek doesn’t say “freed from sin.” The Greek word translated “freed” is dedikaiōtai, which means “justified.” So the text can literally be translated, “justified from sin.”. Do we want to say that the great apostle Paul was disobedient to Jesus’ instruction? I might also mention that many textual scholars think it unlikely that vv. 15:10; 1 Peter 3:3,4; Mark 9:37; Matt. In other words, when one spoke of baptism, he usually meant both ideas--the reality and the ritual. But the question is raised, “Baptism. The Catholic Church teaches that baptism is “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1257). All rights reserved. The Bible is clear that the act of baptism does not make a person a believer. Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. However, in his sermon from Solomon's portico in the Temple (Acts 3:12-26), Peter makes no reference to baptism, but links forgiveness of sin to repentance (3:19). The Bible teaches that salvation (specifically justification) is by grace alone and through faith alone. The argument. Ministry of John the Baptist Fourth, Peter's statement in Acts 2:38 can be interpreted in the light of the ministry of John the Baptist. They are countless verses in the Bible stating that belief, like baptism, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for salvation. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. But you couldn’t support that knowing, for example, that the thief on the cross had no opportunity for baptism or church membership. So Peter is not talking about immersion in water, as the phrase "not the removal of dirt from the flesh" indicates. Finally, we can meet this challenge by showing how the assertion that baptism is not essential to the gospel is inconsistent with Romans 6, in which Paul introduces baptism as the experience of death and resurrection in Christ: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear that our works don’t contribute to our salvation. Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; 7:4; 10:38-39; Luke 3:16; 11:38; 12:50; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16; 1 Corinthians 10:2; 12:13). . The Catholic Church teaches that baptism is “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1257). According to this view, baptism may be necessary as an illustration of salvation, but it is not necessary for salvation. We’ve not applied man’s thinking. However, it isn’t the act of baptism that saves you. If that interpretation is correct, the verse would read "Repent (and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ) for the forgiveness of your sins." Again, it is not the outward act that saves, but the internal reality of the Spirit's regenerating work (cf. Water baptism is certainly important, and required of every believer. No one would have been saved. First, the challenge confuses the duty to administer the rite of baptism with baptism being essential to the gospel. We can’t earn salvation, even by being baptized. Moreover, if Paul weren’t sent to baptize in a strict sense, then he would have acted in disobedience when he baptized Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas, which he tells us about in verse 14. Baptism is NOT a requisite for salvation, there are many bible verses used to make this assertion as proof text, which are principally as follows.. Mark 16:16 - “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” John 3:3-7 - “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto… The Bible also gives us an example of people who were saved before being baptized. Salvation is by divine grace through faith alone (Romans 3:22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9, etc.). Log In Submission to water baptism is a requirement for obedience after salvation (Matt. 9-20 are an authentic part of Mark's gospel. Let’s take a look at them here. © 2021 Grace to You. The quick answer is no. Are we saved by baptism? 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