Is Baptism Essential To Salvation? A “Church of Christ” viewpoint.
INTRODUCTION
1. The gospel of Jesus Christ tells of God’s wonderful grace, how in
love He gave His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross for sins.
2. How must man respond to benefit from God’s saving grace?
a. By faith and repentance? Certainly!
b. But is that all?
3. What about baptism? Is it necessary for one to be baptized to…
a. Be saved?
b. Be forgiven our sins?
c. Receive the blessings of God’s grace offered through Jesus?
4. This study is devoted to answering these questions by simply letting the
Bible speak for itself on the subject of baptism and what bearing, if any,
baptism may have on being saved from our sins
[To begin, notice the words of Jesus as He commissioned the apostles
to proclaim the gospel to the world…]
I. BAPTISM IN THE GREAT COMMISSION
A. IN TWO GOSPEL ACCOUNTS, JESUS MENTIONS BAPTISM
1. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptiz-
ing them…” – Mt 28:19
2. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea-
ture. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he
who does not believe will be condemned.” – Mk 16:15-16
B. FROM JESUS HIMSELF, WE LEARN THAT BAPTISM IS SOMEHOW INVOLVED
IN…
1. The process of becoming a disciple
2. The process of salvation
[Before we draw any final conclusions just on these two statements
alone, consider the preaching of the apostles as they carried out the
Great Commission…]
II. BAPTISM IN THE PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES
A. THE PREACHING OF PETER
1. In Ac 2:38 , Peter commanded people to be baptized “for the
remission of sins”
a. Does “for” mean “in order to” or “because of”?
b. Note that we find the same grammatical construction in
Mt 26:28
1) Where Jesus said His blood would be shed for many “for
the remission sins”
2) Clearly Jesus meant “in order to” provide remission of
sins, and not “because” remission of sins had already
occurred
c. Note also that in Ac 2:38 baptism is joined by the con-
junction “and” to the command “repent”
1) Both are commanded “for the remission of sins”
2) Just as people were commanded to repent “for” (in
order to) the remission of sins, so they were commanded
to be baptized “for” (in order to) the remission of sins
2. In Ac 10:44-48 , Peter clearly commanded baptism (in water)
— Peter’s preaching is in harmony with the statements of Jesus
in the Great Commission
B. THE PREACHING OF PHILIP
1. Examine carefully two accounts of Philip’s preaching
a. The Samaritans – Ac 8:5, 12
b. The Ethiopian – Ac 8:35-38
2. In both cases, Philip “preached Christ”
a. Yet baptism was an immediate result of such preaching
b. Is there any surprise in light of Jesus’ statements in
Mt 28:19 and Mk 16:15-16?
C. THE PREACHING OF PAUL
1. Consider the conversion of Lydia – Ac 16:13-15
a. Lydia gave heed to the things spoken by Paul, by being
baptized!
b. Notice her comment in Ac 16:15
1) How could Paul have judged her to be faithful to the
Lord?
2) One clear way was by her response to the command of the
Lord concerning baptism!
2. The conversion of the Philippian jailor – Ac 16:29-33
a. Telling the jailor first that he must believe on the Lord
to be saved, Paul went on to speak concerning the Word of
the Lord to him and his family
b. In response to the word of the Lord, they were immediately
baptized!
c. Evidently the word of the Lord stressed the need to be
baptized quickly (in fact, in EVERY detailed example of
conversion found in the Book of Acts, people were baptized
after only one lesson!)
3. Paul’s account of his own conversion – Ac 22:10-16
a. He was told to go to Damascus to learn what he must do
b. One of the things he was told was to be baptized without
delay – Ac 22:16
1) “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized,
and WASH AWAY YOUR SINS, calling on the name of the
Lord.”
2) NOTE WELL: Despite seeing the Lord on the road to
Damascus, having spent three days fasting and praying
( Ac 9:9-11 ), he was STILL IN HIS SINS!
c. Clearly Paul believed that baptism had some connection
with his own salvation!
[The connection between baptism and salvation becomes clearer when
the examples of apostolic preaching are put side by side and the
elements of conversion are compared:
______________________________________________________________________
Mt 28:18-19 EXAMPLES OF CONVERSION Mk 16:15-16
______________________________________________________________________
PREACHING BELIEVED REPENTED CONFESSED BAPTIZED SAVED
PENTECOST Repented Baptized Remission of
Ac2:14-41 37-38 38-41 Sins 38-47
SAMARIA Believed Baptized
Ac 8:5-13 12 12,13
EUNUCH Believed Confessed Baptized Rejoiced
Ac 8:35-39 36-37 37 38 39
SAUL Baptized Sins Washed
Ac 9:17-18 18 Away Ac 22:16
CORNELIUS Believed Baptized Remission of
Ac 10:34-48 43 48 Sins 43
LYDIA Heeded Baptized Faithful
Ac 16:13-15 14 15 15
THE JAILER Believed Baptized Rejoiced
Ac 16:30-34 31 33 34
______________________________________________________________________
PREACHING + FAITH + REPENTANCE + CONFESSION + BAPTISM = SALVATION
Ro 10:14 He 5:8,9 Lk 13:3 Ro 10:9,10 Ga 3:27 2 Ti 2:10
______________________________________________________________________
In every case of conversion, baptism precedes salvation which is in
agreement with what Jesus said in Mk 16:16, “He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved.”
In every case of conversion, baptism is involved in the process of
becoming a true disciple of Christ, which agrees with Christ’s words
in Mt 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them…”
But to be sure that our conclusions are correct, let’s consider what
the apostles taught in their epistles concerning baptism . .]
III. BAPTISM IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES
A. IN THE TEACHING OF PAUL
1. In Ro 6:3-8 , we learn that baptism:
a. Is a baptism into the death of Christ (3)
b. Is a burial with Him into death (4)
c. Is done in order that we might walk in newness of life (4)
d. Assures that we shall be united with Christ in His
resurrection (5)
e. Involves crucifying the old man, that the body of sin may
be destroyed (6)
f. Frees us from sin (6-7)
g. Assures our living with Him (8)
h. Note Paul’s preface to these remarks: “as many as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were…”
1) What blessings he discusses pertains only to those who
had been baptized!
2) What of those not baptized? The blessings described
would not apply!
2. From Ga 3:26-27 we learn that baptism is:
a. Involved in the process of becoming sons of God by faith
in Christ Jesus (the “for” beginning verse 27 begins an
elaboration as to HOW we become sons of God through faith)
b. The means by which we “put on Christ” (and so become sons
of God)
c. Note again: “For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on . .”
1) “For as many” means no more or no less
2) Only those who have been baptized into Christ have
really received Christ into their lives!
3. In Co 2:11-13 Paul taught that baptism is:
a. A “spiritual circumcision” in which sins are “cut away”
b. A burial with Christ, and also a resurrection with Him
c. Made effective “through faith in the working of God”
d. Where God makes us “alive together with Him, having
forgiven you all trespasses”
— IF BY THE WORKING OF GOD BAPTISM INTO CHRIST ACCOMPLISHES ALL
THESE THINGS, HOW COULD ANYONE SAY IT IS NOT NECESSARY?
B. THE TEACHING OF PETER
1. In 1 Pe 3:20-21 , Peter makes a comparison between Noah’s
salvation and our own
a. Noah was saved by:
1) Grace ( Ge 6:8 )
2) Faith ( He 11:7 )
3) Water
b. Likewise, our salvation involves grace, faith ( Ep 2:8 ),
and water!
1) NOT that there is any cleansing power in the water!
2) For only the blood of Jesus can redeem us from sin
– Ep 1:7
3) But God has chosen to use the act of baptism as the
point in time in which He applies the blood of Jesus
to our souls!
2. Perhaps we can see why Peter would say “There is also an
antitype which now saves us, namely baptism . .”
a. We are saved by the blood of Jesus, yes
b. But the application of Christ’s blood to our souls occurs
when we in trusting faith are united with Him in baptism!
CONCLUSION
1. Is baptism essential to salvation? Let the words of Christ, the
preaching and teaching of His apostles provide the answer!
2. All the rationalization that can be done by man cannot escape the
fact that man must respond in baptism as well as in faith and
repentance if he is going to receive the blessings of God’s grace!
3. But what if one chooses not to obey the words of Christ and His
apostles? Then what Paul said on one occasion to listeners who
would not obey the gospel would be applicable:
“It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you
first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of
eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.” – Ac 13:46
It is my prayer that if you have not yet properly responded to the
Word of the Lord, that you will heed the same words given to Paul:
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” – Ac 22:16