Baptism -- Is It Really Necessary for Salvation?

How important IS water baptism? Is it absolutely essential for those who believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, who also believe that he "died for sins...was buried and...was raised on the third day" - is it imperative that they be baptized in water? Before we determine, from the Bible, the relationship that water baptism has to the remission of sins, there are several things which need to be pointed out about faith and the relation that it has to our salvation. There is no doubt that God will save only those who believe.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. ... He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." {John 3:16, 18}

"'I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.'" {John 8:24}

"Thus, for my part (says Paul), I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." {Rom. 1:15-16}

As long a person remains in unbelief he has no hope of receiving eternal life. Instead, their only reward will be "the lake that burns with fire and brimstone."

"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." {Rev. 21:8}

Faith in Jesus, faith that he is the Son of God who was crucified for sin, who was buried and rose from the dead on the third day, is not optional for those who would be saved. NO PERSON WILL HAVE THEIR SINS WASHED AWAY BY CHRIST'S BLOOD WITHOUT FAITH! But this is a far cry from saying, as some do, that one is saved by faith alone.

Though the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith in Jesus, it nowhere teaches that salvation is BY FAITH ALONE. In fact, the only place in the Bible where the English words FAITH and ONLY are found together in connection with salvation is in James 2:24; and here it says that a "man is justified ... not by faith alone."

The Bible does not teach the doctrine that justification is by faith alone and yet, this is exactly what many believe!

A. THE METHODIST DISCIPLINE of 1910, Art. 9, says: "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings; wherefore, that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.

B. THE BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL, by J. M. Pendleton says: "We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood ..." (p. 48).

C. THE 39 ARTICLES OF THE CHURCH OF IRELAND, article 11 says: "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings: Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort...."

D. THE ARTICLES OF FAITH, found in The New Directory for Baptist Churches by Edward T. Hiscox, article 11 says: "... that justification ... is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood...." (p. 552).

According to the creeds of men, justification is by faith alone, solely by faith, by faith only. As these words are used in the creeds, alone, only and solely mean, apart from anything else, with nothing more. So to teach that justification is by faith alone, is to teach that once a person believes that Jesus is the Messiah of God, there is nothing else necessary for him to do for justification; that there is nothing to be added to faith for the salvation of the soul.

But does the Bible teach that one must do anything else besides believing to be saved? While creeds devised by human wisdom say, "NO!", what does the Bible say? We have already seen that it says that man is justified "not by faith alone", but what else must a believer do to be saved, to have his sins washed away by the blood of Christ? According to the N.T., the believer must also repent of all past sins.

"Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or, do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who lived in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'" {Luke 13:1-5}

"And He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'" {Luke 24:46-47}

"'(Peter said) But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you.'" {Acts 3:18-20}

But not only does the Bible teach that believers must repent to be forgiven of all past sins, but they must also confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord.

"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. {Rom. 10:9-10}

"'Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.'" {Matt. 10:32-33}

These verses ought to be enough to show that the doctrine that salvation is by faith alone is untrue and is a false doctrine. For if salvation is obtained by faith alone, the believer would not HAVE TO repent and confess that Jesus is the Christ! But since it is clear that a believer must repent and confess in order to be saved, then it is equally clear that salvation cannot be by faith only. And don't believe the lie that says that all who believe will automatically repent and confess, for this isn't so.

"Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." {John 12:42-43}

Were these rulers saved? If one believes that the forgiveness of sins, eternal life is obtained by faith alone, they would have to say, "Yes." For John said that these people "believed in Him." But according to the Bible, were these believers saved? Certainly not! For they were unwilling to confess with their mouth Jesus as Lord. Friends, salvation is "not by faith alone."

But before we turn our attention to water baptism, let's look at one more thing that God has revealed about "faith alone." While the creeds of Protestantism teach that faith alone saves, that "it is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort," the prophet tells us such a faith is dead and useless.

"What use is it my brethren, if a man says that he has faith, but he as no works? Can that faith save him? ... Even so faith, if is has no works, is dead, being by itself. ... You believe that God is One. You do well, the demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize this, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. ... You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. ... For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. {Jas. 2:14-26}

The doctrine that one is justified, forgiven of all past sins by faith alone is not a "wholesome Doctrine" and neither is it "very full of comfort"! For it is in opposition to the word of the Lord.

The Purpose of Water Baptism

Justification--the forgiveness of sins--is not obtained by faith alone. This is clear from what is taught by the prophet James and from the fact that the apostles also taught believers that they needed to repent of all past sins and confess with the mouth Jesus as Lord. But what about water immersion? Must the penitent believer be immersed in water in order to receive the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus? What do the scriptures say? What purpose do they ascribe to baptism? Hear the word of the Lord!

"He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." {Mark 16:16)

It was Jesus who uttered these words, it was He who said that he who "shall be saved" is the one "who has believed and has been baptized." But some refuse to believe Jesus and continue to insist that the believer does not have to be baptized to be saved. Instead of teaching the words of Jesus - "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved" - they teach, "He who has believed and has not been baptized shall be saved." Who will you believe? Jesus or men? I, for one, believe Jesus! Shouldn't you?

But we are told that since Jesus said, "He who has disbelieved shall be condemned" and not, "He who has disbelieved and who has not been baptized shall be condemned" that baptism has nothing to do with salvation. Dear friend, in Mark 16:16 Jesus tells us who He will save - the believer who has been baptized. But why did He say, "He who has disbelieved shall be condemned" and not, "He who has disbelieved and who has not been baptized shall be condemned"? It is because "without faith, it is impossible to please Him [God]." {Heb. 11:6} So if an unbeliever were immersed he would still be lost. One must first believe and then be immersed. This is the Divine order! This is the one whom Jesus promises to save. But the unbeliever shall not be saved; he shall be condemned.

The Lord did not say, "He who has disbelieved and who has not been baptized shall be condemned," because He did not need to. Unbelief is enough to damn anyone. But he who "shall be saved" must do more than believe. Jesus says that he must also be "baptized." So that this truth can shine in all its glory, please compare what Jesus has said with what men teach.

The Romanist-Catholic-says: He that is baptized shall be saved without faith.

Baptists (and other Reformed and Evangelicals) say: He that believes and is not baptized shall be saved.

Jesus says: He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.

If all that we had were the words of Jesus in Mark 16:15-16 it would be enough! However, the Holy Spirit saw fit to reveal more on this subject.

"'Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus whom you crucified.' Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" {Acts 2:36-38}

Unless one pays attention to the context, he will not see that Peter's audience was told that they needed to do three things. First of all they were told to "know for certain" that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. {vs. 36} Thus, the apostle is calling upon them to believe. Having believed they ask, "What must we do?" To this Peter responds by telling them to do two more things; they were to "repent ... and be baptized." {vs. 38} Please take note. Peter did not tell these believers to, "repent for the forgiveness of your sins and then be baptized." Instead, he told them to, "repent and ... be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." So when did these people receive salvation ("the forgiveness of sins")? When they first believed? Or, was it when they, as believers repented and were immersed? Read the verse again to be certain.

"'And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" {Acts 2:38}

Many other verses in the N.T. could be presented, but these two (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:36-38) should be enough to convince those with an "honest and good heart" that a believer in Christ must be baptized in water in order to be saved. Like repentance and confession with the mouth, baptism in water stands between the believer and the forgiveness of sins.

Friend, Jesus Christ died so that you, me and all men could be saved. He paid that price that we could not pay and still have eternal life. Do you desire eternal life? You cannot have it apart from Jesus. Jesus says:

"'I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" {John 14:6}

Come to Jesus, I plead with you. Be reconciled to God through Him or else you will die in your sins without real hope. As we have learned in this study, you come to Him by first believing that He really is the Christ, the Son of God. As a believer, you must then repent of all past sins, confess with your mouth that He is Lord and be immersed in water. Friend, Jesus promises the forgiveness of sins only to those believers who have done these things. Have you received the forgiveness of your sins. "Be saved from this perverse generation," obey the gospel of Christ. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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One Last Objection

As proof (?) that salvation is by faith alone without baptism, Baptist and their fellows make the kind of argument that is found in the paper - BAPTISM - NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?, a paper given to Aidan by a Baptist through a mutual friend. On page 4 the author (Derry O'Sullivan [?]), an Independent Baptist is quoting from a Spiros Zodhiates, who is commenting upon Eph. 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith." Mr. Zodhiates says:

"'If baptism were necessary for salvation, this verse and many others should have said that we are saved through faith and baptism.'"

Do you understand the argument? Mr. Zodhiates is saying that if baptism were essential, Paul would have said, "we are saved through faith and baptism." But since he did not say this then baptism is not essential to salvation but only faith. Another Baptist, Hugh F. Pyle, in his book THE TRUTH ABOUT THE "CHURCH OF CHRIST", makes the same argument, using other verses. He refers to the following verses:

Each of these verses teach that faith is essential to salvation. However, because they do not specifically mention baptism, Mr. Pyle proclaims, "baptism has nothing to do with it {salvation, KM}!" (pg. 33) He says: "Observe that these verses have nothing to do with baptism, nor do they include any reference to baptism." (pg. 32)

If their reasoning is true and baptism is unessential simply because it is not specifically mentioned in these verses, then neither are repentance and confession, FOR THESE THINGS ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED EITHER; and yet we know that these things are essential to salvation. What "proves" too much, proves nothing at all!

Kieran Murphy