Many church people believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. They speak of baptismal regeneration. Baptism is the obedience without which faith is invalid. Some biblical texts seem to support this view. On closer examination, however, the claim is not supported by scripture.
The concept of baptismal regeneration contradicts the principle of salvation by grace alone. Rather, Christian baptism in water is an act of public testimony that one has been united with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. It is a witness to one’s faith in Christ. Every instance of baptism recorded in the New Testament, except for the baptism of our Lord, is of people who had first believed the gospel and were testifying to that belief. They were saved by faith in Christ, not by their baptism.
For example, the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian believers of how he had brought them to Christ: “I have become your (spiritual) father through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). If their new birth meant baptism, this must mean that he had baptized them.
But at the outset of the letter, he declared that he had not baptized them. “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius” (1 Corinthians 1:14). Surely Paul would not have written this if baptism were essential for salvation.
The Lord Jesus never emphasized baptism in his teachings about the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the thief on the cross was not, and could not have been, baptized. Yet Jesus assured the penitent man, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
This is not to imply that baptism is unimportant. It is a vital first step of obedient discipleship. Dr. Jere Phillips has written, “Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.”
Pastor Randy Faulkner