Baptism - Is It Really Necessary?

The Bible teaches in various ways the fact that baptism is an essential part of God’s plan of salvation. For instance, if a person is saved before he is baptized, he is:

1) Saved before his sins are taken away. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)

2) Saved before his sins are washed away. "And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16)

3) Saved before he comes into Christ’s body. "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ." (Galatians 3:27)

4) Saved before he is saved. "And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God." ( 1 Peter 3:21)

5) Saved before the Lord promised him he would be saved. "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)

6) Saved before he enters Christ’s body, the church. "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." (1 Corinthians 12:13)

There are, of course, many people who believe the complete plan of salvation is contained in Romans 10:9-10. They feel this way because Paul says: "If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

The fact that salvation is associated with belief and confession is taken by many to mean that belief and confession are all that is necessary! But is it right to assume that the whole plan of salvation is contained in that one verse? Is it valid to teach that when a verse says: "Do this and you shall be saved," the whole command of God is wrapped up in that one verse? If this system of interpretation is valid, then the Bible contains many plans of salvation!

Plan #1 (Confession & Belief)

"That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Plan #2 (Belief & Baptism)

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:16)

Plan #3 (Repentance & Baptism)

"Repent and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)

 

Plan #4 (Belief Only)

"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." (John 3:16)

Plan #5 (Baptism Only)

"And this water symbolizes that baptism now saves you." (1 Peter 3:21)

Plan #6 (Baptism & Renewing of Holy Spirit)

"He saves us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)

It is plain then that the terms of forgives are more than those listed in any one verse of scripture, but never less! If one verse states that one must believe, there can never be less. If another verse states one must repent, there can never be less. If one verse states one must be baptized, there can never be less. Each time one finds a verse that says a certain thing saves a person, it is true, and will always be true! There can never be less than what the one verse states.

THE REAL PROBLEM in understanding the proper place of baptism in God’s plan of salvation is that many consider baptism to be a "WORK!" It is important to note that the Bible NEVER calls baptism a "WORK!" On the contrary, the Bible teaches that baptism, like the construction of the ark by Noah is an act of faith, not a work!

 

First, let us look at (Hebrews 11:7), where God places Noah before us as an example, because: "By faith, Noah....prepared an ark to the saving of his house...." We see that the preparing (construction) of the ark was an act of faith, not a work. If building an ark is not a "work" but rather an act of faith, how is it that obeying the Lord in baptism is considered a "work" by some people? Is it any less an obedient act of faith than Noah’s building of the ark was?

Next, we note that Peter reminds us of God’s patience. "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...." (1 Peter 3:20) Isn’t it note-worthy that the same water which destroyed the world of Noah’s day, saved Noah! The world was drowned in judgement, but that same water which destroyed them, lifted Noah’s ark above the judgment.

Finally, we note that the water which saved Noah, foreshadowed baptism: "And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God..." (1 Peter 3:21) Peter’s point in this passage is simply this: Baptism is just like that water of judgement. Some will be saved though their obedient faith by baptism, others will be condemned by baptism because they refused to obey! Baptism, according to Peter then, is the same as the floods of Noah’s time in that those who obey the Lord by faith will be saved by their obedience, while those who refuse to obey the Lord will be condemned by their disobedience concerning baptism. Just as the water will both save and condemn as it did in Noah’s day, so baptism either saves or condemns in our time, it only depends on how we respond to God’s command!

We are not trying to imply that all a person needs to do to be saved is to be baptized. We, too, believe that "Without faith it is impossible to please Him...." (Hebrews 11:6) Our simple point is that faith, if it is true faith, will submit itself to ALL the commands of God, and not simply to the ones we deem "acceptable." This concept of baptism is not an attack on faith, but an attack on that "cheap faith" which will have a man believe in God, or believe in Jesus Christ, without teaching him to submit to the Bible’s commands. This kind of faith is highly dangerous, because it sends on away thinking that "all you need to do to be saved is just believe...." This person may not understand that belief must be accompanied by "faith" and an obedient life. If there is no change in lifestyle, it is not faith at all, it is a farce!