Water-Baptism is Essential
An alarming number of scholars, from various churches, have concluded the Bible teaches salvation can be obtained without water baptism. This is perplexing indeed; since the same scholars claim the Bible is their guide, and because the Bible clearly teaches otherwise. There are many passages which teach baptism is essential. For brevity’s sake, we will only observe two.
Initially, we reference Jesus’ commission in
Mark 16:15-16. Verse 16 says, “He who
believes and
is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.” A casual reading reveals that Jesus gives
two conditions to be met
before salvation is granted.
A parallel example will illustrate how easy it is to understand
Mark 16:16. Suppose a radio station broadcasts, “He who
calls in and
answers question X correctly will receive $100, but he who does not call in will not receive $100.” We easily understand that two conditions must be met to receive the money. This is precisely the clarity Jesus used in
Mark 16:16, regarding salvation from sin. Because
Mark 16:16 is so clear, some try to argue against baptism’s essentiality by casting doubt on the genuineness of
Mark 16:9-20. A thorough study, however, reveals it is genuine Scripture (
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=704).
Secondly, in
Acts 2:22-36, Peter preached a powerful sermon, which convinced the crowd that Jesus is the Son of God. Struck with the realization that they were guilty of killing Jesus, those Jews asked about forgiveness (
37). Peter’s response is quite relevant. He said, “...
Repent and let every one of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins....” Now, if baptism has nothing to do with salvation, why did Peter even mention it at their request for forgiveness? The fact is: water baptism
does have something to do with salvation, and is essential to forgiveness from sin. Paul knew and practiced this (
Acts 22:16;
Romans 6:3-4); and Peter did too (
1 Peter 3:21).
The Bible has much to say about baptism for the forgiveness of sins. One good way to study this subject is to read a debate on the subject. I recommend
The Warren-Ballard Debate, which can be obtained, among other places, at:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/store/Product.aspx?pid=265. It is an excellent resource.