" Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation ? " Part 3 of 3

                             First  Peter  3:21

     Another verse used by those who teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation is 1st. Peter 3:21.  Here the Scripture says,  " The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward GOD) by the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST."   The preceding verse, verse 20, tells of how Noah and his family were saved in the ark.  The verse says,  "...when once the longsuffering of GOD waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

     There is no difficulty with these verses once you understand the expression,  " The like figure."  The ark was a figure, a type, a picture of Salvation.  That is what the Scripture plainly says.

     Noah and his family, saved from the Flood by the ark, is a picture, a figure of our Salvation through CHRIST.  Noah and his family were saved by getting into the ark, not by getting into the water.  They were trusting the ark for their safety, not the water.

     The expression in verse 20,  " eight souls were saved by water," does not mean they were saved by being baptized. As a matter of fact, Noah and his family didn't even get into the water.  They were on the Ark, safe from the water. All those who got into the water were lost.  They drowned. The only ones who were saved were those who didn't get wet at all.  How foolish,  then, to take these verses, and try to teach that one is saved by being baptized in water !

     One must also keep in mind that the word "saved" here does not mean spiritual Salvation.  It simply has reference to being saved from physical destruction by the Flood.  If you will read the early chapters in Genesis, you will discover that Noah was saved by grace before the Flood ever came.

     In verse 21 the Bible clearly says that baptism does NOT put away the filth of the flesh.  It goes on to say that it is simply the answer of a good conscience toward GOD. The man who is baptized should already have a good conscience toward GOD because his sins are forgiven.  One has a right to be baptized only AFTER his sins are forgiven and he has a good conscience toward GOD.

     When the Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip in Acts 8:36,  " See, here is water;  what doth hinder me to be baptized ? " Philip answered in verse 37,  " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. "   The eunuch replied,  " I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of GOD. "   Philip then baptized him.

     Baptism always follows Salvation.  It never precedes it. It is always and only, in the words of Peter,  " the answer of a good conscience toward GOD."  The very fact that one is baptized shows that the individual is professing a good conscience toward GOD,  that his sins have already been forgiven.

                                     John  3:5

     John 3:5 is another verse quoted by those who teach that water baptism is necessary for Salvation, as if it referred to water baptism.  Here the Scripture says,  " Except a man be born of water and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD."  Does this mean water baptism ?  Absolutely NOT. Baptism is not even mentioned in JESUS' conversation with Nicodemus.

     In this chapter Nicodemus asked how a man could be born again, and JESUS explained that a man is saved by simple faith in CHRIST.  In verses 14 and 15 HE said,  " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the SON of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish, but have eternal life." Here JESUS said a man has eternal life simply by believing. No mention is made of baptism.

     In verse 16 HE said,  " For GOD so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life."   Here the Scripture makes plain again that one has everlasting life simply by believing in CHRIST without being baptized.

     In verse 18 our LORD divided the entire world into two groups:  he that believeth on the SON  and  he that believeth not.  And HE said,  " He that believeth on HIM is NOT condemned:  but he that believeth NOT is condemned already, because he hath NOT believed in the name of the only begotten SON of GOD."   Here again the Scripture makes it very plain that a man is condemned for one reason only--" because he hath NOT believed in the name of the only begotten SON of GOD."   No mention of baptism.

     This whole chapter on the new birth closes in verse 36 by saying,  " He that believeth on the SON hath everlasting life:  and he that believeth NOT the SON shall not see life; but the wrath of GOD abideth on him."  Again, nothing about baptism;  and again, the clear promise, if one believes on the SON he has everlasting life, whether or not he is ever baptized.

     But what does the verse mean,  " Except a man be born of water and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD " ?   Verse 6 makes it very plain that our LORD is talking about two births--the physical birth and the spiritual birth.  Here HE says,  " That which is born of the flesh is flesh;  and that which is born of the SPIRIT is spirit."

     When our LORD told Nicodemus in verse 3,  " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of GOD," Nicodemus responded in verse 4,  " How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born ?"   That is when JESUS explained in verse 5 that a man must be born of water and of the SPIRIT.  The water has reference to the physical birth, and the SPIRIT has reference to the spiritual birth, as is seen in verse 6. Nicodemus thought the LORD was talking about a rebirth, another fleshly birth.  Our LORD explained that one must not only be born of the flesh, but he must be born of the SPIRIT.

                                       Acts  22:16

     Acts 22:16 is another verse sometimes quoted by those who claim that baptism is essential to Salvation.  The verse says,  " And now why tarriest thou ? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the LORD."   The Apostle Paul did not mean in Acts 22:16 to teach a different plan of Salvation from the one he gave to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31,  where he simply said,  " Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and thou shalt be saved..."   Nor did he mean to contradict what he said in Acts 13:39:  " And by HIM all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses."

     Whatever Acts 22:16 means, it certainly doesn't contradict the plan of Salvation by grace through faith, as had already been clearly given by the Apostle Paul. Remember that, according to 1st.Peter 3:21, baptism is a figure or picture.  When JESUS said in Matthew 26:26-28, "...this is MY body..."  and "...this is MY blood...," HE certainly did not mean that the bread and the cup were HIS literal body and blood.  It simply represented HIS body and blood.

     " Be baptized, and wash away thy sins,"  certainly does not mean that sins are literally washed away in the baptismal waters.  It simply means that one is to be baptized to picture the washing away of sins.

     Baptism is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of CHRIST.  When one is baptized, he is simply saying,  " I believe that JESUS CHRIST died for my sins, that HE was buried and that HE rose again.  I'm trusting HIM as my SAVIOR. "

                                     Galatians  3:27

     Some use the phrase in Galatians 3:27,  " baptized into CHRIST,"  to try to prove that one must be baptized in order to put on CHRIST.  But the preceding verse says very plainly that we are saved by simple faith in CHRIST.  Verse 26 says,  " For ye are all the children of GOD by faith in CHRIST JESUS."  A study of the book of Galatians will reveal that the whole book was written to prove that people are saved by grace through faith and not by works. We have already shown that baptism is a work of righteousness.

     The Greek word for "into"  is  "eis" and is translated "unto" in many other cases.  The same Greek word is translated "unto" in 1st.Corinthians 10:2 where the Bible says,  " And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea."

The word "unto" is a translation of the same Greek word "eis", which is translated "into" in Galatians 3:27.  So if the covering of Israel in the cloud and the sea did not put them into Moses, then baptism does NOT put one into CHRIST.

     What the Scripture is saying in Galatians 3:27 is that, as many as have been baptized, pointing toward CHRIST or unto CHRIST, have already put on CHRIST.  That is, they have already been saved.  Baptism is pointing toward the fact that one is already saved, that he has already put on CHRIST.

                     Trust  Christ  Alone  for  Salvation

     GOD has one simple plan of Salvation.  It is not a process.  Neither is it a series of steps that one must take. Again and again the Bible makes it very plain that one is saved by simple faith in CHRIST.

     In Acts 16:30 when the Philippian jailer asked,  " Sirs, what must I do to be saved ?"  Paul answered in verse 31, " Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and thou shalt be saved..."   Believing is the sinner's part.  The word "believe" means to trust, to depend on, to rely on.

     Faith is absolute, total dependence.  There is no promise in the Bible to those who partially believe on CHRIST.  One must believe on CHRIST,  HIM alone and nothing else.  The very fact that one is trusting water baptism in any degree shows that he is NOT FULLY TRUSTING JESUS CHRIST.

     We believe in baptism.  The Bible teaches that everyone who trusts CHRIST as their personal SAVIOR should be baptized as an act of obedience, and he should be baptized as soon as possible AFTER he trusts CHRIST as SAVIOR. But he must NOT trust baptism for Salvation.  Acts 4:12 says,  " Neither is there Salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

     Won't you trust CHRIST today ?  If you're trusting anything other than JESUS CHRIST, we urge you to look away from everything else and look only to JESUS for Salvation.

                      By Dr. Curtis Hutson

                      Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation ?

Well this is the end of our series, " Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation ?  As we have seen and been shown by many infallible proofs;  Baptism  is  NOT essential  for one  to  be  saved.   Please,  take this time to correct an error that you may have been believing for a very long time.  As long as the LORD has given you breath in your lungs it is not too late to repent of this error and trust in grace alone, by faith alone, in JESUS CHRIST alone.   You don't want to be one of the ones that the LORD looks at and says,  " Get away from ME for I never knew you. "

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie