Thank you for the great question.. 

Let me start by saying that this is an issue greatly and sadly debated among many different Christian denominations. Fortunately, we can look at the Scriptures for ourselves and let the Holy Spirit lead us into truth (John 16:13).  

I think we need to start by asking the question, How does one get into God’s kingdom?” Let’s take a look at what God’s Word has to say on the issue..

A good starting point would be when Jesus was on the cross (Luke 23:39-43). We see that when HE was on the cross there were two other criminals being put to death by crucifixion as well. The 1^st criminal mocked Jesus, telling Him “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”  Based on this comment, we see that the criminals were at very least aware of who Jesus claimed to be. As we read on we see that the 2^nd criminal spoke up in response to what the 1^st criminal said. Basically he say’s to the 1^st criminal that they were guilty of a crime and deserved to die, whereas Jesus did not deserve to die because He was innocent and had done nothing wrong. Then the 2^nd criminal spoke to Jesus and said “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Wow! This is huge statement.. Something happened at that moment that guaranteed the 2^nd criminal entrance into the Kingdom. Let’s see if we can figure out what happened here.

Now, the first thing we need to note is, it obviously wasn’t due to Water Baptism because the criminal was on the cross dying when this happened and for that matter, “Water Baptism in Christ” hadn’t been established at that point. So…what could have taken place there to guarantee this man entrance into heaven? Well.. the answer is found in what the 2^nd criminal believe.. We saw that the 2^nd criminal believed Jesus was innocent and believed Jesus was going to His kingdom (Heaven), therefore if he believed Jesus was going to His kingdom then he believed Jesus was who He said He was.  Meaning, the 2^nd criminal believed that Jesus was the Christ… He believed Jesus was the Messiah, who’s coming, death and resurrection was foretold by the prophets of old.. (For example: Genesis: 150 prophecies/symbols fulfilled by Christ and His church. Exodus: 192 prophecies/symbols fulfilled by Christ and His church. Isaiah: 121 prophecies/symbols fulfilled by Christ and His church. And many more!! Also Ref. John 5:46 and Luke 24:44)

Based on this information, the 2^nd criminal seems to have gotten into heaven by simply believing in who Jesus said He was.. So… Is this the answer? Does it line up with the rest of scripture? Let’s take a look..

I think it’s safe to say that the scriptures are clear that one must first believe in Jesus and that He died and rose from the dead. So.. Does that mean it’s enough to simply agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins? Well, no.. that’s not enough.. Satan believes in Jesus too but that doesn’t mean he’s saved..  What then are we missing?  Well…perhaps this is where baptism comes in.. Let’s see what the apostles taught and believed.

That’s the link missing.. We must call on the Lord to be saved.. In other words, by “believing” it’s meant as an active belief. Meaning, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, He died on the cross for our sins, and He rose from the dead. Therefore, we accept that and we call on Jesus to come into our lives.. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; then we can know God personally and experience His love.

Therefore, the 2^nd criminal accepted that Jesus was the Messiah and in his heart had received Him. So… How does one get into the kingdom? Well, the answer comes down to one word…Grace..  See.. we are all sinners and because of ours sins we cannot get into the kingdom Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God]. But God gave us His grace.  God’s grace is, Jesus, who paid the price for our sins on the cross and defeated death in His resurrection. All we have to do is accept that grace-(Jesus). That is Salvation! And that’s how we get into the God’s Kingdom.

Interestingly, we need to take note that in all those passages not one time does it even mention baptism being necessary for salvation. That being the case, we need to ask, why is the issue of baptism and salvation so debated? Well, the issue/debate comes into play because of certain passages concerning baptism. Let’s go ahead and take a look at some of them and see if we can get an understanding of what is meant behind them.. 

 Many would say that this passage is clearly stating that you must be baptized to have your sins washed away.. If this were true then the scriptures would be contradicting themselves. According to scripture, it by the Blood of Christ our sins is washed away.

Therefore, what does this passage mean? Well, the answer is found in the same sentence. It say’s “be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.” The key words are “calling on His name” Who’s name? Well, Jesus, of course. It’s saying, be baptized in Jesus and have your sins washed away in Jesus. This lines up with scripture, because it’s in Christ we are baptized and it’s in Christ are sins are washed away.. This passage is in no way saying we must be baptized to have our sins forgiven. 

Here again, this “washing of rebirth” can only be that washing of sins by the blood of Christ, which cleanses us. When we accept what Christ has done for us(shed His blood/paid our price) and call on Him to come into our lives, we become reborn, it’s a rebirth. 2 Corithians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (Also ref. 1 Peter 1:22;23 / John 3:1-7 / Galatians 6:15)

Some would say that clothed in Christ means salvation; therefore to be “clothed in Christ” we have to be “baptized in Christ” first. However, this verse is not speaking of salvation, but simply speaking of the union between a believer and Christ.. Meaning, a believer is “dedicated to” or “identified with” Christ. A good example would be 1 Corinthians 10:2, which states that the Israelites were baptized into Moses. No one would say they were literally being baptized in the name of Moses.. It’s clear from the context of the passage it was simply stating that they were closely identified with Moses and his purpose.  

Jesus say’s clear as day here, that if one believes AND is baptized, they will be saved. This verse is probably used the most to support the idea that one must be baptized to be saved.. However, nowhere else have we seen baptism being a requirement for salvation. Instead, time and time again we’ve seen that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone!  So what is Jesus talking about here?  Well, to answer this let’s actually/finally address what baptism is and what it symbolizes.

Simply put, water baptism in Christ is not what saves us but it’s symbolic to the spiritual baptism in Christ that actually saved us. We need to understand that there are many things that God has setup in the physical (earthly) realm to represent a spiritual truth.. Examples would be rainbows, circumcision, O.T. animal sacrifices, communion, etc..

Paul said in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;…………….”

Here Paul say’s that he was crucified with Christ. Does he mean that literally? Of course not, we can see that clear as day. He’s clearly talking about spiritual truths here. That’s why he goes on to say in the same verse: Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” He’s talking about the old Paul dying and the new Paul in Christ living, a new creation.

Water baptism falls into the same category. It is an outward expression of an inward reality. It represents the person being buried/dying to sin and resurrecting with Christ as a new creation. Paul makes this very clear..   Romans 6:2-6 “……How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3) Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4) Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5) For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,”

Paul shows us that the real baptism is a spiritual baptism that takes place when we accept Jesus and become a new creation. The water baptism simply is done to show an outward expression of that inward/spiritual baptism.

John the Baptist said, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”(Luke 3:16) Here John makes it clear that the baptism in Jesus will be a spiritual one.

Furthermore, consider this passage. 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 [Paul speaking] “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15) lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16) Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ……”.

Here Paul downplays baptism. Instead Paul say’s his job was to preach the Gospel. What did Paul consider to be the Gospel? 1Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3)For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Paul makes it clear that the Gospel is the Good News of Jesus dieing for our sins and His resurrection. In other words, Salvation is the Gospel.. Therefore, if water baptism were necessary for salvation then why would Paul say he was glad he didn’t baptize the people in Corinth? Why would he say that God sent him to preach the Gospel(Salvation) but not baptize them? Obviously the answer is, water baptism simply is not necessary for salvation.

In closing,

One of the biggest problems I see in teaching that one must be water baptized for salvation is that it takes away from what Jesus did. It’s like saying, what Jesus did on the cross for us wasn’t enough to get us into the kingdom. That’s wrong!! No Christian should take away from what Jesus did on the cross for us!

Furthermore, consider this passage:  Ephesians 2:8;9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9) not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Salvation is a gift from God, it’s not something we can work for or do ourselves. Therefore, if water baptism was needed to be saved, then salvation would be something we could attain through a work we can do. As we see, that’s not what God’s Word teaches.. There is no special recipe that can save us.. Jesus alone is our Savior, nothing more, nothing less can save you or I!

Based on this we now can understand what Jesus meant in  Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved;…..” Jesus was telling us that we need to believe in Him (John 11:25), call on Him (Acts 2:21) and be spiritually baptized in Him (Romans 6:3), becoming a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

I hope this has helped answer your question. If you have any questions or comments concerning this issue or anything else, simply contact us and we will be happy to help in anyway we can..

May God’s blessing always be upon you! 

In CHRIST, T.R.M.

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