Does Baptism Save Us? | An Unbiased view
Does baptism save us? Some people think so. But let’s see what the Bible says about it.
This is now the third article in our special series on baptism. In our first two articles, we learned quite a bit about baptism from the preaching of the apostles as recorded in the book of Acts and from the letters of Paul. Here are some of the things we learned:
Baptism was commanded for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
It is done to wash away sins (Acts 22:16)
It involves water (Acts 8:36-38; 10:48)
It was done immediately, with no delay, even if after midnight (Acts 16:25-33)
We are baptized into His death (Romans 6:4)
We are buried with him (Romans 6:4)
We are raised with him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)
We are free from sin and alive to God (Romans 6:7-11)
We put on Christ and become sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26–27)
God makes us alive together with Him, having all trespasses forgiven (Colossians 2:11-13)
Baptism is not a work of righteousness where we earn salvation but it is an act of God's grace and mercy, in which we experience a washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4–7)
If you missed them, you can read the previous two articles here: “Do I Have to be Baptized to be Saved?” and “How Important is Baptism? | Baptism According to Paul”
Does Baptism Really Save?
From all that we have studied so far, we can see that baptism is extremely important and it is somehow related to our salvation. But is there anywhere in Scripture that actually says that baptism saves us?
Let’s look at what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:21:
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21 | NASB95)
My first question is, what did he mean by “corresponding to that”? Corresponding to what?
In the previous verses, Peter was talking about the patience of God in the time of Noah as He waited during the construction of the ark and the subsequent flood,
“…in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:20-21 | NASB95)
Peter is making the comparison that just as people were saved from the flood by being brought safely through the water in Noah’s day, so now people are saved by being brought safely through the waters of baptism.
But Peter makes it very clear that it is not the water itself that saves you; there is nothing magical or mystical about the water. He says,
“…baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience…” (1 Peter 3:21 | NASB95)
“Appeal” or “Answer”?
Now, let’s take a detour to talk about an unfortunate mistranslation in the KJV, NKJV, and NIV. This is how they translate the verse:
“There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21 | NKJV)
Unfortunately, that is not what the text says. The Greek word translated as “appeal” (NASB95/ESV) or “answer” (KJV/ NKJV/NIV) is ἐπερώτημα.
BDAG (A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature) gives us two definitions for this word:
The content of asking, question
A formal request, appeal
That is why the NASB and ESV both accurately translate this verse as an appeal to God for a good conscience:
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21 | NASB95)
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21 | ESV)
Why Do We Need to Appeal for a Good Conscience?
It is through the act of baptism that we make an appeal to God for a clean conscience, relying on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Why is this the case? Because before we are baptized we stand condemned before God to spend eternity in hell; our consciences are damaged.
It's very similar to what we saw in Acts 2:37 where the brethren were cut to the heart and asked the apostles, “What shall we do?” Their consciences were damaged before God because they realized that they had crucified Jesus, their Lord and Christ. They knew that they stood condemned before God and needed their sins forgiven. So Peter replied by saying,
“‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38 | NKJV)
What Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:21 is also very similar to what we saw in Acts 22:16 where Ananias told Paul,
“‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’” (Acts 22:16 | NKJV)
What About Grace and Faith?
Does God save us? Yes. Does Jesus save us? Yes. Does baptism save us? Yes.
Just like Noah was saved by:
Grace = (Genesis 6:8)
Faith = (Hebrews 11:7)
Water = (1 Peter 3:20)
We too are saved by:
Grace = (Ephesians 2:5)
Faith = (Ephesians 2:8)
Water = (1 Peter 3:21)
Summary
It is in baptism that we:
Have the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
Wash away our sins (Acts 22:16)
Are baptized into His death (Romans 6:4)
Are buried with him (Romans 6:4)
Are raised with him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)
Are freed from sin and made alive to God (Romans 6:7-11)
Become sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26–27)
Are made alive together with Him, having all our trespasses forgiven (Colossians 2:11-13)
Are washed with the waters of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4–7)
Only after baptism can we have a good or clean conscience before God. This is only possible because of God's love, mercy, and His grace. Because He has decided to use the simple act of baptism by a penitent believer to bring all of these blessings about.
Baptism is not a work of righteousness that we do to earn salvation; it is simply an act of loving submission to the will of our Father where He saves us.
If you have not been baptized (that is, immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins) why do you delay? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
If you are in our area, you are always welcome to come to church with us.
This study prompts a lot of follow-up questions, like:
What about infant baptism?
What about the thief on the cross?
How should you be baptized?
Can you be rebaptized?
We have made a special video series to answer these questions that you can watch here, or to read more articles about them go to the “Baptism” section of our Articles page here on the website.
What are your thoughts on how God designed baptism as the way to us? Let us know in the comments!
