Is baptism optional? Or can I still be saved without it?

Answer 1

1 Peter 3:21 says, “…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.”

Is following Christ optional?

Baptism is a command of Christ. He said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

Many will tell you that someone believes, is saved, and then he shall be baptized. This is not the same thing Jesus said. It is not in the same order.

What would Jesus have said if he had meant, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”? I believe he said what he meant and meant what he said. I believe Jesus! “He that believes not shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

Many agree that baptism is commanded by Christ, but they say it is not necessary for salvation. Hebrews 5:9 says, “He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” It is necessary to obey Christ to be saved!

Acts 2:38 says that baptism is “for the remission of sins”, “unto the remission of sins” or “so that your sins will be forgiven”. (Depending on which translation you read.) I Peter 3:21 says "baptism now saves"!

What would Peter have said if he had meant, “baptism now saves”?

In the conversion of Saul (Paul), Acts 22:16 says he was commanded to be baptized and wash away his sins. Can we be saved if our sins remain? The blood of Christ washes away sins (Revelation 1:5) .

Romans 6:3-4 says we are “baptized into Christ”. Can we be saved outside of Christ? (See Gal. 3:27 also.) These verses in Romans also say we are “baptized into his death”. At Christ’s death is where his saving blood was shed and offered for our sins. We must contact His death to contact that blood! Can we be saved if we have not contacted His death?

How can our sins be washed away by the blood (Revelation 1:5) if we have not contacted that blood? To contact the blood, we must contact His death where the blood was shed!

Romans 6:3-4 also say that at baptism we “rise to walk in newness of life.” At a birth there is a new life. Can we be saved if we have not been “born again” to this new life in Christ?

In the New Testament after Jesus gave the command about baptism, every example of a conversion specifically mentions baptism. None of these converts ate, drank, slept, or continued their journey until they were baptized. It was always immediate.

Some point to examples, such as the thief on the cross, before Jesus issued his command of baptism. He could not have obeyed a command that had not yet been issued. Also the death, burial, and resurrection that baptism now represents had not occurred at that time. How could he be baptized into Christ's death, when Christ had not yet died? How could he have been "buried with Christ" in baptism when Christ had not yet been buried? How could he rise from baptism “in the likeness of His resurrection” when Christ had not yet risen?

Those before Christ's death lived under the Old Testament. The New Testament came into effect after Christ died and rose again. (Hebrews 9:15-17) And remember, it was after His death that Jesus commanded baptism (Mark 16:16, Matt. 28:18-20) All those who now live after that point in time are subject to the New Testament and to that command.

Also, the thief on the cross was at the scene of Christ's crucifixion. He had direct contact with Christ at His death. We are not in that position. Again, it is through baptism that we contact His death!

Saul who I mentioned earlier, is a good example of the necessity of baptism. He spoke to Jesus. He called Jesus “Lord” and he asked what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to go into the city and it would be told to him what he “must do”. In the city he fasted for three days and he was praying. (Acts 9:9-11) Many would say he was saved at that point, but he still had not been told what he “must do”.

Then he was told to be baptized and wash away his sins “calling on the name of the Lord”. Obviously, “calling on the name of the Lord” involved more that saying ‘Lord’, more than praying, amore than belief and more than repentance. Saul had done all of these things, but he still needed to call on the name of the Lord!

The phrase “calling on the name of the Lord” means to rely on His authority. Saul had not done this until he did what the Lord authorized (instructed), namely “be baptized”. (Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20, read Luke 24:47 along with Acts 2:5 & 38).

Please note, even though he had not eaten or drank for three days, he was baptized before he took food. (Acts 9:18-19) This shows the urgency of baptism. In fact, none of the new converts in the book of Acts ate, drank, slept or continued a journey until they had been baptized!

Baptism is specifically mentioned in all of the examples of the conversion of an alien sinner in the book of Acts. Love, grace, mercy, confession, repentance, and the blood of Christ are all necessary for salvation, but they are not specifically mentioned every time. Baptism is!

After one believes, repents and confesses Christ; baptism is the point at which we come “into Christ”. The act of being immersed in water and rising up out of the water symbolically recreates Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. It is this way God has appointed for us to contact Christ's death and be forgiven of our sins. Baptism is “for the remission of sins"!

"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord!" (Acts 22:16)

Answer 2

Baptism is not just a ritual.
If you do not feel led to do it, by all means do not do it, it has no value for you.

The bible tells us in the story of two different converts, different reactions to being saved.

The first that most of us have heard of is the theif on the cross,,whom was granted salvation and eternal life right there on the cross, no baptism needed.

The second is the story of the eunich in the book of acts. This eunich upon having the word of God explained to him through the book of Isiah and the apostle Peter, saw a body of water and immidiately wanted to be baptized, asking what is stopping me from being baptised right here and now?

Peter said nothing is stopping you, so the carriage stopped and they got out and went into the water, where Peter baptized the eunich.

You must feel the tug ang the need to be baptized. Only then will this outward symbol of an inward change have any real significance to you.

Answer 3

Baptismal regeneration is not a Biblical concept. Baptism does not save from sin, but from a bad conscience. Peter clearly taught that baptism was not a ceremonial act of physical purification, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior (cf. Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12). To make the source of salvation perfectly clear, Peter added, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Peter 1:3). Baptism is an important step of obedience that every Christian should take. Baptism cannot be a requirement for salvation. To make it such is an attack on the sufficiency of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ by Schriener and Wright.

Answer 4

Christians have always interpreted the Bible literally when it declares, "Baptism . . . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21; cf. Acts 2:38, 22:16, Rom. 6:3–4, Col. 2:11–12).

Thus the early Church Fathers wrote in the Nicene Creed (A.D. 381), "We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . . Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament [Mark 16:16]" (CCC 1257).

The Christian belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is so unshakable that even the Protestant Martin Luther affirmed the necessity of baptism. He wrote: "Baptism is no human plaything but is instituted by God himself. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. We are not to regard it as an indifferent matter, then, like putting on a new red coat. It is of the greatest importance that we regard baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted" (Large Catechism 4:6).

Yet Christians have also always realized that the necessity of water baptism is a normative rather than an absolute necessity. There are exceptions to water baptism: It is possible to be saved through "baptism of blood," martyrdom for Christ, or through "baptism of desire", that is, an explicit or even implicit desire for baptism.

Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized" (CCC 1281; the salvation of unbaptized infants is also possible under this system; cf. CCC 1260–1, 1283).

Answer 5

Baptism is a time where your religion is being initiated tp you as a person...may it be in a religion of Christianity or Islam...you cant be saved! Just like you are driving in a wrong track...

Answer 6

No you are saved when you ask Jesus Christ into your life, you first must have the complete belief that Jesus Christ went to the cross for your sins, in your place, then you must be willing to change, repent from sins, we all have sins, we were born into sin, we have turn away from the wrongs we do, then we must ask forgiveness, and mean it, and ask The Holy Spirit to fill us, when Jesus went to the cross, we were told we would not be left without a comforter that comforter is The Holy Spirit, WE are saved then we have the salvation, because we know Jesus Christ, We know what Jesus Has done, by taking on our sins, we no longer have to be seperated from God.
When you are saved then you can go and be baptized, to show that you have been saved. But you are saved before you are baptized.

Answer 7

The bible says we must be baptized in Jesus name by immersion to be saved. It clearly states we must be baptized by the blood and the spirit to enter heaven. It isjust about obedience and also its an outward sign of an inward faith.

Answer 8

If you are practicing the religion into which you are talking about getting baptized and believe in it, there's really no reason not to be baptized - but you can be saved without the physical act of baptizing.

Answer 9

Yes, you can be saved without it, but your walk with God will never go anywhere, because baptism is the first step.
There is no sin-cleansing power in water.
The only agent with sin-cleansing power is the blood of Jesus.

Answer 10

No!

There are three ways one may be baptized and be saved:

Baptism by water- Like those at Pentecost.

Baptism by desire- Like the thief on the cross.

Baptism by blood- To be martyred for God.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 11

read

ACTS 2:38
and MARK 16:16


you need to be baptized

I'm sure you will see several thumbs down, but remember, these are not my words, but God's Word thru the Bible