THE BAPTISM QUESTION
Bible Study 1 — Why Baptism?
If baptism were only a minor part of the Christian faith, we would expect the New Testament to mention it only occasionally. Instead, we find it from the beginning of Jesus' ministry to the end of the book of Acts and throughout the letters of the apostles.
John the Baptist came preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Jesus Himself was baptized, not because He needed forgiveness, but to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). Before returning to heaven, He commanded His disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
The book of Acts records the growth of the early church. Again and again, those who believed the gospel were baptized. Jews, Samaritans, an Ethiopian official, Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius, Lydia, the Philippian jailer, the Corinthians, and the disciples at Ephesus all shared this experience.
Baptism is never treated as an unusual event. It is presented as the normal response of those who accepted the gospel.
The letters of the New Testament continue the same emphasis. Paul speaks of being buried with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3–4), clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27), and baptized into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). Peter writes that baptism now saves—not because water removes dirt from the body, but because it is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21).
Simply observing these passages raises an important question:
Why does the New Testament place such consistent emphasis on baptism?
Before deciding what baptism means, or debating when, where, or how it should be practiced, we should first recognize an obvious fact:
The biblical writers considered baptism important.
That observation does not settle every question, but it tells us where to begin. If Jesus commanded it, the apostles preached it, and the early Christians practiced it, baptism deserves careful study.
In the studies that follow, we will not begin with church history or denominational teaching.
We will begin with the text itself.
GOING DEEPER
The passages above establish that baptism mattered to Jesus and the apostles. But they raise a more difficult question:
What exactly did the New Testament writers believe was happening when a person was baptized?
Christians sometimes describe baptism in very different ways. Some regard it primarily as a public testimony of a salvation that has already taken place. Others understand baptism as part of the response by which a believer comes to Christ. Still others connect baptism with church membership, covenant membership, or the reception of God's grace.
Rather than beginning with any of those conclusions, let's begin with the language of the New Testament.
Look at the Words Connected With Baptism
Notice what the biblical writers actually say:
Acts 2:38 — Peter connects repentance and baptism with the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 22:16 — Ananias tells Saul, “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”
Romans 6:3–4 — Paul says those baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death and were buried with Him through baptism.
Galatians 3:26–27 — Paul connects faith with baptism: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Colossians 2:12 — Paul describes believers as buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him through faith in the working of God.
1 Peter 3:21 — Peter makes the striking statement, “baptism now saves you,” and immediately explains that he is not talking about washing dirt from the body. Its significance rests in an appeal to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Whatever conclusions we eventually reach, we should not make these passages say less—or more—than their authors intended.
The Power Is Not in the Water
There is something else worth observing.
When people in Acts respond to the gospel, the writers do not describe baptism as an achievement by which someone earns salvation. The person being baptized is not purchasing forgiveness or performing some great work worthy of God's reward.
The saving power belongs to God, not to the water.
That becomes particularly clear in Colossians 2:12. Paul describes baptism as the setting in which a believer is buried and raised with Christ through faith in the working of God.
The person being baptized is trusting what God does.
That should caution us against two opposite mistakes.
We should not turn baptism into a human work that somehow earns salvation.
But neither should we dismiss baptism as unimportant when Jesus commanded it and the apostles repeatedly connected it with the believer's response to the gospel.
Start With the Question the Text Raises
Instead of beginning with:
“Is baptism necessary for salvation?”
perhaps we should begin one step earlier:
“What place did Jesus and His apostles give baptism when they preached the gospel?”
Then we can examine each passage in its own context.
When was baptism commanded?
Who was baptized?
What had that person heard and believed?
What was that person told baptism meant?
Was baptism presented as something to be done eventually—or as part of the immediate response to the gospel?
Those are questions the text itself can answer.
One Pattern Is Hard to Miss
As we work through Acts, something becomes increasingly noticeable.
People hear the gospel.
They believe.
They respond.
And they are baptized.
Sometimes we are given considerable detail. Sometimes Luke tells the story in only a few sentences. But baptism repeatedly appears at the beginning of Christian discipleship rather than years or months afterward.
That doesn't answer every difficult question. We still need to examine the thief on the cross, Cornelius, Saul's conversion, salvation by grace through faith, and other passages commonly raised in discussions about baptism.
And we will.
But we should not allow the difficult passages to erase the clear ones—or the clear passages to keep us from honestly examining the difficult ones.
Our purpose is not to prove what we already believe.
Our purpose is to ask:
What does the text actually say?
Remember: Faith Is Not Passive
Salvation is God's gift. We do not earn forgiveness or eternal life.
But biblical faith is not merely believing facts.
Hebrews 11 repeatedly describes faith responding to God. By faith Noah built the ark. By faith Abraham left his homeland. By faith Israel crossed the Red Sea.
Their actions did not earn God's promises.
They acted because they trusted God.
That distinction is important when we come to baptism. The question is not whether someone has done something. The question is whether that action is an attempt to earn salvation or a trusting response to what God has said.
Grace provides salvation. Faith trusts God enough to respond.
Continue Your Study
Next Bible Study
Water, Cleansing, and New Beginnings
Baptism did not suddenly appear with John the Baptist. For centuries, water had been associated with cleansing, judgment, deliverance, and new beginnings. What can that background teach us before we come to John and Christian baptism?
After That
Why did thousands of Jews come to John to be baptized? What was the purpose of his baptism, and how did it prepare the way for Jesus Christ?
Related Bible Studies
* How Does God Reveal His Will?
* What Did Jesus Teach About Baptism?
Companion Video
Why Baptism?
Read First. Conclude Later.
And now we have our exact next page:
Water, Cleansing, and New Beginnings