There are numerous places in the New Testament that refer to baptism. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples to go and baptize all nations. In Mark 16:16, Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned." In Acts 2:38, as already mentioned, after the people asked what they needed to do, Peter said, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Verse 41 says "those who received his word were baptized" and there were about 3000 then added to the church. In Acts 22:16, Ananias told Saul, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
The Bible teaches that salvation is only through Christ, the Son of God (John 14:6; 1 John 5:11-13). It also teaches that we put Christ on through baptism. In Galations 3:27, Paul says, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Paul reminds Christians in Romans 6:3-4 that "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death." He says that just as Christ died, was buried, and was raised again, so also we "through baptism [are raised to] walk in newness of life." Notice Paul does not say that baptism is symbolic of salvation; it is not our re-enactment of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is, in fact, God's re-enacting such in us as He gives to us at that point a brand new of life in Jesus! (See also Colossians 2:12-13.)
1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches the same thing: "By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." Just as Paul said to the Romans, it is at the point of baptism that we come into the body, or church of Christ. 1 Peter 3:20-21 says, "In [the ark] a few, that is, eight persons, were saved by water. And corresponding to that (the like figure), 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."
The Purpose of Baptism
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Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." [to be a disciple]
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Mark 16:15-16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." [to be saved]
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Acts 2:38 "Peter said unto them, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." [to receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit]
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Acts 2:41 "So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousands souls." [to be added to the Lord's church]
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Acts 22:16 Ananias told Saul, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." [to wash away sins]
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Romans 6:3-5 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." [to be buried into Christ's death and be raised to a new life; to be resurrected with Christ]
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1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." [to enter the body of Christ, the church]
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Galations 3:27 "All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." [to put on Christ]
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Colossians 2:12-13 "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions." [to be buried with Christ and raised up; to be made alive in Christ; in order to be forgiven of all transgressions]
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1 Peter 3:20-21 "In the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. And 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." [to be saved; to appeal to God for a good conscience]
Some have counted about 60 places in the NT that speak of necessity of faith in salvation and thus conclude that faith is all that is needed. But the NT also speaks of repentance about 40 times and baptism about 30 times. In one place it teaches that faith saves us; in another it says that without repentance there is no salvation; in another it says that baptism saves us. Is it not reasonable to conclude that all three are necessary for salvation?! There are numerous verses about the need for each one of these; why leave any one of them out?
In the book of Acts, when the question was asked, "What must I do to be saved?" some were told they needed to believe because they had not yet done so. Others were told to repent because they had not yet done that. And still others were told to be baptized because that still needed to be done. If the NT and its teachings are taken as a whole, then it is certainly reasonable to conclude that God requires faith, repentance, and baptism for a person to be saved.
When Were They Saved in Acts Chapter 2?
Acts 2 is one of the most fascinating chapters in the Bible. It records the events of the day of Pentecost just a few weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus. As John the Baptist and Jesus had both promised (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5), the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and were given the miraculous ability to speak in languages they had not previously known.
Peter then proceeds to preach one of the great sermons of all time to the thousands who had gathered there in Jerusalem. Peter concludes his sermon with these words, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:36)."
Peter's sermon accomplished its purpose as we see the people "pierced to the heart" and asking Peter and the other apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" They believed what Peter had said in his sermon; they were convinced and convicted of their sin of rejecting and killing Jesus. Peter's response to them was, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)."
At what point were they saved? On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to them about Jesus and His crucifixion. In Acts 2:37, it says, "When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?" They had listened to Peter and had come to believe that they had, in fact, crucified the Son of God. It was at this point that they believed. But was that belief enough to save them?
Apparently not, or else Peter would have answered their question by saying something like: "There is nothing you need to do now; you're already saved because of your belief. Go and try to live for Christ now." But that is not what Peter said. In verse 38, Peter first told them they needed to repent. To repent means to turn around and change directions. For the people listening to Peter, it meant to turn away from their sin and their fight against Jesus; they needed to turn to Him and accept Him and His way of life. (Repentance is also taught in several other places in the book of Acts as a necessary part of God's plan of salvation: Acts 3:19; 5:31; 17:30.) Would then their faith coupled with repentance be all that was needed for salvation?
No, because Peter also told them to be baptized for the remission of their sins. In fact, it is clear that they were still not saved before baptism because in verse 40 Peter kept preaching, saying "Be saved from this perverse generation."
But then we come to verse 41: "So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls." Verse 47 goes on to say, "And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." At what point were they saved? It could not be said much clearer than what it says in verse 41. They were baptized and were then added to the Lord's church. The Bible teaches that it was at the point of baptism that they came into a saved relationship with the Lord.
