Baptism for the Remission of Sins
By Jimmy Mick

We often encounter or hear of people who simply do not believe that baptism is a part of God's plan for our salvation. They may say that it is a good thing to do; Jesus was baptized you know. It certainly is a good thing to do, because the Bible tells us to be baptized. But does baptism have any connection with the forgiveness of sin? To answer this question, we must go to the Scriptures and examine what they teach. I hope and pray that those who read this article, regardless whether or not they have been baptized, will abandon any prejudices they have and simply accept what the Bible says.

In Mark 16:16, Mark, quoting our Lord, said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." In this statement, Jesus plainly taught that those who believe and are baptized will be saved. Are we saved at the point of belief, or must we also be baptized? Faith is an absolute necessity in the plan of salvation (Romans 5:1 and Hebrews 11:6). Yet, the Bible teaches that "faith only" does not save (James 2:24). In John 12:42, the Bible says, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue." Jesus said that if we are unwilling to confess Him, He will not confess us before the Father (Matthew 10:32, 33 and Romans 10:9, 10). These men were not saved at the point of faith; to be saved by God's grace, they needed to do something else.

I have heard people say, "This verse says if you do not believe, you will be condemned, but it does not say if you're not baptized, you will be condemned?" If I don't believe that Jesus is the Christ, why would I be baptized in His name? Why would I submit to Him if I don't believe in Him? There would be no need. I would just be getting wet. Some have contended that they can find the negative aspect of not having faith, repenting, and confessing, but there is no verse that says I'll lose my soul if I'm not baptized. Such is not the case. Look at John 3:5, "Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." What water did Jesus refer to in this text? "That water points definitely to the rite of baptism ..." (Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament vol. II, p. 91).

When Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35), that sermon obviously included something to cause him to believe he needed to be baptized. Notice the exchange between the two men, "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinder me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'" (Acts 8:36, 37) The very next verse (verse 38) says that Philip baptized him. He was born of water and of the Spirit--water when he was baptized, and the Spirit when he followed the Holy Spirit's instructions given through Philip, the man of God who "preached Jesus" to him!

How could these verses be any plainer? What about them would we need to change to show that it is not necessary for a person to be baptized to save him from his sins? Peter would have needed to say, "Repent and don't be baptized for the remission of sins." Ananias should have told Paul, "Arise, there's no need to be baptized, because your sins have already been washed away." Then Peter, in his epistle, should have said, "There is an antitype which does not save us, baptism." How sad it is to see people who refuse what the Lord tells them to do to receive remission of their sins.

Let me remind you of the words Naaman's servants spoke to him after he refused to do what the prophet Elisha told him to do to be cleansed of his leprosy. The Bible says, "And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'" (2 Kings 5:13) The Lord has also told us to do something simple. We are to believe (John 8:24), repent (Luke 13:3, 5), confess (Matthew 10:32,33 and Romans 10:9, 10), and be baptized (Mark 16:16 and Acts 22:16). If we do what He says, like Naaman of old, we will wash and be made clean.

Indeed, it is difficult to understand why people can read about the different acts of conversion and not understand that BAPTISM is absolutely necessary to receive remission of sins. All the Bible conversions ended at the WATER. Let's consider them briefly to see that this is true:


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