Baptism

Does Water Baptism Save?

An examination of the verses used to support baptismal regeneration, and what Scripture actually teaches about how we receive eternal life.

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Living document — Last updated 5/12/2026 - 11:24 PM. This page will be updated as new objections arise and verses are studied more deeply.

Why am I writing this?

I’ve heard different perspectives on water baptism saving us and/or giving us the Holy Spirit, and I want to clear this up. Ultimately I want to know what the Biblical perspective is and from what I’ve read, researched and seen, water baptism NEITHER saves us nor is what gives us the Holy Spirit.

To clarify, by ‘save’ I mean what it necessary for us to have eternal life/go to Heaven.

What Am I Not Saying?

I AM NOT SAYING THAT WATER BAPTISM IS BAD. I want to be very clear that God wants us to get baptized once we become believers. However, with water baptism being a physical work that we partake in (ergōn - Strong’s 2041) and done after we believe the Gospel, that water baptism does not save us.

I make the physical works distinction because there are numerous verses that say we are not saved by our works either. More on that here: Our Works Don’t Play Any Part In Us Getting To Enter Heaven

Verses Supporting This View

The following verses (ESV) say that we are NOT saved/received the Holy Spirit by water baptism:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 3:11

  • There is a separation here between water baptism and a later baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit. As you will see in the later verses, Acts 11:15-17 explicitly equates this Holy Spirit baptism with salvation, given to us when we believe.

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Luke 3:16

  • Parallel account to Matthew 3:11
  • As you will see in the later verses, Acts 11:15-17 explicitly equates this Holy Spirit baptism with salvation, given to us when we believe.

“I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”

Luke 12:50

  • The Greek word for baptism is βάπτισμα (baptisma - Strong’s 908), translating to immersion (technically or figuratively).
  • The Greek word for to be baptized with is βαπτισθῆναι (baptisthēnai - Strong’s 907), translating to “to immerse”, “submerge”
  • Context:
    • Luke 3:21 - When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
  • Jesus was already water baptized by John way earlier, so what baptism is he talking about? If you always read baptism as water baptism, this would make no sense. But if you read it knowing that the Greek word means “to immerse” or “submerge”, you can gather from the context what the baptism is into.

    In this case, the baptism Jesus is distressing over his is immersion into death on the cross.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

John 3:5-6

  • Context:
    • John 3:3-4 - Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
  • Many people strip John 3:5 out of context, ignoring verse six which clarifies what Jesus means by “born of water and the Spirit”. Born of water means our natural birth, evidenced by Nicodemus’ question just prior being answered by this and the following verse saying “That which is born of the flesh is flesh”

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:4-5

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Acts 10:43-48

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

Acts 11:15-17

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:14-17

  • Notice that water baptism and preaching the gospel are separated here: ‘not to baptize, but to preach the gospel’.

    “So what? That doesn’t mean that baptism doesn’t save!” It actually does, as Paul mentions in multiple places that it is the gospel that saves. If water baptism is not part of the gospel, then it is not what saves us.
    • Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
    • 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 - For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
    • 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

1 Corinthians 10:1-2

  • The Greek word for were baptized is ἐβαπτίσαντο (ebaptisanto - Strong’s 907), translating to “To baptize”, “to immerse”, “to dip”
  • Similar to Luke 12:50, the context of the verse tells us what the baptism is into. It is not always water.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13

  • The Greek word for were baptized is ἐβαπτίσθημεν (ebaptisthēmen - Strong’s 907), translating to “To baptize”, “to immerse”, “to dip”
  • Again, like Luke 12:50 and 1 Corinthians 10:2, the context of the verse tells us what the baptism is into. It is not always water.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 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 3:18-21

  • This verse is often ripped out of it’s context, as you see in the verses against section. The context is talking about Christ and Noah’s ark.
  • The Greek word for did not obey used here is ἀπειθήσασίν (apeithēsasin - Strong’s 544), translating to “to disbelieve” (willfully and perversely).
  • The Greek word for Baptism used here is βάπτισμα (baptisma - Strong’s 908), translating to immersion (technically or figuratively)
  • The non-sequitur that needs to be addressed is regarding the word baptism, that it always implies water baptism. The word translates to immersion/submersion, and the context will tell us what this immersion/submersion is into.
    • Luke 3:15-16 - As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
    • Luke 12:50 - “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”
    • Acts 1:4-5 - And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
    • 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 - For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
  • In the days of Noah, was it the water that saved them, or the ark?
    • Hebrews 11:7 - By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
    • Obviously it was the ark, as whatever/whoever was not in the ark was killed by the water. Peter is then equating believing/trusting in Christ as being the ark that saves us today, clarifying that He is the subject of this correlation in verse 18.
  • Peter explicitly defines what baptism he’s talking about “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.” With the established baptism context distinction, the identification of the water being the judgement & ark being salvation, and the context relating the ark to Jesus, the baptism that corresponds to this is not water baptism, but immersion into Christ. This fits perfectly with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as John the baptist, the apostles, and Jesus himself mention throughout the New Testament.

Arguments Used To Support This View

Water symbolizes Christ, not strictly water baptism

The Old and New Testament at times compare Jesus and the Spirit to water. This becomes relevant in the verses used against section, where some verses reference washing and/or water. The context is needed to determine what the water/washing represents (broken down later in said verses).

  • Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
  • Jeremiah 2:13 - for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
  • John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
  • John 7:37-39 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:4 - and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
    • Referencing Exodus 17:6 - Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
  • Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
  • Revelation 21:6 - And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”
  • Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Verses Used Against This View

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Mark 16:16

  • The Greek word for baptized is βαπτισθεὶς (baptistheis - Strong’s 907), translating to “to immerse, submerge”.
  • Note: Mark 16:9-20 is not found in the earliest manuscripts (Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus), and of the manuscripts that do contain it, there are many variants and some contradictions with the parallel Gospel accounts.
    • I will still address the verse, but it’s important to keep this in mind.
  • If we are to say this baptism is water baptism, then there are three groups of people here:
    • Those who believe and are water baptized
    • Those who do not believe
    • Those who just believe
    The first two are mentioned in this verse, but the last is not mentioned here. The group of people who believe but have not been water baptized (who just believe) are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture as also being saved:
    • John 6:47 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”
    • Acts 10:42-43 - “And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
    • Ephesians 1:13-14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
    To say that water baptism is required for salvation would mean you’d have to say these verses (of which there are many more) are wrong, or at the very least misleading.
  • It’s not immediately clear if “baptized” here is talking about water baptism or Holy Spirit baptism:
    • Mark 1:7-8 - And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
    • Luke 3:16 - John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
    • John 1:33 - I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
    • Acts 1:5 - for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
    • Acts 11:15-16 - As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
  • If this is talking about the physical act of water baptism, then I don’t see how you reconcile that against the numerous verses that say we are saved not by works (ergōn - Strong’s 2041, translating to deed, action, task, or labor). See this page for more on this topic.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5

  • Context:
    • John 3:3-4 - Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
    • John 3:6 - “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
    • John 1:12-13 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
    • 1 Peter 1:23 - since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
    • 1 John 5:1 - Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
  • Jesus clarifies in the very next verse what He means by “born of water and the Spirit”, born of water correlating to being born of flesh, born of the Spirit being born Spiritually (Holy Spirit baptism).
    • To illustrate this parallelism:
      Verse 5 → Verse 6
      “born of water” → “born of flesh”
      ”born of Spirit” → “born of Spirit”
  • If being “born or water” meant water baptism, then there’s a problem. Jesus states an absolute, that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” If this means that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are water baptized and given the Spirit, what of those that were not water baptized?
    • Luke 23:39-43 - One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
      • “The thief on the cross was before water baptism was instituted!” Was it? Jesus had the conversation with Nicodemus far before He was on the cross.
      • “Well Jesus had to die on the cross first before water baptism applied!” Okay I’ll grant that, but it doesn’t help your case. Jesus died first, then the thieves.
        • John 19:31-33 - Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
    • Genesis 5:22-24 - Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
    • Hebrews 11:5 - By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
      • All the characters mentioned in Hebrews 11 as well apply.
  • If being water baptized was part of the gospel, how to be saved, how do you reconcile the verses in support that exclude water baptism from the gospel?
    • 1 Corinthians 1:17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
    • John 1:12 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
    • John 5:24 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
    • John 6:47 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”
    • John 20:31 - but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
    • Acts 10:43 - “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
    • Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
    • 1 Timothy 1:16 - But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
  • “Well Jesus said we must be ‘born of water’. What’s that water supposed to point to then?” If you don’t buy the natural birth context of John 3, then there’s another interpretation. Like I mentioned in the Arguments to Support section, the New and Old Testament actually tells us, Jesus/God is the living water:
    • Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
    • Jeremiah 2:13 - for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
    • John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
    • John 7:37-39 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    • 1 Corinthians 10:4 - and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
      • Referencing Exodus 17:6 - Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
    • Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
    • Revelation 21:6 - And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”
    • Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2:38

  • This is one of the better verses to use for water baptism saving us. However, there’s a problem here when we bring in the context.
  • The Greek word for for the is εἰς (eis - Strong’s 1519), translating to:
    1. to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time
    1. (figuratively) to or into a purpose (result, etc.)
  • The greek word “eis” is also used in a causal sense, as “at” or “because of”. This is not my only argument, but is important to keep in mind.
    • Luke 11:32 - The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
    • Matthew 12:42 - The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
    • Matthew 3:11 - “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
    • Matthew 10:41 - The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
  • Context:
    • Acts 2:37 - Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
    • Acts 3:19 - Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
      • Significant because this is the same Peter, in the same city, in the same time period, yet he drops the water baptism requirement.
  • Question #1: if you believe Acts 2:38 says that water baptism is necessary to be saved, how do you reconcile the other verses in Acts and in other books that say believing in Jesus is all you need to be saved?
    • Acts 10:43-48 - “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
    • Acts 13:38-39 - Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
    • Acts 16:30-32 - Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
    • John 3:16-18 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
    • John 5:24 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
    • Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
    • Romans 4:5-8 - And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
      “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
    • Galatians 3:22 - But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
    • 1 Timothy 1:16 - But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
  • There’s a simple resolution to this, which lies in the questions asked in Acts 2:38 and Acts 16:30, “Brothers, what shall we do?” and “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” respectively. Yes, water baptism is important, as Jesus told us to be water baptized. However, in terms of what saves us, I’m going to go with the clear verse of Acts 16:30-31 on that.
  • Question #2: if both repentance AND water baptism are necessary to be saved, then how do you reconcile the other verse in Acts and in other books that repentance is what leads to salvation? Note: repent (Greek word metanoeó) means “change of mind”, not “change of action” or “turn from sin (stop sinning)”.
    • Acts 3:19 - Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
    • Acts 26:18-20 - “’to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”
    • Luke 24:46-47 - and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
    • 2 Corinthians 7:10 - For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
  • The resolution to this is similar to Mark 16:16. It is true that those that repent and are water baptized are forgiven of their sin, the same way that those that just repent are forgiven of their sin. With all the verses and context in mind, you’re left with the common denominator, that repentance is what leads to forgiveness of sin.
  • “Well then which is it? Is it repentance or is it believing in Jesus that forgives us of our sins?” Both, as they are one in the same. When you acknowledge the Biblical definition for repent being a “change of mind”, then changing your mind about sin and changing your mind about Jesus, your need for Him, are synonymous. That is why Jesus can say in Mark 1:15 - “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Acts 22:16

  • Context:
    • Acts 22:1-2 - “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
    • Acts 22:12-22 - “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

      “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

      Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”
    • Acts 9:17-19 - So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.
    • Acts 10:44-48 - While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
    • Acts 11:13-17 - “And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
    • Acts 15:6-11 - The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
    • Acts 16:30-32 - Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
  • From the context, we can see that Paul is recounting his testimony to a crowd of unbelievers. We know they are unbelievers because of verse 22: “Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.’”
  • Similar to Acts 2:38, if you believe that this verse means water baptism is necessary to be saved, how do you reconcile the other verses in Acts that say believing in Jesus is all you need to be saved? Acts 22:16 cannot mean water baptism saves because Acts 10 explicitly disproves that reading. Luke would not contradict himself within the same book.
  • So how do I reconcile the two? Acts 9 & 22 are Paul’s story of his conversion, that he rose, was baptized, and had his sins washed away. Acts 10 & 16 (sticking with Acts for this argument, more verses exist in line with these) explicitly tell us how to be saved. Just like with our own testimonies, they are not a rule of faith when other verses exist that would contradict what you may say happened to you.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3-4

  • The Greek word for have been baptized is ἐβαπτίσθημεν (ebaptisthēmen - Strong’s 907), translating to “To baptize”, “to immerse”, “to dip”
  • As I broke down in the verses in support (Luke 12:50, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:13), the context will tell us what the baptism/immersion is into; it is not always water. Here it clearly is talking about immersion into Christ and His death, not into water.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11

  • This verse does not say “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by your water baptism.” No, it says “by the Spirit of our God”, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
    • When does this Holy Spirit baptism happen? When we believe/trust in Jesus Christ.
      • John 7:37-39 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
      • Acts 10:43-44 - To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
      • Acts 11:15-17 - As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
      • Galatians 3:2-3 - Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
      • Ephesians 1:13-14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Galatians 3:27

  • As I broke down in the verses in support (Luke 12:50, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:13), the context will tell us what the baptism/immersion is into; it is not always water. Here it clearly is talking about immersion into Christ, not into water.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Ephesians 5:25–26

  • This one is straight forward: what is the “washing of water” done with? The word, not with/through water baptism. What does the word represent? Jesus and the Gospel:
    • John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    • John 15:3 - ”Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”
    • John 17:17-19 - “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
    • Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
    • Ephesians 1:13 - And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
    • Colossians 1:5-6 - because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
    • 2 Timothy 3:15-17 - and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
    • James 1:18 - Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
    • 1 Peter 1:23-25 - since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
  • “What about the ‘washing of water’? What’s that supposed to point to then?” Like I mentioned in the Arguments to Support section, the New and Old Testament actually tells us, Jesus/God is the living water:
    • Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
    • Jeremiah 2:13 - for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
    • John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
    • John 7:37-39 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    • 1 Corinthians 10:4 - and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
      • Referencing Exodus 17:6 - Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
    • Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
    • Revelation 21:6 - And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”
    • Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11-12

  • Question, if you believe that this is water baptism, something done with hands, how do you reconcile “a circumcision made without hands”?
  • As I broke down in the verses in support (Luke 12:50, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:13), the context will tell us what the baptism/immersion is into; it is not always water. Here it clearly is talking about immersion into Christ, not into water.
    • The verse continues on to say: “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith”, not “through water baptism”.

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Titus 3:5

  • The Greek word for works is ἔργων (ergōn - Strong’s 2041), translating to work, deed, action, task, labor.
    • HELPS Word-studies - 2041 érgon (from ergō, "to work, accomplish") – a work or worker who accomplishes something. érgon ("work") is a deed (action) that carries out (completes) an inner desire (intension, purpose).
  • Context:
    • Titus 3:3-7 - But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
    • Romans 4:4-5 - Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
    • Romans 11:6 - And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
    • Galatians 3:2-3 - Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
    • Galatians 5:1-5 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
    • Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
  • The verse itself rules out any “works done by us in righteousness”, which would include the physical act of water baptism. It then tells us what has saved us, “according to his own mercy” and “being justified by his grace”. Paul clarifies in multiple letters that if we are saved by grace, then it cannot be based on works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
  • “What about the ‘washing of regeneration’? What’s that supposed to point to then?” Like I mentioned in the Arguments to Support section, the New and Old Testament actually tells us, Jesus/God is the living water:
    • Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
    • Jeremiah 2:13 - for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
    • John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
    • John 7:37-39 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    • 1 Corinthians 10:4 - and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
      • Referencing Exodus 17:6 - Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
    • Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
    • Revelation 21:6 - And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”
    • Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
  • “Well water baptism isn’t something we do, it’s something done to us! It’s not my works, it’s God’s work!” Please read the Greek word for work I denoted at the start of this verse breakdown. Regardless of how you defined it, you still physically got up and performed the deed of getting water baptized. If you count that physical action as even part of what saves you, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
  • When Paul speaks of the works that God told him to do, he still regarded those works as something he did, even though God empowered him to do such works.
    • Romans 15:17 - In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
    • 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
    • 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 - For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
      • The context tells us what Paul means by “though it was not I”; Paul on his own persecuted the Church, but God changed him by grace. Despite this, Paul still says that “I worked”.
    • Colossians 1:29 - For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:22

  • Context:
    • Hebrews 10:19-22 - Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
    • Hebrews 9:13-14 - For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
    • Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
    • Ephesians 3:11-12 - This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
  • Like I mentioned with Ephesians 5:25-26 and Titus 3:5, the context tells us what this washing is; it is not always water baptism. What sprinkled our hearts clean and what the pure water is that washed us is according to the context the blood of Jesus Christ.

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you,

1 Peter 3:21a

  • Addressed in verses in support. TL;DR, this verse can only be used to argue water baptism saves if it is out of context.

How To Change My Mind

As I mentioned in the beginning of this document, I want the Biblical perspective on this. In order to convince me that I’m wrong on this topic, I’d need the following (in order of significance)

  1. An explanation of all (or at least most) of the verses in support by
    • Using the context of the verse and the rest of the Bible
    • Bringing up the Greek/Hebrew word
    • Then from either/both of those, make your case
  2. A refutation of my explanations of the verses against. I’ve used a similar framework that I just listed to explain these verses.
  3. Responding to my arguments for my position.
    • This is secondary; if you can show all the verses in context do not support my position, that’d knock the foundation of these arguments.

More to explore

Browse the other apologetic writings, or start with the full Gospel presentation.

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