Is baptism necessary for salvation?

By CP Contributor, Friday, September 12, 2025Orthodox baptism of a child | iStock/Sviatlana LazarenkaDepending on when and where you lived in church history, your answer to this question could have been a matter of life and death. The Anabaptists suffered persecution and sometimes death because of their differing views on baptism compared to the traditional view. Among the disagreements was the issue of whether baptism is necessary for salvation, or baptismal regeneration. Verses that suggest baptismal regenerationSome passages in the New Testament seem, at first glance, to teach that baptism itself brings forgiveness of sins or even salvation. Acts 2:38 – After Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, the crowd asks what they must do to be saved. He replies, “Repent and be baptized … for the forgiveness of your sins.” The close link between baptism and forgiveness has led some to argue that the act of baptism is itself saving.Romans 6:3-4 – Paul writes that believers are “baptized into Christ Jesus” and into His death, then raised with Him to new life. The imagery of union with Christ is so closely tied to baptism that many see baptism as the very means by which this union occurs.1 Peter 3:21 – Perhaps the strongest passage, Peter says plainly, “Baptism now saves you.” This text has often been used to argue that water baptism itself brings salvation.How many respondMost evangelical interpreters, however, stress that Scripture must be read as a whole. Salvation is consistently taught to be by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes this explicit: salvation is “by grace … through faith … not of works.” Baptism, important as it is, cannot be placed in a category that makes it necessary for salvation without undermining the heart of the gospel.So how do evangelicals respond to the passages above?In Acts 2:38, Peter’s words are often understood as a call to repentance and faith, with baptism being the outward expression of that repentance. Baptism is linked to forgiveness, not as the cause, but as the sign.In Romans 6, Paul uses baptism as a shorthand for conversion itself. In the early church, faith, repentance, and baptism were so closely joined that baptism became the symbol of the whole saving event. Paul is not teaching that water itself unites us to Christ, but that baptism points to the union with Christ that happens by faith.In 1 Peter 3, Peter himself clarifies what he means: “not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” Baptism “saves” not because of water, but because it represents the appeal of faith in Christ’s resurrection.A helpful analogy is a wedding ceremony. A wedding does not cause love between husband and wife, but it is the God-ordained way to publicly express and seal that love. Baptism is like that: it does not cause salvation, but it is the God-ordained way to publicly profess and display it.A spectrum of perspectivesAcross the Christian tradition, different groups have answered the baptism question differently.Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox see baptism as a sacrament that actually conveys grace, washing away original sin and making one part of Christ’s body.Lutheran & Anglican hold that baptism saves and is a means of grace. However, it must be received with faith, and without faith baptism has no saving effect.Reformed (Presbyterian) understand baptism as a covenant sign, similar to circumcision in the Old Testament. It marks someone as belonging to God’s people, but does not guarantee salvation.Baptist & many Evangelical churches view baptism as symbolic, an outward testimony of inward faith. Baptism does not forgive sins but shows that forgiveness has already happened through grace and faith in Christ.Why the answer mattersSome might say baptism is a secondary issue, especially in Baptist and evangelical circles. After all, people can be saved without baptism—as the thief on the cross was (Luke 23:43). Yet, how we answer this question touches on the very heart of the gospel. If we say baptism is necessary for salvation, we risk teaching that salvation is not by grace alone, but by grace plus a ritual. On the other hand, if we neglect baptism entirely, we disobey Jesus’ command to “make disciples … baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).The question also connects to infant baptism. If baptism is necessary for forgiveness, then baptizing infants seems urgent. If baptism is a public profession of faith, then infant baptism has no place. Our view of baptism is never just about the ceremony—it reveals how we understand faith, grace, and salvation itself.