21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Peter 3:21-22)
There is no doubt that water baptism is important, not least because baptism is included in Jesus’ Great Commission:
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Even though water baptism is important, it is — despite the wording in 1 Peter above — not saving in the sense that it is a prerequisite for being saved for eternity. We understand this by interpreting the New Testament in its full context. Water baptism is, however, a natural consequence of faith, and it was because of baptism’s close connection to faith that Peter said that baptism “now saves us”.
(In fact, the Bible — besides water baptism — also speaks of other kinds of baptism, including the saving, regenerating baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit, which may be addressed in a future teaching article.)
The thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized in water, yet Jesus said of him that immediately after death, “today,” he would be with Him in Paradise.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians:
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” (1 Corinthians 1:17)
Water baptism is therefore — even though it is important and a natural consequence of faith in Christ — according to Paul of secondary importance in relation to the preaching of the gospel. Why? Because it is the gospel that awakens faith in our hearts, and it is the faith awakened by the preaching of the gospel that saves — not water baptism.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
There is a risk that water baptism becomes a “works doctrine,” both among advocates of infant baptism and believer’s baptism. In southern India, many Pentecostal pastors believe that a person cannot be saved unless they have been baptized as a believer. As a concrete example, I can mention a certain Pentecostal pastor I got to know whose brother was an Anglican priest, baptized as an infant. The Pentecostal pastor was completely convinced that his brother, the Anglican priest, could not be saved unless he was baptized as a believer. This is entirely incorrect! There are many genuinely believing people who were baptized as infants, who have never been baptized as believers, but who regard their infant baptism as their “real baptism.” I do not agree with them, since I myself am an advocate of believer’s baptism, but this does not mean they are not saved! It is not the baptism question that determines salvation, but whether we believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection and have confessed Him as Lord in our lives.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:9-14)
We are saved by grace through faith, by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord! The only “work” required is that we, through a conscious choice, receive Jesus into our hearts by declaring with our mouth that He is our personal Lord.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12 NKJV)
Infant baptism is widespread in many parts of the world, both within the Catholic Church and in Lutheran contexts. In Sweden, which previously had the Swedish Lutheran Church as a state church, infant baptism is very common, even among families without any genuine faith in Jesus. The result of how infant baptism is practiced is often that people with no intention whatsoever of following Christ can temporarily soothe their consciences by having their children baptized. The belief that a “splash of water” — without personal faith — can save a child has no support in the Bible whatsoever.
In all contexts in the Bible where water baptism is practiced in a normative way, it is exclusively connected to people having heard the gospel preached, having come to faith, and as a result of their faith in Jesus, letting themselves be baptized in water. There is not a single example in the entire New Testament of a living person being baptized without the gospel first being preached and the baptism subsequently taking place as a consequence of a personal faith in Jesus. (That certain Christians, according to Paul, practiced baptism for the already deceased—see 1 Cor. 15:29—should not be interpreted as this practice being endorsed by Paul or any of the other apostles.)
According to Peter, baptism is “the answer of a good conscience toward God.” Note that baptism is not the answer of a bad conscience toward God, but of a good conscience!
How does one get a good conscience before God? Only by first — by grace through faith — having one’s conscience cleansed from dead works because of what Jesus did on the cross. Dead works are all the works we perform so that the works themselves will make us righteous before God. Only when we have received the truth of the gospel that righteousness from God through faith is a gift and something we can never earn, can we have a good conscience before God. And when we through faith have had our consciences cleansed in Jesus’ blood, we should let ourselves be baptized into Christ. In this way, water baptism becomes the answer of a good conscience toward God.
The doctrine of infant baptism is incorrect and lacks biblical support. However, there are many wonderful and genuinely believing people — not least Lutheran priests — who were only baptized as infants. If you are a believer in Jesus and have only been baptized as an infant, you should let yourself be baptized as a believer. But the most important thing is not whether you were baptized as an infant or as a believer, but whether you have a living faith in Jesus Christ.
