Do people today have to be baptized in order to be saved?
It's a great question.
To begin with, there are some pretty simple passages in the New Testament
that appear to teach that this is the case.
Mark 16:16 Jesus Himself said:
In Acts 2:38 the apostle Peter says:
The apostle Paul was told:
Acts 22:16.
The passages which teach and require baptism for salvation are clear and abundant,
but what about the thief on the cross?
When presented with passages such as these, a very common objection is that the
thief on the cross wasn't baptized, but he was saved so I must not need
to be baptized in order to be saved either.
Well, let's examine this question together.
The crucifixion of Jesus took place on Calvary's Hill--a place called Golgotha.
He was hung on a cross between two thieves-- a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12.
Early in the day of the crucifixion,
both of the thieves insulted Jesus and mocked him.
But as the day progressed one of the thieves had a change of heart and said to Jesus,
"Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom."
And Jesus responded, "Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise."
Jesus clearly gave assurance to this thief that he would be saved.
He would go to paradise.
But wait. What about the commandment to be baptized?
Jesus Himself said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."
Is the thief proof that a person doesn't really need to be baptized in order to be saved?
What's going on here?
First, it's important to realize at this point the baptism of Christ was not yet in effect.
What does that mean?
At the time Jesus had the conversation with this thief it would be over 40 more days
before Jesus would utter the words of Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved,"
and it would be another 10 days after that before the baptism of Christ
was actually practiced for the first time in Acts 2:38--the day that the church began.
Romans 6:4 teaches that when a person is baptized today
he is buried with Christ by baptism into His death.
The thief couldn't have been buried with Christ into His death
because Christ hadn't died yet at the time He spoke to the thief.
To make it plain, the thief on the cross never became a Christian.
He was saved and died under the Old Testament Jewish system--the Law of Moses.
This was in effect for the Jews from its beginning at Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus
all the way up until Acts 2 when the New Testament--
the law of Christ--finally came into effect.
Since the command to be baptized into Christ is part of the New Testament law,
it didn't apply to the thief on the cross
just like the laws of another country don't apply to you.
Here's another thing:
In Mark 2 we learned that while Jesus was here on Earth--
while He was alive-- He could forgive people as He wished,
but what about after He died?
After He died, His will or testament went into effect
and the only way that we can be forgiven today
is by complying with the terms of His will, which we call the New Testament.
Hebrews 9:16 expounds upon this:
For example, let's say that you have a lot of money.
If you wanted to give some to a friend or a stranger, could you?
Yeah. Easy enough.
But what about after you died? How could you give money to people then?
By leaving a will. And if people follow your will
and you said to do this or that, they could get some money too. Why?
Because a will or a testament is in force after men are dead.
We do this all the time, and it's the same way with Jesus.
While He was alive, He could simply give out
forgiveness as He wished, like the thief on the cross.
But after He died, forgiveness is only given
by the terms of His will-- the New Testament--
and it states, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."
When a person understands that the command to be baptized came after the thief's lifetime,
the thief lived and died under the Law of Moses-- he never became a Christian--
and, finally, that Jesus' death ushered in His new testament law
then the question about whether we can be saved like the thief on the cross is settled.
We can't be saved like the thief on the cross
any more than we can be saved like Noah-- building a boat won't save any of us.
But we can be saved like the people in Acts 2
or like the Ethiopian in Acts 8 or like the Philippian jailer in Acts 16
or like anyone else who has lived during the law of Christ.
If we want to be saved today, it has to be by hearing the Gospel,
believing it, repenting of our sins, confessing our faith in Christ Jesus,
and being baptized in water for the remission of our sins.
If you'd like to learn more, please reach out to us.
We'd love to open up our Bibles together and study with you.