62: Acts 2:38: Baptized for Forgiveness or Because of It?

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63: Why 1 Enoch Shouldn’t Shape Your View of Genesis

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Welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to inquisitive

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Bible students exploring Biblical truths that might not be fully explored in typical sermons or Bible studies.

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My name is Eddie Lawrence. You open your Bible, read

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Acts 2 .38, and then pause. Does baptism follow forgiveness or lead to it?

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One tiny word holds the key. You're sitting at the kitchen table with an open

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Bible and a friend who's eager to learn. You've just read Acts 2 .38

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out loud. Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.

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Your friend pauses and says, I thought baptism isn't necessary for salvation.

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My pastor said the word for is a translation of the Greek word ais, which means because of.

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So someone baptized them because God had already forgiven their sins.

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Maybe you've heard that before and maybe you've even wondered if it's true. After all, if the

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Greek word ais, which is translated for in Acts 2 .38, really means because of, then

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Peter wasn't saying baptism has anything to do with receiving forgiveness. But if ais means in order to receive or into, then this verse teaches something far more serious.

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One small word, ais, is the centerpiece of a debate over whether baptism is symbolic or essential.

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To understand how this tiny word affects our interpretation, let's examine what ais means in Greek and how it's used in the

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New Testament. Now, anyone who has listened to my podcast knows that I absolutely butcher

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Hebrew and Greek words. However, this is one word I can actually pronounce.

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The Greek word ais is spelled or transliterated as E -I -S and it's pronounced ice as an ice cube.

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So I have no trouble pronouncing that one. But this word appears over 1 ,800 times in the

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New Testament and it's best understood by examining how ancient sources used it.

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To understand what this word meant in the 1st century, we'll turn to BDAG, the most respected

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Greek lexicon for New Testament studies. BDAG is named after its editors,

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Bauer, Denker, Arendt, and Gingrich. BDAG provides detailed definitions based on how words were actually used in ancient texts.

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Scholars value it because it draws from thousands of sources, letters, inscriptions, and classical literature to show what

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Greek words meant in the world of the New Testament. So how does BDAG define ais?

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The full entry runs nearly 4 ,000 words or about 9 pages when pasted into a word document.

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So what follows is a summarized definition. BDAG lists 10 major categories for the preposition ais.

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Most involve movement into, toward, or resulting in something.

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It can also mark time, such as until. Though the list is extensive, covering physical motion, purpose, result, and temporal limits, the core idea stays very consistent.

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ais expresses direction. Depending on the context, it can mean into, toward, unto, for, or until, whether in a literal sense, like walking into a house, or a figurative one, like believing into Christ and being baptized into forgiveness.

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BDAG shows that ais always looks forward, toward a goal or a destination.

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It signals movement into or toward something. This movement can be physical, temporal, or purposeful.

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The preposition never looks backward or refers to a past event. Even in time expressions, it points to what lies ahead, not what is behind.

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Thus, ais always carries a forward -looking meaning. No major Greek lexicon defines ais as meaning because or pointing backward.

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BDAG, Mounce, Thayer, and others all agree.

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They show ais usually means into, toward, or for, always pointing ahead.

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It speaks of direction, result, or purpose. These sources do not support reading ais as looking back or forgiving a reason for something.

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While some argue that ais can mean because, even BDAG's earlier edition lists those examples as controversial and not at all definitive.

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On this point, J .C. Davis in Restoration Quarterly states that no standard

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Greek lexicons agree that ais is causal. The standard

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Greek lexicons are in agreement on the meaning of ais in Acts 2 .38. The standard

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Greek lexicons give no support for the causal use of ais elsewhere in the New Testament, although Arndt and Gingrich, in the first edition, mention the causal use of ais in Matthew 12 .41,

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Luke 11 .32, Romans 4 .20, and Matthew 3 .11. They list it as controversial.

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What does Davis mean by a causal definition of ais in Acts 2 .38? Causal would indicate something happens because of a prior condition, rather than pointing forward toward a result or a purpose.

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So how is ais used elsewhere in the New Testament? Here are a few examples showing that ais always points forward to a result, never backward to something already completed.

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Matthew 26 .28 This is my blood poured out for many for ais, the forgiveness of sins.

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So Jesus poured out his blood to bring about forgiveness, not because we already had forgiveness.

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Matthew 28 .19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in ais, the name of the

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Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So this is telling us that immersion brings believers into full identification with the triune

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God, not because they already were. John 3 .16

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Whoever believes in ais, whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.

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So we put our trust in Jesus, not because of him. Instead, ais points to a living faith directed toward Jesus.

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Acts 11 .18 God has granted repentance that leads to, and that's the word ais, that leads to life.

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So repentance moves toward life. We don't repent because we already have eternal life.

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2 Corinthians 3 .18 And we all, with unveiled face, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to ais, another.

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So transformation progresses toward ever -increasing glory, not because we have already reached the final state.

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And finally, the last example we'll look at is Galatians 3 .27 All of you who were baptized into ais,

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Christ, have clothed yourself with Christ. So God clothes us with Christ when we undergo immersion, not because we are already clothed with Christ.

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So what is the inescapable implication of ais in Acts 2 .38?

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Given the consistent, forward -looking meaning of ais, Acts 2 .38

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clearly teaches that baptism leads to forgiveness. Peter's message wasn't that forgiveness had already occurred, but it would come through repentance and baptism.

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Until one repents and submits to baptism, Peter says they remain unforgiven.

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No major Greek lexicon supports reading ais in a causal sense. The idea that ais means because of in Acts 2 .38

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is not a linguistic conclusion. It's a theological assumption imposed upon the text.

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Those who argue otherwise must ignore or revise how the New Testament consistently uses the word.

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If we're to be faithful to the language and context of Peter's sermon, we must also be faithful to its implications.

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Baptism isn't a symbolic afterthought. It's the point at which one receives the forgiveness of sins.

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Now some claim ais has a broader range of meaning, and they cite a few New Testament passages as evidence that it can be causal, or it can mean because of.

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In a follow -up podcast episode, we'll examine those claims and test whether they stand up under close scrutiny.

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But for now, the evidence is clear. Ais points forward, not backward, and Acts 2 .38

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teaches that forgiveness comes through repentance and baptism, not before it.

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Thanks for listening to the podcast. We hope this episode has deepened your understanding of Scripture.

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If you found this content valuable, please share it with your friends. For more biblical studies, visit our website at ReadyForEternity .com.

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That's all for now. Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.