Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? 4/4

The Meaning of Baptism in 1 Peter 3:21

Now, 1 Peter 3 .21 is another verse. It says,. And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is the only verse that says the words, Baptism saves. But the NIV translation of the verse is unfortunate. A better translation is found in the NASB, which says,. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you.

The key word in this section is in the Greek, antetupon. It means copy, type, corresponding to, a thing resembling another, its counterpart. Baptism is a representation, a copy, a type of something else.

The question is, of what is it a type? See, that's why it says,. And corresponding to this, baptism now saves you. So, corresponding to what? The answer is found in the previous verses, in verse 20. It says,.

Who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark in which a few, that is, eight persons were brought safely through the water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you.

Some think that the baptism corresponds to the ark because it was the ark that saved Noah and his family, not the floodwaters. Now, this is a possibility, but one of the problems with it is that it's an interpretation that doesn't seem to stand grammatically very well in the Greek.

See, the antecedent, the word that baptism refers to, is most probably in reference to the water and not the ark. But there is disagreement among this among some scholars. Nevertheless. But water, however, did not save Noah, did it?

This is why Peter excludes the issue of water baptism being the thing that saves us because he says, not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. Peter says that it is not the application of water that saves us, but a pledge of a good conscience.

Therefore, baptism here most probably represents the breaking away of the old sinful life and entrance into the new life with Christ in the same way that the floodwaters in Noah's time was a destruction of the sinful way and once through it demonstrates entering into the new way.

Also, Peter says that baptism is an appeal of a good conscience before God. Notice that this is dealing with faith. It seems that Peter is defining real baptism as an act of faith. Now, let's look at Acts 22 .16.

It says this,. And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name. We have to ask, is the washing away of sins done by baptism, the representation of the circumcised heart, Colossians 2 .11 -12, which means you are already saved, or is it by the blood of Christ, Hebrews 9 .14, Romans 5 .9, Ephesians 1 .7?

Obviously, it is the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins. And that's what he's saying here when he says, rise up and be baptized, washing away your sins, calling upon the name of Jesus. Now, let's look at Romans 6 .4.

It says this,. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, in order that, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live in a new life. Because the sinner is so closely united to Christ, it is said that the symbol of baptism is our death, our burial, and our resurrection.

Obviously, we have not died, unless it is a figurative usage, and it is. And that's exactly what's going on here. The figure of baptism represents the reality of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.

It is a covenant sign for us. Remember, a covenant sign represents the covenant. The covenant sign of baptism represents the covenant of grace, which is that covenant between God and the Christian, where we, the Christian, receive the grace of God through the person of Christ by means of his sacrifice.

Baptism, Rebirth, and Union with Christ

Alright, now let's look at Titus 3 .5. It says this,. He saved us, not because of righteous things that we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The washing of rebirth can only be that washing of the blood of Christ that cleanses us. It is not the symbol that saves, but the reality that saves. The reality is the blood of Christ. The reality is not baptism, not the ceremony of being dunked in water.

It is the reality of the blood sacrifice of Jesus and our faith in what Christ has done. That is what cleanses us, not getting dunked in water. Let's look at Galatians 3 .27. It says this,. Now, this is speaking of the believer's union with Christ.

It is an identification with, a joining to, a proclamation of loyalty to. In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 2, the Israelites were baptized into Moses. That means that they were closely identified with Him and His purpose.

And that's the same thing that's going on here. We were baptized into Christ and putting on Christ. It means a public declaration of identification with Him. Now, baptism is not necessary for salvation.

It is the initiatory sign and seal into the grace. As circumcision referred to the cutting away of sin and to a change of heart, baptism refers to the washing away of sin, Acts 2 .38, 1 Peter 3 .21, Titus 3 .5, and to the spiritual renewal, Romans 6 .4, Colossians 2 .11 -12.

The circumcision of the heart is signified by the circumcision of the flesh, that is, baptism, Colossians 2 .11 -12. One last thought. If someone maintains that baptism is necessary for salvation, is he adding a work, his own work, to the finished work of Christ?

If the answer is yes, then that person would be in terrible risk of not being saved. If the answer is no, then why is baptism maintained as being necessary the same way as the Jews maintained that works were necessary, and they were condemned for it?