Does baptism save? Wesleyans, Protestants, and all Christians have always answered, “Yes,” because that is what the Bible teaches. However, it is a qualified yes: “Baptism now saves you, not as… but as…” (1 Pet. 3:21). At least four truths must be held together:
- Baptism saves.
- Baptism does not save automatically.
- Baptism does not guarantee final salvation.
- Baptism is not the only thing that saves.
Let’s break that down. (Read to the end so that you can see the big picture.)
Baptism Saves
First, baptism saves. God’s Word explicitly says, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Pet. 3:21). Peter preached, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). Ananias told Paul, “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). We are saved by grace through faith, but God’s saving grace is poured out to us in baptism as through a channel. Baptism is a means of saving grace.
We are saved by grace through faith, but God’s saving grace is poured out to us in baptism as through a channel.
Think of it like this: If God’s saving grace is like “water” from heaven, then baptism is a chute or sliding board that God has ordained to channel his grace to us. Because God is free and sovereign, he can dump out a bucket of “water” from heaven and save anyone, anytime, by any means that he chooses. But he has ordained several ordinary means through which to channel his grace, and baptism is one of them. If we want to be saved, we should use all the means of grace. We should sit at the bottom of the sliding board!
In the New Testament, it is clear that where God usually meets people to save them is in the baptismal waters. And this is what Christians have believed for nearly 2,000 years, from the church fathers to the reformers. John Wesley called baptism the ordinary means by which God forgives sins and “the laver of regeneration.” John Calvin said that “God regenerates us in baptism, ingrafts us into the fellowship of his Church, and makes us his by adoption.” I could go on and on with a hundred quotes from Irenaeus, Chrysostom, the Cappadocians, Augustine, Luther, Cranmer, and every major theologian in church history that say the same thing, because that’s what the Bible teaches and what the Church has always believed: “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins” (Nicene Creed). The classical definition of baptism as “an outward sign of an inward work” does not mean “a symbol of an inward work that was already done,” but “an outward sign through which an inward work may be done, even now!”
No one should ever say, “Baptism doesn’t save,” because that’s not how the Bible speaks.
No one should ever say, “Baptism doesn’t save,” because that’s not how the Bible speaks. It is a deeply unbiblical way of speaking, it undermines baptism as a means of saving grace, and it is a dramatic departure from historic Christianity. However, when people say, “Baptism doesn’t save,” I think that in some cases they actually mean, “Baptism doesn’t save automatically.” And that is true.
Baptism Doesn’t Save Automatically
Second, baptism doesn’t save automatically. Just because someone has been washed with water in the name of the Triune God does not mean that they have been born again. Simon the Magician was baptized (Acts 8:13), but Peter soon rebuked him, saying, “I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:23). Experience confirms that many people have been baptized, then went on to show no signs of genuine faith, and quickly fell away from Christ and the Church.
Baptism saves as a means or channel of saving grace, but apart from faith, saving grace does not flow down the “sliding board” and regenerate the baptized. It is not enough for the work of baptism to be administered, because baptism does not save merely by the work worked (ex opere operato). Salvation is always by grace through faith, even in baptism. If a person is baptized with water but resists the Holy Spirit, they won’t be born again. Peter says, “Baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21). Ananias told Paul, “be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). Peter preached, “Repent and be baptized [as an expression of repentance]” (Acts 2:38). Faith is necessary.
If a person is baptized with water but resists the Holy Spirit, they won’t be born again.
This is why Thomas Cranmer, when defining a sacrament, emphasizes that baptism (and the Lord’s Supper) are used by God to bring to live, strengthen, and confirm our faith (39 Articles of Religion, 25). Think of it like this: Preaching is the gospel heard. Baptism is the gospel seen and dramatized. When someone being drawn to Christ comes to baptism, God has ordained to use baptism as an ordinary means to visibly show them his promise to cleanse them through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the baptismal waters to awaken true faith in their hearts and actually regenerate them.
No one should ever say, “Baptism doesn’t save,” since that is a deeply unbiblical and ahistorical way of speaking, but it is appropriate to say, “Baptism doesn’t save automatically,” “Baptism doesn’t save apart from faith,” or “Baptism doesn’t save merely by the work worked (ex opere operato).” That is true and important to clarify. It’s also true that baptism doesn’t guarantee final salvation (another concern that’s deeply felt by many evangelicals like me).
Baptism Doesn’t Guarantee Final Salvation
Third, baptism doesn’t guarantee final salvation. Just because someone has been washed with water in the name of the Triune God does not mean that they will go to heaven if they die or inherit the new creation. This logically follows from the second point: If baptism doesn’t automatically and always result in being born again, then those who are baptized cannot conclude on that basis alone that they will inherit the kingdom of God. Furthermore, as a Wesleyan, I believe with many other Christians that it’s possible for someone to be truly born again (even in baptism) and then begin to resist the Holy Spirit and eventually destroy their faith and be lost.
No one should assume that just because they were baptized, they will be saved at the final judgment.
When Paul wrote that all Israel was “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,” but “with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Cor. 10:2, 5), he was warning baptized Christians at Corinth that past baptism isn’t enough if there isn’t persevering faith and obedience. Do not be deceived: Someone who was baptized in the past but does not now have genuine faith that works by love and expresses itself in a holy life will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. No one should assume that just because they were baptized, they will be saved at the final judgment.
Baptism Is Not The Only Means of Salvation
Fourth, baptism is not the only means of salvation. Remember the first point: Baptism is a (singular) means of saving grace, not the only means of saving grace. It is one of several “chutes” or “sliding boards” that God has ordained to channel his grace to us. Preaching (1 Cor. 1:21), prayer (Rom. 10:13), and the Lord’s Supper (Mt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 10:16) are also means of saving grace. A person may hear the gospel and be born again, then get baptized. Or a person may hear the gospel and be baptized without having saving faith, then take the Lord’s Supper and be saved when the Holy Spirit uses the Supper to truly enliven their faith for the first time and unite them with Christ through participation in his body and blood in the bread and wine.
Baptism is a (singular) means of saving grace, not the only means of saving grace.
This is why it is infinitely frustrating when people ignorantly dismiss the biblical teaching that “baptism saves” by saying “what about the thief on the cross?” If I say, “There is milk in my fridge,” it doesn’t mean that “the only people who drink milk are people who get it from my fridge.” Of course not. There is also milk at other places such as the grocery store. But I still usually get it from my fridge. In the same way, saying “baptism saves” does not mean that “the only people who are saved are people who have been baptized.” Of course not. There is also saving grace extended through other means such as preaching. But the New Testament usually points to baptism as the place where regenerating grace is poured out by God. Baptism saves and the thief on the cross was saved without baptism; these two truths are not in conflict.
Baptism saves and the thief on the cross was saved without baptism; these two truths are not in conflict.
With this said, it is dangerous and sinful to conclude, “Since it is possible to be saved apart from baptism, I don’t need to be baptized.” There are a thousand reasons why that is a terrible and alarming conclusion, but two reasons rise to the surface. First, Christ ordained baptism and commanded it. A person who simply chooses not to be baptized is disobeying Jesus. Second, Christ authorized the Church to administer baptism as a way to exercise the office of the keys and receive members into its visible fellowship (Mt. 16:18; Jn. 20:23). To reject the Church in its rightful exercise of the keys is to reject Christ himself. There is no ordinary possibility of salvation outside the visible Church (WCF 25.2; Belgic, 28). The Westminster Confession perfectly holds together two truths: (1) “It is a great sin to condemn or neglect the ordinance of baptism”; (2) “Yet, grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed to baptism that no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated” (WCF 28.6).
Baptism Saves
Baptism does not save automatically. Baptism does not guarantee final salvation. And baptism is not the only means of salvation. These are all necessary qualifications. However, they are not the main thing that Scripture or the Church throughout history have said about baptism. The main thing is that yes, baptism saves. It is also true that gospel preaching does not save automatically or guarantee the final salvation of hearers who resist the Holy Spirit, but we would never say, “Gospel preaching doesn’t save.” It’s just as wrong and harmful to say, “Baptism doesn’t save.”
The person who comes to baptism sincerely can have confidence that God will give them the invisible, spiritual grace that is signified. We must be careful that in our fear of giving people false assurance (a legitimate concern), we do not neglect baptism, reduce it to a mere symbol, or cause candidates to lose confidence because our call to baptism has died the death of a thousand qualifications. Speak biblically. Speak in historically Christian ways. Speak with confidence that God gives what he promises and signifies. Baptism saves!
