Baptism: Part 1 - Does It Save Us?

As my wife and I prepare to baptize the newest addition to our family, I thought it would be a good exercise to fully understand what Baptism is, what it does, what Scripture reveals and what the early Christians understood. In this four part series we'll be looking at:

Part 1) Does Baptism save us? Do we get anything from Baptism?
Part 2) How we are born again. Is it simply by believing?
Part 3) The baptismal method. Is it by full immersion only?
Part 4) Baptizing infants. Should babies be baptized?

Does Baptism Do Anything?
There seems to be much debate about Baptism. Does Baptism do anything? It is salvific (does it save)? Do we get anything from Baptism (other than wet)? Or is it simply an outward declaration of faith and salvation that has already been received through “believing”, and an act of obedience (because Jesus instructed it)?

Sacrament: An outward sign of faith, instituted by Christ to give grace. The Holy Spirit makes actual, what Jesus makes possible (ex. Baptism).

Let’s begin with what was prophesied, long before we ever heard of Jesus’ Baptism. The Old Testament prophesy demonstrates how God intends to justify His people. We can clearly see how this corresponds with the Sacrament of Baptism that Jesus would institute in His earthly ministry,

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

From reading this prophesy, what should we expect the New Testament Baptism to do? It should be the method for cleansing us (spiritually) and the act in which we are given a new Spirit.

Does Baptism Save? (Is it salvific?)
Many suggest Baptism doesn’t have any effect. However, Scripture seems to disagree:

“be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38).

“[God] saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit [Baptism]” (Titus 3:5).

"God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20–21).

“Let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).

“This is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

“And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16)

It’s difficult to hold on to the post-Reformation belief (only a few hundred years old) that Baptism doesn’t really save, when a passage states so boldly, “baptism… now saves you” (1 Peter 2:21).

Saint Peter illuminated this fact in his first epistle, comparing Baptism to the method God used to save Noah and his family. The eight people in the Ark were saved by water, as the water washed away all sin and evil flesh from the world, making a new creation, through the Spirit. Saint Peter emphasizes, “[They] were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you” (1 Peter 2:21).

Baptism is the method in which our sins are forgiven, washed away, and cleansed. The normative method that God implemented to forgive sins, to cleanse us, to be regenerated and made new, is the Sacrament of Baptism.

What else does Baptism do?
If we keep reading in Acts 2:38 Peter tells us,"be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

We have been marked, given a deposit, of the Holy Spirit:

“He has put his seal [mark or imprint] upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee [or deposit]” (2 Corinthians 1:22).

“He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee [or deposit]” (2 Corinthians 5:5).

This is why the Sacrament of Baptism is only effectual once, which Ephesians 4:5 tells us, “one faith, one lord, one baptism”. If we’ve already been given a deposit of the Holy Spirit, then being “re-baptized” won’t be any more effectual, we’ll simply just get wet. The normative method in which we receive our deposit of the Holy Spirit, imprinted on our soul, is through Baptism, as Acts 2:38 describes.

Baptism is also the gateway to become a member of God’s family. This is a family we can only be born [again] into. Recall from the Old Testament that the way to join God’s family was to be circumcised. This was how someone would enter into God’s family, enter into God’s covenant. The Apostle Paul tells us that Baptism is the new circumcision:

"In Him [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ" (Colossians 2:11–13).

We are brought into God’s covenant through Baptism. Similarly, the Israelites were brought into the Old Covenant through circumcision. Circumcision was an outward sign which brought about what it signified. Likewise, Baptism is an outward sign which brings about what it signifies. If you were not circumcised, you were not able to partake in the Old Covenant ordinances such as the Exodus Passover. If you were not circumcised and part of God’s family, you were not spared, not saved from the final plague on Egypt and not able to take part in the Exodus of salvation. The Apostle Paul makes this connection very clear. Baptism is the gateway to become part of God’s family to be under His New Covenant.

Not only from a biblical perspective, but the first Christians testify to their understanding of baptismal regeneration. The Didache is one of the most ancient early writings (written around 70AD, before the last book of the New Testament was even written). The instruction from the Apostles tells the first Christians:

"Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water [that is, in running water, as in a river]. If there is no living water, baptize in other water; and, if you are not able to use cold water, use warm. If you have neither, pour water three times upon the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

In addition to the Didache, a plethora of church fathers, spanning as early as the first Century reaffirm that “baptism... now saves”, and the understanding that was handed down from Jesus and the Apostles.

"‘I have heard, sir,’ said I [to the Shepherd], ‘from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins.’ He said to me, ‘You have heard rightly, for so it is’" (The Shepherd 4:3:1–2 [A.D. 80]).

“When, however, the prescript is laid down that 'without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" (chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, "Unless one be born of water, he hath not life.'" (Tertullian, On Baptism, 12:1, A.D. 203)

Up next, Baptism: Part 2 - How Are We Born Again?