079. Is baptism necessary for salvation?

Is baptism necessary for salvation?

It depends upon what you mean by “salvation” and by “baptism.” Certainly some have found forgiveness of sins and have entered into eternal life without water baptism, as (for example) the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43). There is a large body of believers who do not practice water baptism at all, namely the Friends (or Quakers), and many of the Friends have the consciousness of having their sins forgiven, and God has set His seal upon their acceptance by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. But “salvation” is used in Scripture not merely of forgiveness of sins and eternal life but in a larger sense of all the fulness of blessing that is to be found in Christ. Certainly one cannot enter into all the fulness of blessing that there is in Christ without absolute obedience to Him (Acts 5:32). If there is any commandment of Christ which we know that we do not obey we certainly cannot enjoy fulness of fellowship with Him. Jesus Christ commanded water baptism (Matthew 28:19-20). He also commanded it through His disciples (Acts 2:38). But there are earnest followers of Christ who do not see in such passages as these a command to baptize or be baptized with water, and in not being baptized they are not consciously disobeying Jesus Christ. As an act of obedience to Christ, therefore, water baptism certainly is in the larger sense a saving ordinance for those who believe that Jesus Christ commands it. Submitting to baptism has been the turning point in the experience of many a man and many a woman. It has been done as an act of conscious obedience to Jesus Christ, and has been accompanied by great blessing.

It is difficult for me to see how anyone can study the New Testament with the single-eyed purpose of discovering what it actually teaches and not see the necessity of water baptism, and yet from my contact with those believers known as Friends I cannot but believe that many of them are perfectly conscientious in not being baptized with water, and are true children of God.