by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
"Water baptism has nothing to do with salvation."
but in 1 Peter 3:21, Peter stated:
"And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the
removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a
good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,..."
It is difficult to argue with a direct biblical statement. Subject: baptism. Verb: saves. Object: you. The context shows that Peter was talking about water baptism. Verse 20: "... 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." The reference to washing defines this to be water baptism. This is totally consistent with the examples of conversions described in the book of Acts — all conversions culminated with water baptism. It is this baptism that puts one into Christ (Romans 6:3; see Acts 10:47-48).
Lest we be misunderstood, this verse does not say that we are saved by baptism only. We are not saved by any one thing ONLY. Baptism is necessary to salvation, and it puts us into a saved state. However, after baptism we must be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10), recognizing the great privilege of doing the works that God has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10; Rom. 12:1-2).