Full Answer
The New Testament clearly teaches that baptism is essential to salvation. Jesus commanded, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned' (Mark 16:16). On Pentecost, when convicted sinners asked what to do, Peter replied, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins' (Acts 2:38). Paul taught that in baptism we are 'buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life' (Romans 6:3-4). Ananias told Paul, 'arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord' (Acts 22:16). Peter wrote that 'baptism doth also now save us' (1 Peter 3:21). The historical understanding of the church confirms this: 'For most of the 2,000 years of the Christian Era, the "washing of regeneration" has been readily acknowledged as an allusion to water baptism. What's more, the vast majority of Christendom did not place baptism in conflict with salvation' [2]. Baptism is not merely symbolic but is the point at which sins are remitted and salvation is received.
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