I Peter 3:21 …a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the [p]water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [q]for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Peter absolutely does NOT say that baptism does not rid of of sin. That is your imposed interpretation. The scripture most certain may be interpreted differently than that.

April: This is wrong. You do not have to be baptized in water to be saved. In John 3:5, Jesus is talking about being born from your Mother in water, meaning you have to be human. Imposing that you can’t be saved without being baptized is completely unbiblical. Read Romans 10:9-13:

“9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What did I leave out?

Until you answer those two questions I am not going to respond to you anymore. I am not being rude however I have read the Bible for years. I know what it says and do not need it re-written for me. I prefer not to “argue” the Word of God. I also prefer not to skip over Scripture just because I do not understand the meaning of what is being said, or it goes against what I want to believe. God Bless, SR

The “water” is not referring to the amniotic fluid as in the Greek the original meaning of the word it means like “rain.” Water. The amniotic fluid is urine. Now even though you have given me Scripture after Scripture you still did not answer my question.

What do you do with the Scripture that says baptism saves us? Just throw those out? What does it save us from? That is all I am wanting to know from you. God Bless, SR

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

There are two conditions to enter the kingdom of God. Which comes first? “Born of water,” according to the verse. Does baptism precede being born of the Spirit in the believer? Jesus clarifies what He means in the next verse, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Being born of water is referring to being born physically (the water referring to the amniotic fluid that breaks as one is born). This is why He said “You must be born again.” The first birth is the birth from water, or the flesh. The second is to be born of the Spirit, which is of God. I think it is pretty clear that the verse does not refer to baptism, but to the first birth. At this point, the “entering” is for anyone who is born again (i.e., born of the Spirit).

Let’s go over the specific text in question. Verse 3 says that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Verse 5 says that one must be born of water AND the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. The text tells us that these requirements are one and the same.

In stating that one must be born again, Jesus referred to 2 births – the first the physical birth on Earth. Nicodemus recognized this as the first requirement, since he stated that a man cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb (John 3:4). In the very next statement he explains the two kinds of birth. “Born of water” refers to the physical birth, whereas “born of the Spirit” refers to being “born again” or the second birth. In the next verse, Jesus clarifies the statement explaining that “born of water” refers to being “born of flesh.” Jesus was clear and direct. There is no mention of baptism anywhere. “Born of water” never refers to baptism in any other verse in the entire Bible. The Greek word used is “hudwr”. The Greek word for baptism is “baptisma”. If Jesus had wanted to refer to baptism, He would have used this word. In fact, the word (or a variation of it) occurs 112 times in the New Testament.

What happens when we are baptized? The same thing which happened to Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit and God is welcoming us into His unity of believers. (I am not talking about being baptized with the evidence of speaking in tongues) We receive Him and He begins to live inside of us from that moment. Tongues are another gift from the Holy Spirit all together and not all will have this gift. But when we are baptized all will receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The two things are totally separate. (I was Protestant many more years than I have been Catholic, so I know where all of this teaching is coming from)

The Bible clearly states for all who go by Scripture alone, that being baptized “saves us.” So please do not ignore this teaching, just because it is something you do not want to believe. Go find out what it “saves” you from. One cannot pick a Scripture and toss it aside just because it goes against the grain of their beliefs. The Word of God has no error in it, and being “saved” through baptism is one thing The Bible teaches.

So do we just throw this part of Scripture out, because it is not “politically correct?’ If you do not believe “baptism saves us” then what do we do with the Scripture that says it does?

God Bless, SR

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Paul definitely would not say that if salvation were necessary to go to heaven. Possibly the most damaging evidence against the belief that baptism is a requirement for salvation is found in Acts 10:

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

The Holy Spirit was poured out onto the Gentiles, who had never been baptized in water. It is not for man to enforce anything that God has not enforced.