  Oneness Pentecostal theology states that baptism is necessary for salvation. It asserts that without it, a person "cannot" be saved. Is baptism necessary for salvation? "No. It is not." (see the article "Repentance & Water Baptism" for more) "The Oneness theologians are in error." Nevertheless, disagreeing with them does not make it so, particularly when we have verses like the following which they interpret incorrectly and take out of context:
John 3:5 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
I Peter 3:21 "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
The problem with baptismal regeneration (the belief that baptism is part of salvation and necessary for it) is that it contradicts other scriptures that state we are "justified by faith". Justification is God's declaration upon a sinner that the person is declared righteous in God's site. "In other words, only Christians are justified; only Christians are saved. Please consider the following verses:"
There are other verses, but these are sufficient to show that we are made right in God's eyes -- justified, forgiven -- by faith, "not by faith and baptism". If baptism were necessary for salvation, "then these verses would state that we are justified by faith and baptism". But they don't. In fact, that is not what Paul says that the gospel is, and it is the gospel that saves us.
The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. "Baptism is not mentioned here". Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize:
"If baptism is necessary for salvation then why did Paul downplay it and even exclude it from the description of what is required for salvation? It is because baptism isn't necessary for salvation." Additionally, in Acts, Peter was preaching the gospel, people got saved, and then they were baptized. We read:
"These people were saved." The gift of the Holy Spirit was on the Gentiles and they were speaking in tongues. This is significant because tongues is a gift given to believers. (see I Corinthians 14:1-5) Also, unbelievers don't praise God. They can't because praise to the true God is a deep spiritual matter that is foreign to the unsaved (I Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, the ones in Acts 10:44-46 who are speaking in tongues and praising God are definitely saved and they are saved before they are baptized. "This simply isn't an exception. It is a reality!" Another way of making this clear is to use an illustration. Let's suppose that a person, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), believed in Jesus as his savior (Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:13), and has received Christ (John 1:12) as Savior. "Is that person saved? - Of course they are!" Let's further suppose that this person confesses his sinfulness, cries out in repentance to the Lord, and receives Jesus as Savior and then walks across the street to get baptized at a local church. In the middle of the road he gets hit by a car and is killed. Does he go to heaven or hell? "If he goes to heaven then baptism isn't necessary for salvation. If He goes to hell, then trusting in Jesus, by faith, isn't enough for salvation." Doesn't that go against the Scriptures that say that salvation is a free gift (Romans 6:23) received by faith (Eph. 2:8-9)? "Yes it does!" Saying that baptism is necessary for salvation is "dangerous" because it is saying that there is something we must do to complete salvation. "That is wrong" as noted by Paul in Galatians:
Alright, so this sounds reasonable. But still, "what about those verses that seem to say that baptism is part of salvation?" I'll address those now. But, because this subject can become quite lengthy, in fact, sufficient for a book in itself, I'll only address a few verses and then only briefly.
Some say that "water" here means baptism. But that is unlikely since Christian baptism hadn't yet been instituted. If this verse did mean baptism, then the only kind that it could have been at that point was the baptism of repentance administered by John the Baptist (Mark 1:4). If that is so, then baptism isn't necessary for salvation because the baptism of repentance is no longer practiced. The problem with this verse is a mistranslated word in the KJV. The word translated "and" in the context of "of water and of the Spirit" is the Greek conjunction KAI. When used as a connective conjunction it is translated "and", as we see above. But if translated "ascensively", as the construction of the verse bears out, it would best be rendered "even". The difference: The meaning of the text changes drastically when properly translated. Jesus uses water as a "symbolic reference" to describe the Holy Spirit. (see Titus 3:5) This is not the first time the Bible uses a common earth element to describe the Spirit (and His ministry), for we can also read:
Let's look at the next verse:
This misunderstanding is caused by another mistranslation of the word "and" following the word "Repent" in the above text. The word rendered "and" is the Greek EIS, which should be rendered "causually" in this context. Properly rendered the text would read: "Repent, and because of this be baptized". And the next verse:
This is the only verse that says that baptism saves. But, the KJV translation of the verse is unfortunate. A better translation is found in the NASB which says, "and corresponding to that, baptism now saves you." The key word in this section is the Greek "antitupon". It means "copy, type, corresponding to, a thing resembling another, its counterpart, etc." Baptism is a representation, a copy, a type of something else. The question is "Of what is it a type?", or "Baptism corresponds to what?". The answer is found in the previous verse, verse 20:
"What does baptism correspond to?" Is it the flood? Or, is it the ark? What was it that saved Noah and his family? Was it the water or the ark? Obviously, it was the Ark. Noah built and entered the ark by faith and was saved (Hebrews 11:7). The flood waters destroyed the ungodly. Peter, when referring to the flood waters, refers to them as the means of destruction of the ungodly (II Peter 2:5; 3:6). It was the Ark that saved. Noah entered the ark by faith. Baptism here, in my opinion, refers to the Ark, not the waters. That is why the rest of the verse says, "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" which is consistent with what Paul said in Col. 2:11-12 where He equates baptism with being circumcised of heart.
Is the washing away of sins done by baptism, the representation of the circumcised heart (Col. 2:11-12) which means you are already saved, or is it by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7)? "Obviously it is the blood of Jesus and the washing here refers to the calling on Jesus' name." Baptism is a picture of God’s inner work of washing away sin (cf. I Cor. 6:11; I Pet. 3:21).
Because the believer is so closely united to Christ it is said that "the symbol of baptism" is our death, burial, and resurrection. Obviously we did not die -- unless, of course, it is a figurative usage.
The "washing of rebirth" can only be that "washing of the blood of Christ that cleanses us". It is not the symbol that saves, but the reality. "The reality is the blood of Christ."
This is speaking of the believer's union with Christ. It is an identification with, a joining to, a proclamation of loyalty to, etc. In I Cor. 10:2 the Israelites were baptized into Moses. "That means they were closely identified with him and his purpose." The same thing is meant here. "It is an outward representation of an inward reality." For example, it represents the reality of the inward washing of Christ's blood upon the soul. That is why it is used in different ways. It is said to represent the death of the person (Rom. 6:3-5), the union of that person with Christ (Gal. 3:27), the cleansing of that person's sins (Acts 22:16), the identification with the one "baptized into" as when the Israelites were baptized into Moses (I Cor. 10:2), and being united in one church (I Cor. 12:13). Also, baptism is one of the signs and seals of the "Covenant of Grace" that was instituted by Jesus. "It is in this sense a sacrament." A sacrament is a visible manifestation of something spoken. It is also said to be a visible sign of an inward grace. For example, the communion elements of bread and wine are called the sacrament of communion. When we take communion we are partaking of the sacrament. The "Covenant of Grace" is the covenant between God and Man where God promises to Man eternal life. It is based upon the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the condition is faith in Jesus Christ. "As the Communion Supper replaced Passover, baptism, in like manner, replaces circumcision. They represent the same spiritual blessings that were symbolized by circumcision and Passover in the old dispensation." "Circumcision" was the initiatory rite into the "Abrahamic Covenant"; "it did not save!" A covenant is a pact or agreement between two or more parties and that is exactly what the Abrahamic Covenant was. God said to Abraham:
God later instructed Abraham to "circumcise" not only every adult male, but also 8 day old male infants as a sign of the covenant (Gen. 17:9-13). If the children were not circumcised, they were not considered to be under the promissory Abrahamic covenant. This is why Moses' wife circumcised her son and threw the foreskin at Moses' feet. (Exo. 4:24-25). She knew the importance of the covenant between God and her children. But at the same time we must understand that circumcision did not "guarantee salvation" to all who received it. It was a rite meant only for the people of God, who were born into the family of God (who were then the Jews). If you understand that "baptism" is a covenant sign, then you can see that it is a representation of the reality of Christ circumcising our hearts (Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11-12). It is our "outward proclamation" of the "inward spiritual blessing" of regeneration. It comes after faith which is a gift of God (Rom. 13:3) and the work of God (John 6:28). "Baptism is not necessary for salvation." It is the initiatory sign and seal into the covenant of grace. As circumcision referred to the cutting away of sin and to a change of heart (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:25,26; Ez. 44:7,9) baptism refers to the washing away of sin (Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21; Titus 3:5) and to spiritual renewal (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:11-12). The circumcision of the heart is signified by the circumcision of the flesh, that is, baptism (Col. 2:11-12). One last thought: "If someone maintains that baptism is necessary for salvation, is he adding a work, his own, to the finished work of Christ? If the answer is yes, then that person would be in terrible risk of not being saved. If the answer is no, then why is baptism maintained as being necessary the same way as the Jews maintained that works were necessary? 
If you have not already done so, please consider trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. For more information on Salvation "Click Here" to view "How can I get to Heaven?"
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