Does 1 Peter 3:21 teach that baptism is necessary for salvation?

Answer

When examining a single verse or passage, we understand its teachings by comparing them to what the Bible says on the specific topic. Regarding baptism and salvation, the Bible clearly states that salvation is through grace by having faith in Jesus Christ, not through any kind of works, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, any interpretation suggesting that baptism or any other action is necessary for salvation is flawed. For further information, please visit our webpage on “Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works?”

Some individuals who believe that baptism is mandatory for salvation often cite 1 Peter 3:21 as evidence, as it mentions that “baptism now saves you.” But was Peter truly implying that the act of being baptized is what brings salvation? If so, he would be contradicting numerous other Bible passages that clearly show people being saved (evidenced by receiving the Holy Spirit) before or even without being baptized. An example is Cornelius and his household in Acts 10, who were saved before being baptized because they had already received the Holy Spirit, a sign of salvation (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13; 1 John 3:24). Their salvation was confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit, which led Peter to allow their baptism. Numerous Bible passages clearly indicate that salvation occurs when one believes in the gospel, at which point they are sealed “in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise” «In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, », (Ephesians 1:13).

Fortunately, we do not need to speculate about Peter’s intended meaning in this verse because he clarifies it for us with the phrase “not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience.” While Peter is linking baptism with salvation, he is not referring to the physical act of being baptized (not the removal of dirt from the flesh). Immersion in water simply cleanses dirt. Peter is actually alluding to the symbolic meaning of baptism, which is what brings about salvation (an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ). In essence, Peter is connecting baptism with faith. It is not the act of getting wet that saves, but the “appeal to God for a clean conscience” symbolized by baptism that leads to salvation. The act of appealing to God always precedes. First comes belief and repentance, then baptism follows to publicly declare our association with Christ.

Dr. Kenneth Wuest, the author of Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, provides a thorough explanation of this passage: “The apostle is clearly referring to water baptism, not the baptism by the Holy Spirit, as he mentions the waters of the flood saving those in the ark and how baptism saves believers in this verse. However, he emphasizes that it saves them only as a counterpart. In other words, water baptism symbolizes the reality of salvation. It can only save symbolically, not in actuality. Just like the Old Testament sacrifices were symbolic of the reality, the Lord Jesus, they did not actually save the believer, only symbolically. This does not imply that these sacrifices are equivalent to Christian water baptism. The author is simply using them as an example of the concept of ‘counterpart.’

“So, water baptism saves the believer symbolically. The Old Testament Jew was saved before presenting the offering. The offering was merely an outward declaration of faith in the Lamb of God, who was yet to come.”These sacrifices were a type….Water baptism is the outward testimony of the believer’s inward faith. The person is saved the moment he places his faith in the Lord Jesus. Water baptism is the visible testimony to his faith and the salvation he was given in answer to that faith. Peter is careful to inform his readers that he is not teaching baptismal regeneration, namely, that a person who submits to baptism is thereby regenerated, for he says, ‘not the putting away of the filth of the flesh.’ Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the flesh, either in a literal sense as a bath for the body, nor in a metaphorical sense as a cleansing for the soul. No ceremonies really affect the conscience. But he defines what he means by salvation, in the words ‘the answer of a good conscience toward God,” and he explains how this is accomplished, namely, ‘by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,’ in that the believing sinner is identified with Him in that resurrection.”

Part of the confusion on this passage comes from the fact that in many ways the purpose of baptism as a public declaration of one’s faith in Christ and identification with Him has been replaced by “making a decision for Christ” or “praying a sinner’s prayer.” Baptism has been relegated to something that is done later. Yet to Peter or any of the first-century Christians, the idea that a person would confess Christ as his Savior and not be baptized as soon as possible would have been unheard of. Therefore, it is not surprising that Peter would see baptism as almost synonymous with salvation. Yet Peter makes it clear in this verse that it is not the ritual itself that saves, but the fact that we are united with Christ in His resurrection through faith, “the pledge of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” «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: », (1 Peter 3:21).

Therefore, the baptism that Peter mentions as saving us is the one that comes after faith in the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, which justifies the unrighteous sinner (Romans 3:25-26;4:5). Baptism serves as the outward sign of what God has accomplished “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” «not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; », (Titus 3:5).