The Recipe For Salvation

One of the biggest and most important debates in Christianity is whether or not baptism is a necessary part of salvation. Some churches believe you must be baptized to be saved. Others say baptism is important but it isn't a requirement of salvation. Only one viewpoint is right so which is it? The only way to settle the matter is to do what we always should do– refer to the Bible.

There are numerous verses in the Bible that state if you have faith, then you will be saved. John 3:16 is one of the most popular. It's quite clear that you must have faith/belief in order to be saved. However, you must examine all of the verses about salvation to get a complete picture. It's like following one of your favorite cake recipes. The recipe clearly states you need flour but you must also use that other ingredients or you'll  never make a cake. The Bible is the same way; you have to be put all of the ingredients (verses) together to see what's needed for salvation. 

One "ingredient" people often miss is Mark 16:16 (NLT): "Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved..." The verse clearly states that to get saved you have to believe and then get baptized. Are you still doubting if you have to be baptized? Let's look at another verse, Acts 2:38  "...Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins..."

Please don't miss the importance of the verse. Baptism is how you're forgiven of your sins. Let that sink in for a moment: no baptism, no forgiveness of sin. How can anyone tell you that you're saved if your sins aren't forgiven?

Think about it.