Does the Fruit of Water Baptism Prove That Someone Is Saved?

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THE FRUIT OF WATER BAPTISM

Are you ready to find out why some churches believe that if a person responds favorably to the gospel of Christ but isn’t baptized in water, they’re not saved? And yet, why do other churches highly recommend water baptism but not consider it a requirement for salvation?

Before we begin, I would like to share my water baptism story. My parents, along with most of my relatives, grew up in a particular denominational faith. It was one of the many requirements of this faith that every newborn be sprinkled with water. And so, it was.

In my teen years, I stopped going to church. It was not until my mid-twenties that I decided to go back, as my life was spiraling out of control. After attending many different faiths, I joined a denomination that presented a different salvation message than that of my parents’ faith, while mandating water baptism. Unfortunately, within a short time, the church split over doctrinal disagreements, so I left this assembly.

Shortly thereafter, a friend told me about a church he was attending that had helped him stop using drugs. I attended the next meeting, liked the teachings from the pulpit, and was eventually hired to go on staff. Again, I was baptized in water. Over time, I attended an affiliated Bible college and earned a two-year associate’s degree in Christian leadership.

I stayed in this church for about eight years until a scandal involving a lot of money surfaced. The church was found guilty in civil court of exerting undue influence over one of its members and was required to pay her back. I decided to leave this ministry and secure a high school mathematics teaching position in a public school, having obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from a four-year liberal arts college after graduating from high school.

During my teaching tenure, I joined a local denominational church and was asked by the pastor if I wanted to become a member. I said yes. Aware that I had made a profession of faith years earlier, he demanded that I be baptized in water. I told him that I had already been baptized three times, but apparently that didn’t matter. Either get baptized again, or there would be no membership. So, you guessed it, I was baptized for the fourth time. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that after a short time, I left this church over doctrinal differences and started my own, and had one of my church attendees baptize me again. This last part about water baptism isn’t true . Ha, ha.

As you can see, I’ve had extensive experience with this topic. Are we ready to begin determining whether being baptized in water proves that a person is saved? Let’s go.



●BEING BAPTIZED IN WATER PROVES THAT A PERSON IS SAVED

This brings us to the question:



Why is water baptism considered essential in the salvation process?

Please turn to the book of Acts.



Acts 2:38

And Peter said to them, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. NASB

Water baptism is one of the main criteria for salvation because it’s the basis for the remission (forgiveness) of sins and receiving the Holy Spirit. Whether the person is an adult or a baby, repentance is essential, whether exercised directly by the adult in question or by the parents repenting for their baby. This is followed by immersion of the adult in water or the sprinkling of water on the baby’s forehead.

Some of the primary verses supporting the contention that water baptism is mandatory for salvation are found in the book of Mark.



Mark 16:15-16

And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. NASB

Jesus instructed His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. Then He made this statement involving water baptism: He that believes the gospel message and is baptized (in water) shall be saved. This is pretty matter-of-fact.

The next verse discusses the two key ingredients of salvation.



John 3:5

Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. NASB

Following belief in the gospel of Christ, if a person was born of water (baptized in water), they would be forgiven of their sins and receive the promised Spirit.

Just how important is water baptism? Please turn to Acts.



Acts 2:41

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. NASB

On the day of Pentecost, the promise of the gift of the Spirit came upon each of the twelve apostles, and they conveyed to those in attendance the gospel of Christ. About 3000 souls responded favorably and were baptized in water. Therefore, water baptism is essential for salvation.

Finally, how important was it that water baptism take place, whether conducted by the Apostle Paul or by one of his followers? Please turn to 1 Corinthians.



I Corinthians 1:10-17

11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. NASB

Paul is addressing the Corinthian Church about information he has received from family members of Chloe that there were contentions (quarrels) among them.



What was the issue?

12-13 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? NASB

Apparently, the members were glorying in the name of some individual110, whereas the Apostle Paul responds by saying what’s most important is to maintain Christ’s exclusive authority in the Church, so that we may all exercise dependence upon him.111 Then he mentions water baptism, indicating that the same should also be the case when this is initiated. When someone is baptized, they’re baptized not in the name of the person who’s performing the baptism but, instead, in the name of Jesus.

After this, he makes some surprising comments.

14-15 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. NASB

He admits to baptizing some new believers, but he ultimately chose not to do this to avoid the accusation that he sought to make disciples for himself. This doesn’t negate the fact that he had other believers baptize the newly converted.

Now let’s take a look at the opposing view.



●IF A BELIEVER IS NOT BAPTIZED IN WATER, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE NOT SAVED

Let’s begin by asking the question: What is the purpose of water baptism?

Please go to Romans.



Romans 6:3-4

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. NASB

Water baptism is figurative of the believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. When a believer is immersed in water, it symbolizes their death to sin. Likewise, as Christ was raised from the dead, so they might walk in newness of life.

This brings us to the next question.



Does water baptism forgive sins?

Let’s find out. Please turn to Colossians.



●Colossians 2:13

And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, NASB

If you read this verse without Koine Greek glasses on, it would say something like this: And you, the believers at Colosse, who before salvation were continually spiritually dead in your sins and the sin nature of your flesh (body), of which uncircumcision is a sign. However, when you repented and believed in Christ, has He (God the Holy Spirit) quickened you (made you alive) together with Him (Christ), having forgiven (wiped away) you all trespasses (all deviation from truth).

I think you’d agree with me when I say that this appears to indicate that when you were made alive with Christ, your sins were forgiven. Some would go so far as to say that this forgiveness of sins occurred after salvation when they were baptized in water.



Is either of these renderings correct?

As I said initially, you need to wear Greek glasses to understand the meaning of the words having forgiven. Here’s what I mean. The original New Testament manuscripts were written in Koine Greek, the common language of the time. When they were translated into English, the sentences sometimes seemed to say one thing when they actually said something else. This is particularly the case when a participle appears in Scripture in what is called the aorist tense. Huh?



According to Koine Greek, how would the two fundamentals of speech (e.g., a participle and the aorist tense) be used in a verse?

Before we can answer this, we need to know what each of them means.

A participle is a verbal adjective that denotes the purpose of why someone is doing something or why something is being done. The aorist tense denotes the action of a verb as occurring at a point in time. When both occur together, as in the words having forgiven, this identifies the expression as an aorist participle and signifies the minor verb, whose action occurs before the action of the main verb or verbs in the verses of Scripture, namely, the verb quickened. This will raise awareness of something happening before something else, which we couldn’t tell from the English translation.



What is this conveying to us?

This tells us that all the sins of the Corinthian believers were forgiven before they received the Holy Spirit and were quickened (made alive) by Him. The only place before salvation where all their sins were forgiven was at the cross. This is substantiated by the following verse.



Ephesians 1:7

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, NASB

In Him (Christ), we have redemption (let one go free; separation from all of the consequences of our transgressions) through His blood (the price paid to satisfy divine justice) and the forgiveness (blot out; not remember any longer; throw a person’s sins behind one’s back; carry away your sins so that they might never again be seen) of our trespasses.



Does this forgiveness apply only to believers?

The book of 1 John will reveal this to us.



1 John 2:2

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. NASB

At the cross, Christ is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for the whole world (all those who live on the earth).

Another point raised by the opposing view regarding water baptism was that it was the basis for receiving the Holy Spirit.



Is this true ?

Please turn to Galatians.



Galatians 3:14

in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. NASB

The promise of the Spirit is received through faith (to all who believe).



How is this reconciled with Acts 2:38?

And Peter said to them, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. NASB

A thorough study of this verse will reveal two things: When translated into English, the order of the words the forgiveness of your sins and the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit indicates that both events occur before water baptism. A more thorough exegesis of this verse is found in chapter 7 of another published book of mine: THE SPIRITUALITY PUZZLE.

Another question to consider is this:



Did the Apostle Paul indicate that water baptism was essential to salvation?

Let’s retranslate the verses from 1 Corinthians that we already looked at in the opposing view.



I Corinthians 1:10-17

11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. NASB

Paul is addressing the Corinthian Church about information he has received from family members of Chloe that there were contentions (quarrels) among them.



What was the issue?

12-13 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? NASB

Apparently, the members were glorying in the name of some individual112, whereas the Apostle Paul responds by saying what’s most important is to maintain Christ’s exclusive authority in the Church, so that we may all exercise dependence upon him.113 Then he mentions water baptism, indicating that the same should also be the case when this is initiated. When someone is baptized, they’re baptized not in the name of the person who’s performing the baptism but, instead, in the name of Jesus. After this, he makes these surprising comments.

14-15 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. NASB

He admits to baptizing some new believers, but he ultimately chose not to do this to avoid the accusation that he sought to make disciples for himself. This doesn’t negate the fact that he had other believers baptize the newly converted.This begs the question.



Did Paul consider water baptism essential for salvation?

The answer is found in the next verse.

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. NASB

Christ sent him not to baptize. Why not? Because what is vital for salvation is the preaching of the gospel.

While it’s true that water baptism is important, let’s retranslate the verse in John that reveals the two ingredients of salvation that allow someone to enter heaven.



John 3:5

Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. NASB

Before we retranslate this verse, we need to determine whether there’s another rendering of the word water. Is there? Yes, there is. Please turn to 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:22-25 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. For, All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord abides forever. And this is the word which was preached to you. NASB

The Apostle Peter conveys what the supernatural event of being born again has given believers: opportunities to obey the truth, to purify themselves, and [to] love the brethren.114 He reminded them that they were born again of imperishable seed (the seed of the Holy Spirit) and the word of God (the instrument of the Word, the gospel; the salvation message). This tells us the two things that are necessary for someone to enter the kingdom of God: the declaration of the gospel and, if they believe it, the imperishable seed of the Holy Spirit.

What are the gospel ingredients? That the unbeliever would repent of (an acknowledgement of sins; a hearty purpose to turn from them115) of their sins to God the Father and believe in Christ as to who He is and what He accomplished in His work on the cross.

Another Scripture that supports this analysis is found in 2 Thessalonians.



2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. NASB

God had chosen the Thessalonians believers for salvation through the Holy Spirit and faith in the truth (the gospel).

We can now conclude that two ingredients will cause someone to enter the kingdom of heaven: water (used figuratively or symbolically of faith in the truth, the gospel of our salvation) and the Spirit (Holy Spirit).

This leaves us with the task of retranslating the verses from the book of Mark presented in the opposing view. As I’ve said throughout this study on translating verses from the four gospels to understand what they mean, we should study the topic from the Scriptures revealed in the book of Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation. Why? Because these are the instructions for those who have chosen to become members of the body of Christ, i.e., by means of salvation, and how to live this new life by means of sanctification (the word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit).



Mark 16:15-16

And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. NASB

Jesus instructed His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. Then He made this statement involving water baptism: He that believes the gospel message and is baptized (in water) shall be saved. It’s evident that water baptism was and is very important. In fact, in Koine Greek, there are instances in which the verb baptized is in the imperative mood (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16). The mood indicates how the action of the verb is conceived with respect to reality, whether it can be actual or possible. The imperative mood is a mood of command. With that said, here’s a question to consider.



For what purpose should someone be baptized in water?

It’s true that believing and water baptism are linked. One describes the inward, efficacious reception of the gospel by faith (believing) and the outward, public expression of that faith in water baptism.116 However, according to this perspective, water baptism is added to faith not as if it [were half] the cause of our salvation, but as a testimony.117

One more thing to consider is the second part of this verse. It says that he who has disbelieved (the gospel when presented) shall be condemned (damned; denounced) in the day of judgment. It’s interesting that the word baptized isn’t included in the wording. Some would argue that this need not be the case, as unbelief negates the necessity of water baptism. However, the addition of baptism would strengthen the argument that it is a required component of belief.

We have one more fruit to look at. This one might seem silly, but believe it or not, in some churches, if members don’t refrain from it, they’re considered to be living in habitual sin and therefore thought of as not being saved or having lost their salvation.



What is it?

Be surprised and go to the next chapter. But before we do, I would like to leave you with an article from a church leader who describes some of the funny incidents he encountered while baptizing people.



SWEPT OFF MY FEET…

Baptists believe in water. When it comes to baptizing, we don’t mess around with a few sprinkles. We put people under until they bubble. We want them to feel just a moment of panic, so they can appreciate resurrection.

I do admit there are times I envy my sprinkling brothers and sisters in the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Anglican circles. Like the time I baptized a fellow who was six [feet seven in a baptistry that was six feet] six inches long. I “clunked” his head into the wall. Later, I asked him how he felt. He said he felt like he’d finally gotten some sense knocked into him. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Then there was the time I baptized a husband and wife. They wanted to be baptized together. I explained I could only do one at a time. They settled for being in the baptistry at the same time.

You may not remember this from physics class, but a solid object placed into water displaces the water in equal measure to the size of the object. Being pretty solid, I displace a fair amount of water. The candidates also displace water. Small children and petite adults are not a problem. In the case of this husband and wife, however, I was baptizing Goliath and his wife. He was about six [feet] four inches and outweighed me by 50 pounds. She was six feet, one inch, and pregnant with twins. When I baptized them, it was like sitting in the splash zone at Sea World. The baptistry [overflowed, and everyone in] the first three rows got soaked. After the service, one little boy excitedly asked if we could do the same thing next Sunday.

On this particular Sunday, I baptized three people – a brother and a sister, and a young woman. Seeing people go under the water and bringing them out again is my favorite thing to do in ministry. It signifies that a person has given their life to Jesus and they are willing to tell everyone what he has done for them.

When I baptize, I wear a pair of waders under my robe. This is so I can quickly get out of the baptistry and get ready for the next service. I had gotten all three candidates properly dunked, exited the baptistry, shucked off my robe, and unfastened my wader suspenders. Now came the tricky part. When you go into the water wearing waders, the water presses all the air out. Your legs and torso are vacuum sealed. This pair of waders was [a] little harder to get off than the old pair, so I learned to ask for help.

We had a new volunteer helping that day, a young man who worked out regularly. On his bulging bicep, there was a tattoo that read “Killer.” I figured he was the guy to help me out. I leaned against the wall and extended my leg. “How about a hand?” I asked.

This strong young man grabbed my wader boot and tugged. I was trying to pull my leg up and out while he pulled the waders in the opposite direction. Nothing happened. We tried again. This time, the boot slipped out of his hands.

You could see Killer’s frustration. Here he was, trying to help his [pastor,] and he was looking like a weakling. A weakling with big biceps and a tattoo, but still a weakling. I extended my leg once more. He grabbed it, and like the cowboys holding onto a rope when bull-riding, he got a firm grip and had a [faraway] look. He really put his back into it. He pulled hard.

Have you ever had that moment when you know disaster is about to happen, but you can’t do a thing about it? I felt my planted foot, the one I was resting my weight on, start to slide on the slick tile. My fingers instantly dug for something to hold onto, but I was clawing drywall. I [slid down the wall about two inches,] and then my foot, the one that was supposed to hold my weight, went airborne. Since my other foot was being pulled on by Samson, there was suddenly nothing but thin air between my bottom and the hard tile floor.

It was a classic cartoon moment. My feet went one way, and I went another. I could feel my spine draw up like an accordion. My helper, he of great strength, was still holding onto my wader boot. I am sorry to say, the ground shook right after my impact, not from my weight making an impact, but from the deep belly laughs of other volunteers and a certain minister (who may get marked down in his next evaluation based on his low empathy for his fallen pastor).

After the laughs were stifled, I was asked if I was hurt. I replied as any man would: “Of course not,” even though I had lost four inches of height. A chair was produced, and I sat down. A few more tugs and the waders were completely off, and I limped away from the baptistry.

Maybe when Jesus changes your life, you should be swept off your feet. Maybe taking the signs of faith is [too] dramatic. Maybe laughter should accompany baptism, because God’s love is a gift of joy. And maybe, just maybe, God lets preachers fall flat on their butt to keep them humble. Maybe even to bring them up a little short.

If anyone finds the four inches I lost, please return them to me. I now have several shirts and pants that no longer fit.118



Endnotes

110Calvin’s Commentaries.

111Calvin’s Commentaries.

112Calvin’s Commentaries.

113Calvin’s Commentaries.

114Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament.

115Barne’s Notes.

116Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament.

117Calvin’s Commentaries.

118W. Clay Smith. “Swept Off My Feet …,” 1 January 2026

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