Is baptism necessary for salvation according to Acts 22:16?

from the old testament

• The Old Testament does not talk about baptism.

from the new testament

• Paul was saved when he was first confronted by Jesus, seeing Him face-to-face (Acts 9:3–5).
• Acts 22:16 is in the middle of Paul’s testimony, where he recalls Ananias saying to him, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Even in the immediate context, the passage does not say that Paul had his sins washed away by the baptism. Instead, it says that Paul is to be cleansed while “calling upon His name.” While Paul is relaying these events together, the idea is that the washing away is by the calling, not the baptizing.
• The problem with interpreting Acts 22:16 as being salvation by baptism is that the original event in Acts 9 shows that Paul was saved before the baptism. There, we read the account of Paul (known then as Saul) walking on the road to Damascus when Jesus stopped him. At that event, Paul believed in the risen Jesus Christ as Lord. We learn about that in a dream Ananias received prior to Paul’s visit, where God refers to Paul as “praying” (Acts 9:16). We also see that in Acts 9:17, when Ananias called him “brother Saul.” “Brother,” in the Bible, when not used to talk about siblings, always refers to believers.
• Paul also recorded his testimony in Galatians, saying, “I neither received [the Gospel] from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).
• Paul would also go on to write a large percentage of the New Testament. In it, he regularly taught that salvation was by faith, alone. For example, see Romans 4:5, Galatians 2:16, and Philippians 3:9.
• One of the most famous “by faith alone” passages was written by Paul. in Ephesians 2:8–9 he said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Notice that no works—not even the work of baptism—is necessary for salvation. It is by faith, alone.
• Not only did Paul teach this, but salvation by faith alone is consistent with the rest of the New Testament teaching. For example, John 1:12 says that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” As with Paul’s teaching, there is no mention of baptism. Instead, the “children of God” are those who believe in Jesus’ name.
• Also, consider the thief on the cross in Luke 23. He expressed faith in Jesus when he said, “remember me when You come in Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus’ reply was not, “you need to be baptized, first” but, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Because of the situation, the thief was unable to be baptized, and yet Jesus affirms that he was still saved because salvation is based on his faith, alone. If baptism was necessary for salvation, Jesus would have told him.
• Part of untangling passages that connect baptism so closely with salvation is by considering the early church’s understanding of baptism. For them, it was virtually unheard of for someone to delay between being saved and being baptized. For example, when Philip taught an Ethiopian the Gospel of Jesus from a scroll he had acquired, the Ethiopian believed and then immediately asked to be baptized (Acts 8:36). This sense of immediate baptism is consistent with Jesus’ final command to the disciples to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19– 20a). The expectation of Jesus was that all believers were to be baptized. The early disciples were following His example and why they often mentioned baptism and salvation together.

implications for today

Baptism does not save. Instead, it is an expression of one’s saving faith. However, though it does not save, it is also expected to be done by all believers. There may be times when wisdom leads to delaying baptism after one’s confession. However, that should be the exception.

When Jesus gave His final commands to the disciples, He told them to do two things after disciples were made: they were to be baptized and taught (Matthew 28:19–20). His intention was that all disciples (everyone who is saved) would also be baptized. He commanded that because it is an act which publicly shows a believer’s allegiance belongs to the Lord (Romans 6:3–4).

So, though baptism is closely associated with salvation, it comes after it. Salvation, itself, comes only by faith and not works, not even the “work” of baptism (Ephesians 2:8–9). This means that of first importance is repentance for sin. Everyone is born an enemy of God and under His wrath (Romans 3:9–18, John 3:36). Short of faith in Christ, everyone is waiting for that final judgement to be unleashed (Romans 5:9). Therefore, it is imperative that everyone repents now. That expression of faith is what saves.

However, once a man or woman does repent, then the very next step that Jesus expects of them is the declaration of their new faith to the world by being baptized. Baptism is an act of joy as much as it is obedience to Christ. He, and He alone, brings salvation. Being baptized is the first action we can do to tell others about Jesus, just like it was the first one that Paul did, shocking both believers and unbelievers because of his complete reversal from persecutor to champion of Christ (Acts 9:19b–22).