In 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 will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” With any single verse or passage, we determine what it teaches by filtering it through what we already know the Bible teaches on the subject at hand. This is true for any single verse or passage. If we are talking about baptism and salvation, the Bible is crystal clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not via the performance of any works, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9). In other words, any reading that leads to the conclusion that baptism (or other acts of obedience) are prerequisites for salvation is erroneous interpretation.
In light of this, why do some people come to the conclusion that baptism is a requirement for salvation? Most of the debate over whether or not this scripture teaches that baptism is essential for salvation revolves around the Greek term EIS, which is translated “for” in this chapter and is translated “for salvation.” The fact that this phrase says “be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” is often cited by those who believe that baptism is essential for salvation, with the assumption that the word translated “for” in this verse indicates “in order to obtain” salvation. However, the word “for” can be used in a variety of ways in both Greek and English, depending on the context.
For example, when someone says, “Take two aspirin for your headache,” it is clear to everyone that they are not referring to “take two aspirin in order to get your headache,” but rather to “take two aspirin because you already have a headache.” For the purposes of this passage, there are three possible interpretations of the word “for”: 1–“in order for one to be or become or to gain or keep something,” 2–“as a result of, ” or 3–“with regard to.” Because any one of the three interpretations could be appropriate in the context of this passage, further investigation is required to discover which is the accurate interpretation.
Starting with the original language and its meaning, the Greek term EIS, we can better understand what we’re talking about. This is a common Greek term (it appears 1774 times in the New Testament) that has been rendered in a variety of ways. It is similar to the English word “for,” in that it might signify different things to different people. In other words, we observe at least two or three plausible interpretations of the verse, one of which appears to support the notion that baptism is essential for salvation and others which appear to contradict this notion. As noted by A.T. Robertson and J.R. Mantey, while both meanings of the Greek word EIS are found in separate sections of Scripture, the preposition EIS in Acts 2:38 should be translated “because of” or “in view of,” rather than “for the purpose of,” or “in order to.”
One example of how this preposition is utilized in other Scriptures is seen in Matthew 12:41, where the word EIS is used to describe the “result” of an activity that has taken place. In this instance, it is stated that the inhabitants of Nineveh “repented at the preaching of Jonah” (the word translated “at” is the same Greek word as “at” in the previous sentence). Clearly, the interpretation of this passage is that they repented “as a result of” or “as a result of” Jonah’s sermon, rather than “because of.” In the same way, it is probable that Acts 2:38 is expressing the fact that they were to be baptized “as a result of” or “because” they had already believed and, as a result, had already obtained forgiveness of their sins by believing (John 1:12; John 3:14-18; John 5:24; John 11:25-26; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:39; Acts 16:31; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 1:12-14). Peter’s message to unbelievers in his following two lectures is consistent with this interpretation of the verse, in which he equates the forgiveness of sins with the act of repentance and faith in Christ, without ever mentioning baptism (Acts 3:17-26; Acts 4:8-12).
Additional than the line in Acts 2:38, there are three other verses in the New Testament where the Greek term EIS is used in connection with the words “baptize” or “baptism.” For starters, Matthew 3:11 says, “I will baptize you with water for repentance.” In this verse, it is clear that the Greek word EIS does not mean “in order to obtain.” They were not baptized “in order to obtain repentance,” but rather were “baptized because they had repented,” according to the Bible. We find the term “baptized into His death” in Romans 6:3, which is the second text. This ties in with the meaning “because of” or in “regard to” in the previous sentence. 1 Corinthians 10:2 has the phrase “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,” which is the third and last verse. As previously stated, the Greek word EIS cannot be translated as “in order to obtain” in this text because the Israelites were not baptized in order to obtain Moses as their leader, but rather because he was already their leader after leading them out of Egypt. Assuming that the preposition EIS is consistently used in conjunction with baptism, we must conclude that Acts 2:38 is certainly referring to them being baptized “because” they had received forgiveness of their sins. Other scriptures in which the Greek preposition EIS does not indicate “in order to obtain” include Matthew 28:19, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 19:3, 1 Corinthians 1:15, and 1 Corinthians 12:13, among others.
It is clear from the grammatical evidence surrounding this verse and the preposition eis that, while both interpretations of this verse are perfectly consistent with the context and the range of possible meanings of the passage, a large body of evidence points to either “because of” or “in regard to” as the most appropriate definition for the word “for” in this context, rather than “in order to obtain.” As a result, when correctly translated, Acts 2:38 does not imply that baptism is essential for salvation.
There is another grammatical component of this stanza to carefully investigate, in addition to the specific meaning of the preposition translated “for” in this section: the transition from the second to the third person between the verbs and pronouns in the passage. The Greek verb rendered “repent” is in the second person plural in Peter’s exhortation to repent and be baptized, whereas the Greek verb translated “be baptized” is in the third person singular. We can notice a significant contrast being made when we combine this with the fact that the word “your” in the phrase “pardon of your sins” is also in the second person plural, which helps us better understand this verse. This shift from the second person plural to the third person singular and back again appears to establish a direct link between the phrase “pardon of your sins” and the instruction to “repent.” As a result, when you take into consideration the shift in person and plurality, what you have is effectively “You (plural) repent for the forgiveness of your (plural) sins, and let each one (singular) of you be baptized (singular).” In other words, “You all repent for the forgiveness of all of your sins, and let each one of you be baptized,” to put it another way.
Those who claim that Acts 2:38 teaches that baptism is essential for salvation commit another error, which is referred to as the Negative Inference Fallacy in some circles. For the most part, this is the idea that simply because a proposition is true, we should not assume that all of its negations (or opposites) are also true. To put it another way, just because Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized….for the forgiveness of sins…and the gift of the Holy Spirit,” does not imply that if one repents but does not receive baptism, he will not receive forgiveness of sins or the gift of the Holy Spirit as a result of his repentance.
When it comes to salvation, there is a significant distinction between what is required and what is not required. However, although the Bible is clear that belief is both a condition and a need for salvation, the same cannot be stated for Christian baptism. Nowhere in the Bible does it imply that if a guy does not believe in Christ and is baptized, he will be lost. The belief in God (which is essential for salvation) can be supplemented with any number of conditions, and the person will still be saved. Someone who believes in Christ, is baptized in his name and participates in charitable endeavors such as charitable giving will be saved. The fallacy in thinking occurs when one assumes that all of these other prerequisites, such as “baptism, attendance at church, and giving to the needy,” are essential in order to be saved by God. While they may constitute proof of salvation, they are not a requirement for salvation in and of themselves. (For a more in-depth analysis of this logical mistake, read the question Does Mark 16:16 teach that baptism is essential for salvation?
In addition, by just continuing to read a little further into the book of Acts, it should become clear that baptism is not required in order to receive forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Through His name, everyone who trusts in Him obtains forgiveness of sins,” Peter informs Cornelius in Acts 10:43. (please note that nothing at this point has been mentioned about being baptized, yet Peter connects believing in Christ with the act of receiving forgiveness for sins). The next thing that happens is that, as a result of Peter’s message about Christ being believed, the “Holy Spirit descended onto all those who were listening to the word” (Acts 10:44). Cornelius and his household were not baptized until after they had repented and received forgiveness of their sins as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit as a result of their faith in Christ (Acts 10:47-48). According to the context and the passage, Cornelius and his household were granted forgiveness of sins as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit before they were even baptized by immersion. It was actually because they demonstrated evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit “in the same way that Peter and the Jewish believers” that Peter permitted them to be baptized.
To summarize, Acts 2:38 does not teach that baptism is needed for salvation, as some have claimed. While baptism is essential as a symbol of one’s justi
Primary Sources: The Holy Scriptures