The Holy Spirit is quick to say that the baptism He is referring to does not wash away dirt - it is not water. He is referring to a baptism that is symbolic of a clean conscience before God. This is a strange thought to us and seems to be unimportant, but scripture says the type of conscience we have indicates our eternal destiny. False teachers have a “seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:2).” According to Acts 24:16; Titus 1:15; Heb. 9:9, 14; 10:22; 13:18, the conscience convicts of sinful or ungodly motives and desires. What saves us? 1 Timothy 1:19 states that a bad conscience indicates an individual is going to hell. So just as the ark saved Noah, a good conscience “now saves” us. The Greek tense of “saves” implies we are being saved now - it is not a future event. We are being saved right now. Baptism in this passage is symbolic of new spiritual life.

Passages About Salvation. The salvation of our souls is one of the most important truths from God to us. It would be a disaster if God was inconsistent about what we must do to be saved. There are at least twenty-four passages in the New Testament dealing with salvation. Of these twenty-four passages, twenty of them say that believing is required for salvation. Only two of the twenty-four passages seem to imply that repentance plus baptism is necessary. One passage connects baptism and confessing Jesus with your mouth as required to be saved.

Conclusion. Is baptism required for salvation? The answer is no! It is commanded by the Holy Spirit as an act of symbolic death from your sins and of your decision to live a new life committed to Jesus Christ.