Here is why I believe water baptism is not needed for salvation. 1st of all, I became born again and set free from sin way before I was ever water baptized. Peter's message in Acts 10:34-43 makes it clear that "remission of sins" comes to "whoever believes." Plus that Scripture has this: But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him - Acts 10:35. To work righteousness is not going in the water.
To believe in Jesus means you are committed unto Him. It also means: used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul. That means when we believe in Jesus Christ, His power within us drives us to have a distinctively superior advantage of having our souls obey His moral law.
When Jesus commanded us to make disciples baptizing them in Matt. 28:19, He was not talking about water baptism. In Luke 12:50, Jesus said, "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished." ~ He was talking about His death. For us to be baptized into Him means we must die to sin (Romans 6:1) and have sin crucified in our lives (Romans 6:6). It's done by God when we have faith/believe, not our own works of being water baptized. For Christians to make disciples of people and baptizing them is preaching to them to get them saved, making them believers who are born again by the Holy Spirit into the family of God and are set free from the slavery to sin.
Acts 2:41 - Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ~ No way did Peter have the time to water baptize 3,000 people that day in addition to the time it took for the other things that happened that day...
I have seen some people say Peter had help from the other men to water baptize the 3,000 so that it could have been done. But how long do you think it takes to water baptize 3,000 people even with 12 people doing it? Peter's sermon took a long time. Verse 40 even says "And with many other words he testified and exhorted them." There was no time for him, or him and the other 11 men, to water baptize 3,000 people that day. Verse 41 states "those who gladly received his word were baptized." That's how they got baptized, they received his word. Not the word of the eleven others with him or however many people one will say joined him and did this baptizing, but Peter's word. When they received his word about God, God did a work in them.
Some water baptism supporters say it was a tag team effort of one person getting water baptized and then he can immediately do it to someone else, but then you make someone ministering who may or may not have just gotten saved when he doesn't know what he is doing. That is not how people get saved. That's a joke = someone gets saved one minute and then ministers to someone else the next minute and then those 2 minister to 2 more the next minute and then those 4 do 4 more the next minute, and on and on it goes until 3,000 got ministered to all by someone who didn't know what they were doing but thought they could perform some magic trick in the water.
Even if the water was right next to the upper room where they were praying, there still is not enough time in the day to water baptize 3,000 people. Do you even study the context to see all the things that went on that day? And when the Day of Pentecost had fully come... - Acts 2:1. The day had already been going on before this. Starting at Acts 1:15 is the same day. Peter started leading the disciples (vs 15 and after) on who they proposed would take the place of Judas. Then they prayed and cast their lots to who it would be between the 2 guys they proposed (1:24-26). Then comes 2:1 where they are still there praying and then started speaking in tongues. Then the people outside heard this and they all came together (2:5,6). Then the people outside were all amazed and perplexed (2:12). Then some mocked them (2:13). Then Peter started preaching to these people (2:14+). And with many other words he testified and exhorted them (2:40). For all of this to have been done, it must have taken a long time. 2:38 is not water baptism because there is not enough time to do that. Plus how does the water to baptize all these people mysteriously appear? Or did they all go walk to a river or lake? That is some time.
Even if you insist on thinking Peter had help from the 11 others to water baptize 3,000 people (in spite of Scripture not saying this), how long do you think it would take to get them all in line in 12 different lines in the river or lake and then each of them water baptizing 250 people (3,000 divided by 12)? It's going to take about 1 minute per person to water baptize someone in natural water. That's 60 an hour. It cannot be done fast as in a church baptismal bath tub because the people are wading through the water to get to the baptizer instead of just walking on the floor and stepping down in the tub. One person baptizing 60 people an hour and doing 250 people is going to take over 4 hours in addition to the long sermon Peter preached and the other things that happened that day. There is not enough time in a day for this to be water baptism even if 12 people did the baptizing. But that is not what this being baptized was. Verse 41 tells us how they got baptized.
Can you picture the unholy scene if all these people (or atleast the people who were doing the dipping of the people in the water) were in the water for many hours? They would have been relieving themselves having to stand there in the water and then the baptism would have not been just in water. Or will you say they had an outhouse there or a bush happened to be there next to the water? That's more time for a break. My fellow Christians, you ought to think about this and realize that no way is this water baptism. It clearly says receiving his word is how they were baptized, just like the other Scriptures on this page prove that when we believe and then God does the work in us to make us born again is the same as to be baptized. Now look to this other large happening of people getting saved:
Acts 4:4 - However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. ~ Hearing the word is how they believed, no way did they water baptize 5,000 people for they were even put into custody that day. They didn't water baptize anybody, they just preached the word.
Acts 19:4,5 - Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after Him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ~ So by believing is how God then baptizes us in the name of the Lord Jesus. This does not mean that is when they were water baptized, because the next verse says that when Paul laid hands on them, they spoke with tongues. You can't water baptize someone without laying hands on them, so that rules that out. By hearing and believing is how they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Romans 6:3-6 - Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (I just showed you it is not water-baptism in Luke 12:50) Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ~ Note: So baptism is crucifying the old body of sin and then no longer being a slave to sin. That is done by God when we become a believer. The goodness of God leads us to repentance (2:4). So being baptized is becoming a believer. Now try this being baptized...
Mark 10:38,39 - But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized." ~ Note: Jesus was not talking about going in the water again. To drink the cup and be baptized is referring to the suffering and death that awaited Him (Mark 14:36). Herod killed James in Acts 12:1,2. John was exiled for a while to the island of Patmos. He was persecuted greatly. They both got the Lord's baptism. If you can suffer for Christ, then you will teach the truth against false doctrine and not be concerned about the negativity you get from so-called Christians.
Mark 16:16 - "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." ~ Note: Some water baptism for salvation preachers try to use this verse to support them. Then I use this verse to show that it backfires on them. This is another verse that supports me in proving that baptism is what happens when we believe. I can say this because the last half of the verse does not say if you are not baptized you will be condemned. Only 1 was needed at the end of what will make the person condemned because both are tied to each other. God is the One who baptizes us (as into His family by His work of regeneration of our Spirit). It is the work of God that does it, not the work of a man with water. In other words, the verse is saying he who believes and has God do a work in them by making them born again by the Holy Spirit shall be saved, but he who does not believe will go to hell. You see, there is a first thing that WE must do before God does the work in us to get us saved, but if we don't do that 1st thing then we will be condemned and the 2nd thing (being baptized) obviously doesn't get done by God in us because we didn't do the requirement to believe.
John 3:5 - Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." ~ Note: Some people think this "born of water" means water baptism, but that is not correct. Some poeple think this "water" means physical birth, but that is not correct either. Here's what it means:
Jesus used the Old Testament imagery of "water" and "wind" (wind is an alternate translation of Spirit - v.8) to refer to the work of God from above...
Isaiah 44:3,4 - "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses."
Ezekiel 37:9,10 - Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophecy son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Come from the four WINDS, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." ' " So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
These are both OT prophesies of what born of water and the Spirit mean. Glory to God. It's also in the New Testament:
John 4:14 - "but whoever drinks (to receive into the soul what serves to refresh & strengthen & nourish it into life eternal) of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." ~ Note: This is being born of water = the power of God inside you.
1 Corinthians 12:13 - For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free -- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. ~ Note: This is not water baptism. It is the work of regereration by the Holy Spirit that gets us baptized into the body of Christ. We become saved when we are born again by the Holy Spirit. We then obey God by the working of His Spirit in us. God does not force us to get saved. We have free will to make the choice to turn to Him and then repent by His leading us to repentance. God then makes us born again, baptized into His body. God has and uses His power to make us born again, but we have to believe, turn to Him, and repent for that to happen.
Ephesians 4:4-6 - There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM, one God and the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ~ Note: This is about being saved, so all you water baptism preachers are offending all Christians who got set free from the slavery to sin by the power of God's Holy Spirit when they got born again by playing the part of Satan the accuser of the brethren by saying they are not saved because God is not in them. I sure hope you people repent after seeing this page.
1 Peter 3:21 - There is also an antitype which now saves us -- BAPTISM (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ~ Note: Not the removal of the filth of the flesh means not water baptism saves us, and an answer of a good conscience towards God is further proof that baptism is what God does to us when we believe/have faith/repent from sin = what it takes to be a Christian saved from going to hell.
It was not Philip's idea to go in the water. The eunuch, the person getting saved, said "here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Maybe Philip didn't want to hurt his feelings. Maybe Philip didn't want to have to explain to him what baptism really means at the time. That was not a good time as Philip was leading him to the Lord right then and it might have caused problems. As we are mature in the Lord we can discuss this and set this straight. At that time in Acts with the eunuch being led to the Lord Jesus was not the time to set the facts straight on what baptism is, since it would have taken rebuke by Philip to the eunuch for the eunuch's idea to go in the water. Then Philip disappeared. Who knows why? I don't. Perhaps God had to personally set Philip straight on what baptism really is? I don't know, but I do know the Scriptures above ought to be enough to set all the Christians straight who preach water baptism for salvation or that you come up out of the water a new man by a water magic trick.
This is a big deal because water baptism has the power seems like a big insult to God's power done by the Holy Spirit. I think water baptism for salvation, or the magic trick of coming out of the water a new man, is grieving the Holy Spirit of God. That's really bad preaching. It is not preaching the power of God done by His Holy Spirit working in the person to make them born again. It is preaching a magic trick done by the dipper into the water that makes the person a new man. We need preachers who will preach correctly of what it means to become a born again Christian. I do so at my 1st link below.