Can You Be Saved Without Baptism?

by Terry Wane Benton

Can a person be saved although they have not been baptized? Was this the case of the thief on the cross?

Jesus commanded baptism in His name after He was raised from the dead (Mark 16:15-16).

The thief was like David, pardoned under the terms of the Old Testament (Hebrews 9:15-17). David was not baptized in the name of Jesus simply because it was not commanded in his covenant. Likewise, the thief was pardoned under the same covenant provisions as David (Psalms 32 and 51). That covenant never commanded confession of the risen Jesus (Romans 10:9-10) nor baptism in the name of Jesus. However, we are now under the terms of the New Covenant (Mark 16:15-16). None of the 3000 on Pentecost could be saved on the same terms as David and the thief on the cross.

Peter taught the terms required under the Risen Testator (Acts 2:36-41), and those terms apply to “all nations” (Jew and Gentile) and to every creature (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).

Can a person be saved without baptism? No! That would be like asking if a person can be saved without being in Christ. We are “baptized into Christ” (Galatians 3:27). There is no record of getting into Christ another way. Faith in Jesus means we believe His terms of pardon and His conditions for entrance into Him. If we do not have faith in Jesus enough to die to sin and unite with Him in baptism (Romans 6:3-6), we do not have faith in the right Jesus as presented to us in Jesus’ authoritative covenant.