Acts 22:16

by Terry Wane Benton

Acts 22:16 Links Baptism and Calling Together with Washing

The grammar of Acts 22:16 strongly links baptism and the washing away of sins as simultaneous actions, both carried out while calling on the name of the Lord.

The Greek Structure of Acts 22:16

The verse reads: “Anastas baptisai kai apolousai tas hamartias sou, epikalesamenos to onoma autou.”

Here’s the structure:

• ἀνάστηθι — “Get up” (aorist imperative)
• βαπτίσαι — “be baptized” (aorist middle imperative)
• ἀπόλουσαι — “wash away [your] sins” (aorist middle imperative)
• ἐπικαλεσάμενος — “calling on” (aorist middle participle of manner)

The key is that “be baptized” and “wash away your sins” are:

• Both are aorist imperatives
• Both are in the middle voice
• They are joined by the conjunction kai (“and”)
• Both are modified by the same participle “calling on His name.”

This means they are grammatically parallel actions, performed together, in the same moment, and in the same manner.

What the Grammar Does Show

1. Baptism and washing away sins are grammatically linked. The two imperatives form a unit. Luke does not separate them into different time frames.
2. The participle “calling on His name” modifies both actions. This means:
   • The manner of being baptized and the manner of washing away sins is calling on the name of the Lord.
   • This is exactly how Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21 function:
     • Calling on the Lord is the appeal for salvation—and baptism is the moment that appeal is expressed (cf. I Peter 3:21).
3. The aorist tense does not indicate sequence. Aorist imperatives simply command an action, not the order of actions. So the grammar does not say:
   • “Be baptized after your sins are washed away,” nor “Wash away your sins after baptism.”
   • It simply commands both together.

What the Grammar Does Not Show

• It does not prove that sins are washed away before baptism.
• There is no grammatical marker of prior action (no perfect tense, no temporal participle like “having been forgiven”). It does not prove that sins are washed away after baptism.
• There is no “then,” no sequential participle, no temporal adverb.
• It does not separate the two actions. The conjunction kai (“and”) binds them tightly.

Scholarly Consensus (Across Traditions)

Even scholars who disagree on baptism’s role agree on the grammar:

• Baptism-as-salvation scholars (e.g., A.T. Robertson, J.W. McGarvey, Apologetics Press):
  • Emphasize the causative middle voice
  • Note that the grammar ties baptism to the washing of sins
  • See the actions as simultaneous
• Baptism-not-for-salvation scholars (e.g., Daniel Wallace, F.F. Bruce):
  • Admit the grammar links the actions
  • But argue that the theology of Acts as a whole should interpret the verse
  • Still, acknowledge that the grammar does not separate the actions
• Both sides agree: The grammar itself does not create a time gap.

So What Does Acts 22:16 Actually Teach?

A fair, text‑only conclusion:

Paul is commanded to:

• Rise
• Be baptized
• Wash away his sins
• By calling on the name of the Lord

All of this is presented as one unified response to the gospel.

The grammar does not allow you to place the washing of sins before baptism, nor after it. It presents them as concurrent, with baptism as the moment when Paul calls on the Lord for cleansing. (Copilot).

So, the conclusion is that washing away of sins is not before baptism nor apart from baptism, but in a baptism where one is calling on the name of the Lord for His pardoning mercy. That is also the moment when Paul said that God performs the circumcision of sins (Colossians 2:12-13). Baptism is the moment of calling upon the Lord and the moment when God cuts away our sins; it is also the moment when we exercise our faith in Him. Saul was already praying in faith, but his sins were not yet washed away until he arose and was baptized, calling on the name of the Lord. It can be no different in our case either (I Corinthians 12:13). By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.