Is Baptism Required to Receive the Holy Spirit

[Hopefully]

“Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:38‬ 

“But John tried to stop him. John said, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I should be baptized by you!” Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do whatever God says is right.” Then John agreed. So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3:14-16‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I believe the answer is yes because I did not receive the Holy Spirit until after I was baptized and years later at that.

Some people believe baptism is not necessary, but the verses above do not sound optional. 
 

If Jesus said get baptized and was even baptized himself why would anyone tell people to do the opposite?

Why did the Spirit ascend on Jesus only after he was baptized?

 

 

[Sparks]

2 hours ago, Hopefully said:

Some people believe baptism is not necessary, but the verses above do not sound optional.

Baptism is a great thing to do, and an act of obedience, but it does not save you.  It's symbolic and an a public illustration of our death to sin and new life in Christ.

The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. His blood sacrifice is what saves.

[other one]

some people who received the Holy Spirit had not been baptized.    But they were baptized afterward.    So in my own mind it would seem that one could receive the Holy Spirit, but those people would be driven by the Holy Spirit to be baptized.    I believe with all my heart that this happened to my wife.

 

Quote

 

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, 47“Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

 

 

[Alive]

Bothe the Lord’s supper and baptism after confession of Christ were important to the early christian community and were embraced as the Lord’s will for His folks.

Simple really. We are sealed, by the Holy Spirit when we are newly born.

[missmuffet]

2 hours ago, Hopefully said:

“Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:38‬ 

“But John tried to stop him. John said, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I should be baptized by you!” Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do whatever God says is right.” Then John agreed. So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3:14-16‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I believe the answer is yes because I did not receive the Holy Spirit until after I was baptized and years later at that.

Some people believe baptism is not necessary, but the verses above do not sound optional. 
 

If Jesus said get baptized and was even baptized himself why would anyone tell people to do the opposite?

Why did the Spirit ascend on Jesus only after he was baptized?

 

 

No, baptism is not required to become a born again believer and receive the Holy Spirit. 

Does Acts 2:38 teach that baptism is necessary for salvation?

https://www.gotquestions.org

ANSWER

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 shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” As with any single verse or passage, we discern what it teaches by first filtering it through what we know the Bible teaches on the subject at hand. In the case of baptism and salvation, the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of any kind, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9). So, any interpretation which comes to the conclusion that baptism, or any other act, is necessary for salvation, is a faulty interpretation. For more information, please visit our webpage on "Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works?"

Why, then, do some come to the conclusion that we must be baptized in order to be saved? Often, the discussion of whether or not this passage teaches baptism is required for salvation centers around the Greek word eis that is translated “for” in this passage. Those who hold to the belief that baptism is required for salvation are quick to point to this verse and the fact that it says “be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,” assuming that the word translated “for” in this verse means “in order to get.” However, in both Greek and English, there are many possible usages of the word “for.”

As an example, when one says “Take two aspirin for your headache,” it is obvious to everybody that it does not mean “take two aspirin in order to get your headache,” but instead to “take two aspirin because you already have a headache.” There are three possible meanings of the word “for” that might fit the context of Acts 2:38: 1--“in order to be, become, get, have, keep, etc.,” 2—“because of, as the result of,” or 3—“with regard to.” Since any one of the three meanings could fit the context of this passage, additional study is required in order to determine which one is correct.

We need to start by looking back to the original language and the meaning of the Greek word eis. This is a common Greek word (it is used 1774 times in the New Testament) that is translated many different ways. Like the English word “for” it can have several different meanings. So, again, we see at least two or three possible meanings of the passage, one that would seem to support that baptism is required for salvation and others that would not. While both the meanings of the Greek word eis are seen in different passages of Scripture, such noted Greek scholars as A.T. Robertson and J.R. Mantey have maintained that the Greek preposition eis in Acts 2:38 should be translated “because of” or “in view of,” and not “in order to,” or “for the purpose of.”

One example of how this preposition is used in other Scriptures is seen in Matthew 12:41 where the word eis communicates the “result” of an action. In this case it is said that the people of Nineveh “repented at the preaching of Jonah” (the word translated “at” is the same Greek word eis). Clearly, the meaning of this passage is that they repented “because of’” or “as the result of” Jonah’s preaching. In the same way, it would be possible that Acts 2:38 is indeed communicating the fact that they were to be baptized “as the result of” or “because” they already had believed and in doing so had already received forgiveness of their sins (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). This interpretation of the passage is also consistent with the message recorded in Peter’s next two sermons to unbelievers where he associates the forgiveness of sins with the act of repentance and faith in Christ without even mentioning baptism (Acts 3:17-26; Acts 4:8-12).

In addition to Acts 2:38, there are three other verses where the Greek word eis is used in conjunction with the word “baptize” or “baptism.” The first of these is Matthew 3:11, “baptize you with water for repentance.” Clearly the Greek word eis cannot mean “in order to get” in this passage. They were not baptized “in order to get repentance,” but were “baptized because they had repented.” The second passage is Romans 6:3 where we have the phrase “baptized into (eis) His death.” This again fits with the meaning “because of” or in "regard to." The third and final passage is 1 Corinthians 10:2 and the phrase “baptized into (eis) Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” Again, eis cannot mean “in order to get” in this passage because the Israelites were not baptized in order to get Moses to be their leader, but because he was their leader and had led them out of Egypt. If one is consistent with the way the preposition eis is used in conjunction with baptism, we must conclude that Acts 2:38 is indeed referring to their being baptized “because” they had received forgiveness of their sins. Some other verses where the Greek preposition eis does not mean “in order to obtain” are Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 19:3; 1 Corinthians 1:15; and 12:13.

The grammatical evidence surrounding this verse and the preposition eis are clear that while both views on this verse are well within the context and the range of possible meanings of the passage, the majority of the evidence is in favor that the best possible definition of the word “for” in this context is either “because of” or “in regard to” and not “in order to get.” Therefore, Acts 2:38, when interpreted correctly, does not teach that baptism is required for salvation.

Besides the precise meaning of the preposition translated “for” in this passage, there is another grammatical aspect of this verse to carefully consider—the change between the second person and third person between the verbs and pronouns in the passage. For example, in Peter’s commands to repent and be baptized the Greek verb translated “repent” is in the second person plural while the verb “be baptized,” is in the third person singular. When we couple this with the fact that the pronoun “your” in the phrase “forgiveness of your sins” is also second person plural, we see an important distinction being made that helps us understand this passage. The result of this change from second person plural to third person singular and back would seem to connect the phrase “forgiveness of your sins” directly with the command to “repent.” Therefore, when you take into account the change in person and plurality, essentially what you have is “You (plural) repent for the forgiveness of your (plural) sins, and let each one (singular) of you be baptized (singular).” Or, to put it in a more distinct way: “You all repent for the forgiveness of all of your sins, and let each one of you be baptized.”

Another error that is made by those who believe Acts 2:38 teaches baptism is required for salvation is what is sometimes called the Negative Inference Fallacy. Simply put, this is the idea that just because a statement is true, we cannot assume all negations (or opposites) of that statement are true. In other words, just because Acts 2:38 says “repent and be baptized….for the forgiveness of sins…and the gift of the Holy Spirit,” does not mean that if one repents and is not baptized, he will not receive forgiveness of sins or the gift of the Holy Spirit.

There is an important difference between a condition of salvation and a requirement for salvation. The Bible is clear that belief is both a condition and a requirement, but the same cannot be said for baptism. The Bible does not say that if a man is not baptized then he will not be saved. One can add any number of conditions to faith (which is required for salvation), and the person can still be saved. For example if a person believes, is baptized, goes to church, and gives to the poor he will be saved. Where the error in thinking occurs is if one assumes all these other conditions, “baptism, going to church, giving to the poor,” are required for one to be saved. While they might be the evidence of salvation, they are not a requirement for salvation. (For a more thorough explanation of this logical fallacy, please see the Question: Does Mark 16:16 teach that baptism is required for salvation?).

The fact that baptism is not required to receive forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit should also be evident by simply reading a little farther in the book of Acts. In Acts 10:43, Peter tells Cornelius that “through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (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, having believed Peter’s message about Christ, the “Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message” (Acts 10:44). It is only after they had believed, and therefore received forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, that Cornelius and his household were baptized (Acts 10:47-48). The context and the passage are very clear; Cornelius and his household received both forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit before they were ever baptized. In fact, the reason Peter allowed them to be baptized was that they showed evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit “just as Peter and the Jewish believers” had.

In conclusion, Acts 2:38 does not teach that baptism is required for salvation. While baptism is important as the sign that one has been justified by faith and as the public declaration of one’s faith in Christ and membership in a local body of believers, it is not the means of remission or forgiveness of sins. The Bible is very clear that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (John 1:12; John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:21-30; Romans 4:5; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:9; Galatians 2:16).

Edited April 30, 2022 by missmuffet

[Hopefully]

2 hours ago, Rosie1jack2pauline3 said:

its not an emotion that fills your heart with love....it’s a birth, which only God can do.that is my belief.born again.

I agree. The pastor baptized me with water then Jesus baptized me with the Holy Spirit.

“This is what John told the people: “There is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who stoops down to untie his sandals. I baptize you with water, but the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:7-8‬ ‭

[Hopefully]

1 hour ago, other one said:

  I believe with all my heart that this happened to my wife.

Sounds good because it doesn’t result in one not being baptized.

[Hopefully]

1 hour ago, missmuffet said:

In conclusion, Acts 2:38 does not teach that baptism is required for salvation.

Thank you for this information. I don’t believe baptism saves people but it does appear to be important so important that Jesus did it. And the spirit descended on him afterwards.

He told us to do it so I am not comfortable telling people it’s ok if they don’t.

[missmuffet]

5 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

Thank you for this information. I don’t believe baptism saves people but it does appear to be important so important that Jesus did it. And the spirit descended on him afterwards.

He told us to do it so I am not comfortable telling people it’s ok if they don’t.

That is great if they choose to be baptized. But it is not a salvation issue. Some people can't be baptized for one reason or another. 

[BK1110]

48 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

That is great if they choose to be baptized. But it is not a salvation issue. Some people can't be baptized for one reason or another. 

I can personally speak to this. Physical disability. If I am ever able to get healthy enough to live a normal life (including attending church in-person again) baptism is right at the top of my priorities list.

Baptism is like good works; they do not save, but a truly saved and changed heart begins to naturally desire it, as God's work of sanctification changes us to be more like Jesus and to desire to follow Him out of joy and thanksgiving, not just out of a sense of duty.