1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38 Baptism and salvation. For brevity's sake, I tackled the hardest one here, as Peter is the speaker in Acts 2, Mark's Gospel, and of course Peter's epistles. I hope this clears up the need for baptism in salvation.
Note first the sentence structure. Peter inserts this parenthetical statement “not the removal of dirt from the flesh, BUT an appeal to God for a good conscience.” We could read it this way, as we would with a mathematical equation, solving outside our parenthesis first. Baptism now saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We must also look into the Greek here. In Strong's Concordance, we find G499 ἀντίτυπον an-teet'-oo-pon
Corresponding (“anti type”), that is, a representative, counterpart: - (like) figure (where unto).
[key word in LITV and NKJV “anti-type”] “corresponding to that” in NASB is less clearly rendered as an outward proclamation of that which already exists in the heart. e.g. The thief on the cross, not baptized nor spoke in tongues yet Christ himself promised he would be in Paradise with Jesus that very day.
The only other usage of this Greek word is in Hebrews 9:24, speaking of the difference between Christ as the true sacrifice and the OT temple, where we see that “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Here we see the use of the singular words in Greek that make up this compound word, first “anti” which means in contrast to, opposite, etc. and the other word being “tupos” meaning a style, resemblance, or model. In this light, it is obvious that baptism is a picture, but not an actual saving act.
A Scriptural example: Acts 10:45-48 Peter sees evidence of faith and repentance, also gift of the Holy Spirit, THEN baptizes them. This would denote that they were already saved and filled with the Holy Ghost before being baptized. Ch. 11:15-18 Peter retells the story in the same order, just in case anyone thought this was a mistake in dictation or other error. Let us not forget that these words are the inspired Word of God through the Holy Spirit who is being discussed here.
Of course, we see the other issues of agreement with other Gospel accounts as we see here:
Mark 16:15-18 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
If we are to conclude from Peter's letter (whose account is also recorded by John Mark in the Gospel of Mark) that one must be baptized to be saved, then we must also say that these signs will accompany all those who believe: Casting out demons, speaking in tongues, snake handling, poison drinking, and healing the sick. Some have taken this to extremes, intentionally drinking poison just to prove their salvation. One would recall that Paul the apostle did in fact get bitten by a snake, which rose out of the fire, and was not hurt. The natives then tried to worship Paul, which is akin to the reaction some folks have to men who exhibit certain gifts. The Giver is to be worshiped, never the one who exercises a gift given to them for His glory. We must be cautious not to demand certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit, not limit them to a certain gift that was in certain situations but not in all. If it were the only spiritual gift, then we might well consider if tongues was the only logical fruit, but still not attribute any certain gift as the only manifestation unless God's Word expressly said so.
From http://www.gotquestions.org/baptism-1Peter-3-21.html we find this quote by Dr. Kenneth Wuest, author of Word Studies in the Greek New Testament. “Water baptism is clearly in the apostle's mind, not the baptism by the Holy Spirit, for he speaks of the waters of the flood as saving the inmates of the ark, and in this verse, of baptism saving believers. But he says that it saves them only as a counterpart. That is, water baptism is the counterpart of the reality, salvation. It can only save as a counterpart, not actually. The Old Testament sacrifices were counterparts of the reality, the Lord Jesus. They did not actually save the believer, only in type. It is not argued here that these sacrifices are analogous to Christian water baptism. The author is merely using them as an illustration of the use of the word 'counterpart.'
At its core, the whole issue here is founded upon the false idea that we need to DO something in order to be saved. It doesn't really matter what that something happens to be, but if it's something, it's not by faith alone.
For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:3) If God's Word says this so specifically, as we read Romans 3 and 4 we see this idea brought to full scope in light of other views that supposed works to be the means of salvation in Old Testament times.
Many people see those who profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed (Titus 1:16) and figure there must be something to DO to show you're really saved. Of course, what escapes their notice is that just about all true believers desire to be baptized, AND most false believers are baptized (and it didn't seem to do them any good).
This from a brother who led a woman to true faith in Christ, rather than adding her own works to the mix:
This lady said of her three baptisms prior to truly getting saved by faith alone, "I was hoping it would work, but all I got was wet." Needless to say, baptism being necessary for salvation goes hand-in-hand with doctrinal beliefs that you can lose your salvation. This is again, a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of salvation. When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we speak of God's righteousness, man's sin, and what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary.
Suggested reading would include Paul's letter to the Galatians, which deals with false gospels and those who presume to add such things as circumcision and keeping of the Law of the Old Covenant as means of salvation. Surely if we see the truth of God's righteousness, love, and mercy, we will be drawn to obedience as a result of our repentance. Turning from our own ways of the flesh, agreeing with God about our need for a Savior, will ultimately result in obedience in baptism and much more. Giving too much weight to baptism and speaking in tongues or circumcision as part of the payment for sin would in fact contradict the need for Christ to have died in the first place. If we could bring anything to God as partial payment, then indeed Christ died in vain. We know this is not the case, and must use great caution when considering subjects such as these which can lead to people trusting in their own works for salvation and therefore not being truly saved. The eternal destiny of souls is at stake here, as is the name and testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
