Over the years, I have encountered multiple people who claim that water baptism forgives sins, making it a requirement for salvation. They present numerous proof texts taken out of context or misunderstood within their contextual framework to support their belief—including Acts 2:38.
This unfortunate reality puzzles me because the Old and New Testaments are not a collection of fragmented verses where each one is understood and interpreted at face value apart from its context, chapter, book, and the rest of Scripture as a whole. Instead, the doctrines taught in the Bible are consistent and reliable and fit together within a logical framework. Therefore, correctly understood verses will never contradict correctly understood verses but harmonize with the rest of Scripture and its overall message.
Regardless, many people who call themselves Christians do not adhere to or promote the biblical gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Instead, they claim water baptism results in forgiveness and redemption, using Acts 2:38 to help “prove” their case.
But are they right? Did Peter mean baptism forgave sins when he said: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”?
When reading this verse on its own, Peter seemed to imply that a person must be water baptized to obtain forgiveness and salvation. However, a thorough reading of the entire chapter plus letting Scripture interpret Scripture clarifies the meaning of Peter’s words, which are consistent with the Bible’s declarations that forgiveness and redemption are received exclusively through faith.
In context, Peter was addressing Jews on the Day of Pentecost, who mocked him and the other apostles for “drunkenness” after hearing them speak in other tongues. These Jews were the same men who crucified Jesus—believing He was a blasphemer who deserved death (see Acts 2:23).
In response to their false accusations, Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy from the Old Testament that, in part, predicted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit witnessed by the Jews that day (see Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17-20). He also used Joel’s evangelistic statement, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21), to set the foundation for his words in Acts 2:38.
Next, Peter boldly proclaimed to these Jews that Jesus was the Lord and promised Messiah (Savior) of the Old Testament, providing abundant evidence of this fact from Scripture (see Acts 2:22-36). Upon hearing Peter’s exposition and declarations about Jesus, the Jews were cut to the heart and convicted for betraying Jesus. They asked Peter what they needed to “do” to be saved.
Peter said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” To repent meant they had to change their minds about Jesus. They needed to stop believing Jesus was a blaspheming heretic and believe He was the Lord and promised Messiah of the Old Testament who would redeem them from their sins. Their repentance (embracing Jesus as their Lord and Messiah by faith) would result in their forgiveness and redemption, just as Joel prophesied: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Immediately after telling the Jews to repent, Peter told them to be baptized “for the forgiveness of your sins.” This portion of his statement is cited as "irrefutable evidence" by promoters of baptism for salvation to prove it forgives sin (= be baptized for forgiveness). However, their interpretation presumes that “for” means to “receive or obtain,” as in forgiveness. But that is not the case.
The Greek word translated as “for” (= eis) in Acts 2:38 does not exclusively mean “to receive or obtain” something when it appears in Scripture. The term can also convey that something is “because of” or the “result of” something else.
Using a non-biblical example, consider this illustration: if a doctor tells a patient to drink plenty of liquids for their cold, he is not telling them to ingest fluids to receive or obtain a cold. He is instructing them on what to do because of their cold or due to the illness they possess.
Likewise, many New Testament passages contain the Greek word “eis” (translated as “for”) to convey that something is the result of something else and not a means to obtain it. Here are a few examples:
John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for (eis) repentance.” John did not communicate that a person must be baptized to obtain repentance but that their baptism was the expected result of their repentance.
Jesus told His disciples in Luke 9:5, “And whosoever will not receive you...shake off the very dust from your feet for (eis) a testimony against them.” Jesus did not instruct His disciples to shake the dust from their feet to obtain a testimony but to do so because of (or in response to) people rejecting their message.
Stephen said of Moses in Acts 7:21, “And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for (eis) her own son.” Stephen did not convey that Pharoah’s daughter nourished Moses to receive or obtain him as a son. Rather, she cared for him because she had already taken him as her son.
Peter said in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man...to governors, as to those who are sent by Him for (eis) the punishment of evildoers.” Peter did not communicate that God established governors to receive or obtain evildoers’ punishment but to punish evildoers because of (or as a result of) their evil deeds.
Next, consider the cultural context of that time. Many Jews deemed themselves righteous before God and viewed water baptism as an act for Gentile sinners to convert to Judaism. Unfortunately, they never saw themselves as sinners separated from God.
Consequently, when a Jew was baptized into Christ, it was a bold declaration of their acceptance of Jesus as Messiah and a demonstration of their genuine repentance and cleansing from sin through faith in Him. In other words, their baptism was a bold public statement identifying them as Christians—not as a means to be forgiven or redeemed.
In light of this cultural fact about baptism, Acts 2:41 reported that the 3,000 Jews who were baptized into Christ on Pentecost had received (accepted, believed) Peter’s words about Jesus, which evidenced their salvation before their baptism. This truth is consistent with Acts 10:42-48, which recorded Gentiles receiving (accepting, believing) Peter’s words about Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit before Peter instructed them to be baptized. This supernatural infilling could not have occurred had baptism been a requirement for forgiveness and salvation. Moreover, Acts reveals that the early church consisted of “all who believed,” not all who believed and were baptized (see Acts 2:44-47).
It is also imperative to consider Peter’s other statements in Scripture about obtaining forgiveness and salvation to understand and interpret Acts 2:38 correctly. None of his declarations mentioned or included baptism as a requirement, further confirming Peter’s intended meaning in Acts 2:38:
Peter said in Acts 3:19, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
After Peter preached, Acts 4:4 records, “Many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
Peter said in Acts 10:43, “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone whobelieves in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
Peter said in Acts 11:17-18, “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’”
Peter said in Acts 15:7-11, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
Peter said in 1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
One last truth to consider when discerning the correct meaning of Acts 2:38 is the Bible’s clear and straightforward declarations that salvation is a gift obtained exclusively through faith. One primary example of this is Ephesians 2:8-9, which states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The Greek word translated as “works” in this verse (= ergon) refers to any deed, act, effort, labor, or toil. Its definition excludes all human endeavors from the salvation equation, including water baptism. Therefore, according to this Scripture alone, forgiveness and salvation cannot be “by grace through faith and not of works” but also of works. Neither can it be “by grace through faith and not of works” after the required works are done. Nor can it mean that salvation is by grace through faith and someworks but not others. Such interpretations are internally contradictory and, therefore, false.
Romans 11:6 confirms the exclusivity and incompatibility between grace and works by declaring, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work.” Multitudes of other passages authenticate that salvation and justification are obtained exclusively through faith, which prohibits Acts 2:38 from meaning forgiveness or redemption result from baptism.
Therefore, considering the entire context of Acts chapter 2, the various definitions of the Greek word “eis” (translated as “for” in Acts 2:38), the cultural significance of baptism into Christ, and keeping with Scripture’s clear and consistent message that forgiveness and redemption are exclusively obtained through faith, the meaning of Peter’s words to the Jews in Acts 2:38 is abundantly clear:
The Jews needed to recognize and repent of their sins and embrace Jesus as their Messiah to be forgiven and saved (which would result in them receiving the Holy Spirit). Afterward, they needed to be baptized into Christ because of, or in response to, their forgiveness and redemption (i.e., Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.)
This interpretation of Acts 2:38 harmonizes with its context, is consistent with the rest of Scripture on how forgiveness and salvation are received, and does not create contradictions in the Bible. The same could not be said if baptism forgives sin. Therefore, to presume and conclude that Acts 2:38 means forgiveness and redemption are attained through water baptism, in whole or part, demonstrates the danger of interpreting passages outside their surrounding (and historical) context and independently of the dozens upon dozens of New Testament verses that coherently and consistently establish faith in Jesus as the only means for salvation. It also illustrates how easily a false gospel can develop and lead people away from the truth into heresy—putting their eternities at stake, for only one gospel saves: faith alone in Jesus Christ.
