One of the most common debates among Christians is whether Baptism is essential to salvation. Before I delve into the article, I want to define baptism according to Smith’s Bible Dictionary:
A confession of faith in Christ; A cleansing or washing of the soul from sin; A death to sin and a new life in righteousness.
In the first part of this series, I’ll explore what the early Christians said about baptism and its relation to salvation.
Why does what the early Christian leaders say matter?
When looking at the verifiability and accuracy of the resurrection, we often consider how close the accounts are to the event itself, similar to how modern investigations rely on timely evidence. The Gospels in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—gain credibility partly because they are close in time to the resurrection 1. This nearness strengthens their reliability. Without such close accounts, there is significantly less evidence to verify historical events.
Similarly, it’s important to investigate what the early Christians taught and believed as they were closer to the historical events they described, thus making their accounts generally more reliable. Important concepts to remember include:
- Proximity to the Source: The closer a source is to the time and context of the events it describes, the more immediate and potentially accurate it might be.
- Historiographical Distance: refers to the gap between the historian (or source) and the events they are writing about. The less distance there is, the more immediate and potentially accurate the account.
- Contemporaneity: is the principle that contemporary accounts (written during or shortly after the events) are often more valuable because they reflect the immediate circumstances, attitudes, and context.
- Eyewitness Testimony: Eyewitness accounts are valuable because they directly observe events.
What did early Christians say about baptism?
Tertullian (~200 AD)
In “On Baptism” by Tertullian, he thoroughly examines baptism and its purpose in the Christian faith. In chapter 1, he states:
Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! 2
Tertullian recognized the importance of baptism and the significance of it in washing away our sins. You can read “On Baptism” for free here.
Justin Martyr (~55 AD)
Justin Martyr, one of the first known Christian apologists, wrote “First Apology” in which he described the role of baptism. Apart from the remission of sins, he notes that baptism is also an initiation into the body of Christ.
Since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice… but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe[.] 3
Irenaeus (~180 AD)
In “Against Heresies” (Book 1, Chapter 21), Irenaeus argues against a view that claims Jesus’s baptism was solely a preliminary physical act. He states:
For the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins, but the redemption brought in by that Christ who descended upon Him, was for perfection; and they allege that the former is animal, but the latter spiritual. 4
Augustine of Hippo (412 AD)
In a letter addressed to Marcellinus, Augustine of Hippo discussed the essentiality of baptism for the remission of sins. In his letter, titled “On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants”, he wrote:
For what Christian is there who would allow it to be said, that any one could attain to eternal salvation without being born again in Christ — [a result] which He meant to be effected through baptism, at the very time when such a sacrament was purposely instituted for regenerating in the hope of eternal salvation? 5
Irenaeus was indignant in questioning how any Christian could accept the idea that someone could achieve eternal salvation without being “born again” in Christ.
Conclusion
As you can see, the early Christians concluded that baptism is tightly knit with the act of baptism. Verses such as Acts 2:38 and 1 Peter 3:21 further support their case in the modern age, when so many question the essentiality of baptism in salvation.
References
- GotQuestions.org. (2022, January 4). GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/when-Gospels-written.html ↩︎
- CHURCH FATHERS: On Baptism (Tertullian). (n.d.). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0321.htm
↩︎ - CHURCH FATHERS: The first apology (ST. Justin Martyr). (n.d.). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm ↩︎
- CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, I.21 (ST. Irenaeus). (n.d.). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103121.htm ↩︎
- CHURCH FATHERS: On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants, Book I (Augustine). (n.d.). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/15011.htm ↩︎
