Was Water Baptism Required for Salvation Under the Kingdom Program? | RD with DR

Peter told the crowd at Pentecost to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, yet a dying thief entered paradise having never been baptized at all. This teaching works through Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16, and 1 Peter 3:18-21 to explain exactly what role water baptism played in the kingdom program preached to Israel, and why it was required without being the actual means of washing away sin.

Rightly dividing these passages shows that under the kingdom program, water baptism was the outward expression of a faith that God counted for righteousness, not a ritual that cleansed the inner filth of sin. Peter's own words in 1 Peter 3:21 make the distinction explicit: baptism saves "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God." What actually washes away sin, according to Revelation 1:5, is the blood of Christ.