Acts 21:37-22:16. There’s a common belief that a person is saved when they say they believe in Jesus. It’s taught that at the point a person puts their faith in Jesus, whether that’s in the privacy of their home, at a worship event, at a campout, or at any time, then they’re saved. It’s usually taught that you need to say certain words or a say a prayer that accepts Jesus and then you’re saved.

All of this would be fine if, in fact, that’s what the Bible teaches. But is it what the Bible teaches?

How do we know if something is true? We have to look at Scripture and see what the Bible teaches.

As we get into our study, I want to point out that there’s actually no Scripture where a person is told to pray a prayer to be saved.

Baptism is never described in the Bible as an outward sign of an inward grace, or a going public with your faith.

In every NT passage where baptism and salvation are mentioned together, baptism always comes before salvation. (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Pt. 3:21).

All the early church leaders after the apostles believed and taught that baptism was necessary for salvation.

For 1,500 years baptism for salvation was not questioned. It wasn’t until the Reformation, which began in 1517, that this was questioned.

The concept of baptism being an outward sign of an inward faith is relatively new, only coming about in the last 500 years. How then, can it be true?