The Undeniable Truth of the New Birth: Is Baptism Essential?
During a conversation with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, Jesus laid down a foundational truth about entering heaven that leaves no room for exceptions.
John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
This passage is absolute. Unless a person experiences this new birth, they cannot enter the kingdom. Jesus uses the term "Most assuredly" to mean this is an absolute fact, and "unless" ("except" in the KJV), to mean there are NO exceptions. No one will enter heaven unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
It shouldn't have to be explained that this water is, in fact, water baptism, and that the Spirit here is the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit working through the Word of God (the Bible) teaches us what we must do to be saved, and it includes water baptism.
Because this passage in John chapter 3 is so devastating to the "faith only" doctrine, men have created various interpretations to explain the "water" away.
Some claim "water" refers to the amniotic fluid of physical birth. However, Jesus immediately clarifies in the very next verse: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). Jesus uses the word "flesh" to refer to physical birth, not water. Furthermore, to say Jesus meant "you must be born physically and then spiritually" is simply stating the obvious. Nicodemus could not be spiritually born if he was never physically born.
Others claim the water is merely metaphorical (not literal water). Yet, right after this conversation, Jesus and His disciples went into Judea and began baptizing people in literal water. John even tells us why they were baptizing in Aenon near Salim, "...because there was much water there" (John 3:22-23).
When we allow the Bible to interpret itself, the meaning is clear. The apostle Paul perfectly echoed this when he wrote that God saved us "through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). We provide the faith and the water; God provides the Spirit and the salvation and adds us to the church body (Colossians 1:13).
To say that John 3:5 does not refer to water baptism requires a person to ignore the immediate context of Jesus baptizing in literal water, ignore Paul’s teaching on the "washing of regeneration," and invent a definition for "water" (amniotic fluid) that no inspired writer ever used.
To understand what Jesus means by being "born of the Spirit," again, we allow the Bible to interpret itself. While "water" represents the physical act of our obedience (baptism), the "Spirit" represents the spiritual operation that actually brings about our new life. The Spirit does not act through a mysterious, unexplainable feeling; He operates through the inspired truth He revealed to the apostles and prophets. In the spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God.
1 Peter 1:22-23 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
John 3:5 is a profound and undeniable proof text that a person must be baptized in water to enter heaven.
God bless you!
Sonnie Parker