One of the distinctives of the International Christian Church (ICC) is their belief that water baptism is necessary for one’s salvation. Unlike mainstream Evangelical Christianity, the ICC teaches that faith in Jesus alone is insufficient to save. However, is this belief really supported by Scripture?

Sessions 5&6 of ICC’s First Principles strongly argues that not only is baptism a central part of Christian conversion, it is also effectual in one’s salvation. That means, without baptism your sins are not actually forgiven.

In Christian theology, the technical term for this view is called “baptismal regeneration“. The word regeneration here means “rebirth” because it’s derived from the Greek word gennaó, which means “to beget” or “to give birth to”. This is the same word used in John 3:3 when Jesus tells Nicodemus that one must be “born again” in order to see the kingdom of God.

Bible verses that are used in First Principles to support baptismal regeneration include: Acts 2:38-42; John 3:5; Romans 3:25, 6:1-4. In addition to this, the ICC has another widely shared article titled “Baptism: Why all the Confusion?” which employs more “proof-texts” (eg. 1 Peter 3:20-21; Colossians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:26-27, etc.) in support of this doctrine.

Given the vast number of Bible verses that appear to support this doctrine, can a biblical case be made that argues otherwise?

A case against baptismal regeneration

I actually really appreciate the ICC’s insistence in using the Bible to formulate this core belief. As mentioned above, there seems to be a lot of biblical support for the ICC’s salvation-through-baptism doctrine. To the untrained eye, these may suffice to unsettle a regular church-goer.

In a future follow-up post (or more), I will be addressing these specific proof-texts that they use. But for now, I would like to give 3 biblical reasons why the ICC’s view of baptism is actually unbiblical.

1. Spiritually dead people cannot save themselves

(Note: I have previously written extensively about this point in my former article titled, “Why the ICC’s view of sin is too weak“. Below is a short summary.)

Perhaps the biggest problem with the ICC’s baptismal regeneration doctrine is their underestimation of sin.

The ICC believes that the sinner is capable of responding positively to the gospel, so that they may freely choose to be baptised to attain their salvation.

However, the Bible is much less optimistic about our ability to “choose Christ”. Because of sin, the Bible teaches that all humans born under Adam are spiritually dead by default (Romans 5:12) and have no natural desire for God.

Jesus’ words to Nicodemus that “you must be born again” in John 3:7 actually assumes that we are naturally dead. The Apostle Paul is even more explicit when he says, “You were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1 NIV).

And precisely because we are spiritually dead, not only will we naturally reject God (Romans 3:11-18), we are actually unable to obey God or to call Jesus our Lord!

⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:7-8 NIV

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:3b NIV

Therefore, there is absolutely nothing you are able do to give yourself life again. Your only hope is if God gave you new birth through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus describes to be like wind which blows wherever it pleases (John 3:8). So it is ultimately not up to you to receive eternal life from God. It is entirely God’s choice.

Hence, the ICC’s teaching that it is one’s choice to receive baptism for eternal life is in direct conflict with Scripture’s teaching about our total inability to respond positively to the gospel and save ourselves.

2. NT examples of unbaptised people who are saved

There are two very clear examples of New Testament people who have been saved by Jesus without having undergone baptism: (1) the repentant thief on the cross, and (2) Cornelius’ household.

1. The repentant thief on the cross

When Jesus was crucified, he was alongside two thieves serving the punishment for their crimes. One of whom called out to Jesus for mercy:

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:42-43 NIV

In response to this thief on the cross example, the ICC’s “Baptism: Why all the Confusion?” article notes the following:

Thief on the cross was under Old Covenant, that is why he did not need to get baptised, Jesus had not yet risen or even died.

“Baptism: Why all the Confusion?”, page 4.

Is it true that the thief was still under the “old covenant” when he died? Well, the NT seems to refute this idea because Christ’s death ushered in a new covenant “in his blood” (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25) and he actually died before either of the two thieves (John 19:31-33). Since the thief died after Jesus did, it would be difficult to maintain that he was still under the Old Covenant.

Another response given by the ICC about the thief on the cross is found in First Principles.

Jesus had not even died yet, and baptism is participating in his death (Romans 6:2-4); also on earth, he had the power to forgive sins. (Matthew 9:2-6)

“First Principles”, page 13.

The ICC’s argument here is that baptism is an actual participation with Jesus in his death based on Romans 6:2-4. But since Jesus hasn’t actually died yet when he spoke these words, baptism would not have been expected for the thief to attain salvation. Before Jesus died, he had the authority to simply forgive people their sins while he was on earth (Matthew 9:2-6).

There are so many problems with this argument!

For this argument to work (ie. to explain the salvation of the thief on the cross), you need to be very pedantic and make Christian baptism to primarily mean “a participation with Jesus in his death”. However, this raises a big question about the baptism that was performed during Jesus’ earthly ministry.

If the baptism performed by Jesus’ disciples before his death has a vastly different meaning to the baptism after his death, it makes you wonder why Jesus’ disciples would spend so much time baptising people while their Lord was on earth. In fact, they were even “out-baptising” John the Baptist at one point (John 4:1-4)!

Another problem with this view is, it implies that Peter and the other apostles never received the type of baptism that joins them to Jesus‘ death. There’s no evidence in the NT to believe that the apostles were ever “re-baptised” after Jesus’ death and resurrection. And if that’s true, it implies that the body of NT teaching in Romans 6:1-14 doesn’t really apply to the original apostles…. which would be quite hard to believe!

2. Cornelius’ household

The story of Cornelius’ household is another NT example of people who attained salvation before they were baptised. To my surprise, some of the ICC folks that I’ve spoken to are unaware of this story, despite a lot of their core beliefs coming from the book of Acts.

The Scriptures make it very explicit that the household of Cornelius were NOT baptised when they received the Holy Spirit. The larger story found in Acts 10:23-48, but here’s a snippet:

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Acts 10:44-48 NIV

In short, the household of a god-fearing Gentile man Cornelius, received the Holy Spirit while they were listening to the preaching of Peter. In the context of the book of Acts, this this is an indication that God has saved them. And it only after this event that Peter ordered them to be baptised.

We know for sure that Cornelius’ household were saved because in the next chapter in Acts (chapter 11), Peter recollects this experience as he shares with the church in Jerusalem about what happened in Caesarea:

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Acts 11:15-18 NIV

It’s interesting to note that “baptism of the Spirit” is mentioned to describe what happened to Cornelius’ household. It is precisely because they have been baptised with the Spirit (through the Lord Jesus), that they can be sure that God has granted the Gentiles “repentance that leads to life”.

In addition, this story further confirms my first point above that it is God who ultimately grants new birth (through the Spirit) to sinners. The decision is ultimately not ours to make for someone to come to Christ.

3. God is always gracious to people who simply turn to Him

The ICC sets a very high bar for anyone who wants to be saved. It is not enough for a sinner to simply turn to Christ in their brokenness to find salvation. Rather, you must agree to becoming a soldout disciple before you are even considered a baptism candidate. And even after baptism, there is still no certainty that you are truly saved because your salvation hinges on your performance to maintain the soldout disciple lifestyle.

If you would like to learn more, I’ve written further about why the ICC’s soldout theology is a dangerous idea in a previous article.

But is this really the kind of God that we see throughout the Bible? I would say, no! God’s merciful character shown towards repentant people can be seen in some of Jesus’ most famous parables.

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) is one example of the Father’s unconditional embrace of the child who simply turns back to him. On the contrary, when you read the story, it is actually the rule-abiding older brother who sees his Father’s love as “conditionally-based on his performance” being left out of the party.

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) is another example where God favours the downtrodden who simply cries out to God for mercy:

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14 NIV

Based on these parables alone, we can see God’s merciful heart towards the contrite person who simply comes to Him empty-handed. So it would be difficult to imagine that the same God would make an external ritual, like baptism, to be the condition that ultimately saves an internally repentant sinner.

Moreover, in Jesus’ earthly ministry, we see at least two instances of Jesus forgiving people their sins without first checking their “baptism status”.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 2:5 NIV

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Luke 7:44-48 NIV

In both these stories, Jesus simply saw their “faith” and “love” towards him, which ultimately led to their sins being forgiven.

The ICC may respond by quoting Matthew 9:2-6, which says that Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins. They would argue that prior to his death, Jesus simply forgave people because baptism hasn’t yet been “linked” to his own death that was yet to come.

But as I had mentioned above in my second point, this is a faulty argument.

In conclusion

In this article, I’ve given three reasons why we should reject the notion that baptism can effectually save people.

1. Spiritually dead people cannot save themselves.
2. NT examples of unbaptised people who are saved.
3. God is always gracious to people who simply turn to Him.

I hope I’ve made a solid biblical case to prove my point!

However, I realise that I haven’t dealt directly with the proof-texts that the ICC often uses to prove their case. I will save that for later 🙂

Thanks for reading!