Does Salvation Occur Only After Baptism? Will Infants Go to Heaven?

Some believe that salvation occurs only after a person is immersed in water. Is this true?

Brantly Millegan, for example, at the Catholic University of America, said the following in a recent interview with the Christian Post, "Catholics baptize infants because infants have Original Sin and need Jesus for salvation just as much as anyone else, and baptism is the way they can receive it."

Many of the early church fathers embraced this view of baptism as well. Even though we cherish many of their teachings, they were fallible…some taught that the Holy Spirit was a created being, the salvation of all (including Satan), purgatory, and so on. Therefore, we must look primarily at what the scriptures teach.

The theme throughout the New Testament is clear: Only believers are baptized. The Bible says that faith in Christ alone saves. Romans 10:9 states, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." If baptism was the final saving mechanism then we'd be guilty of baptizing unbelievers.

Here are a few misunderstood passages.... Read more