Call on the Name of the Lord by praying this simple prayer:

Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness.
I believe that You died for my sins. I now invite you
to come into my heart and life. I want to trust You
as Savior and follow you as Lord. Thank you for loving
me and for giving me eternal life.

The Bible says that now you are a Child of God.

"That as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become Children of God, even to those who believe in His name." John 1:13

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First of all, the Apostles did not teach that baptism was necessary for salvation.  Probably the most referred to proof text that is appealed to by Baptismal Regenerationalists is Acts 2:38 where Peter says:

“Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

At a cursory glance this passage seems to teach that baptism is necessary for the remission of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.  However, if one takes the time to examine the original Greek, the confusion that results in our English translations is cleared up.

There are two verbs in this sentence.  The main verb is “repent”, an aorist direct imperative.  This refers to the initial act of repentance at salvation.

The second verb is “be baptized” which is an indirect passive imperative, and therefore does not give it the same direct command implied in the act of repenting.

The preposition “for” in the phrase “for the forgiveness of your sins” is the Greek eis.  “For” is often automatically assumed to mean “in order to obtain”.  However, when we say: Take an aspirin for your headache, it does not mean to obtain a headache, but because you have a headache.  That is the meaning of eis in this passage, as it is in Luke 5:13-14 and 1 Corinthians 10:2.   

Therefore, what Acts 2:38 is actually teaching is that baptism is an act we do as a result of repentance and having been forgiven of our sins.

It’s also intriguing that if Peter believed baptism was necessary for salvation, why didn’t he include this element in his gospel presentations in Acts 3:19 and 4:12?  Also, the Apostles didn’t deem it necessary to include the command to baptize in their letter to the gentiles in Acts 15.  “Well,” one might say, “it was assumed!”  Wouldn’t it also have been assumed that they need to abstain from idols and fornication?

Peter’s statement in his first epistle, chapter three, verses twenty and twenty-one, is often incorrectly interpreted as meaning that baptism in and of itself saves.  I believe that he makes it incredibly clear that this is not what He means when he says:

 …not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience…

It is not the act of baptism in water, but the identification with his saving death and resurrection.  Look at Spiros Zodhiates Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible for the Greek break down.        

The second reason we don’t prescribe to Baptismal Regeneration is because it contradicts the Gospel of Grace.  Ephesians 2:8-9 states:

 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

 Paul clarifies this even more when he wrote to Titus:

“He saves us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”  (Titus 3:5)

We do not disagree that baptism is a “deed of righteousness” that every person who has been born again should observe.  However, we disagree that baptism is in any way necessary for salvation.   Salvation either comes by grace or it does not.  Either we are saved by God’s unmerited favor, or we earn our salvation, therefore it is by works.  There is no middle ground, they are mutually exclusive.