Can a faithful Christian be damned for not being baptized?
I recently spent time at a well-known prayer retreat where believers gather to seek healing, repentance, and a closer walk with God. It was there where I met a fellow believer whose passion for repentance and obedience was unmistakable. Later, during fellowship in my own home, that passion collided with conviction.
What followed was not a calm theological discussion, but a raised-voice argument — one that escalated into a painful exchange in front of his wife. It was ugly. I regret letting it reach that point.
The issue at the center of the conflict was baptism — and whether a person who has never been baptized can truly be saved.
That experience forced me to step back, not just to reexamine the theology, but to ask a more sobering question: What happens when deeply held beliefs about obedience begin to eclipse grace—and fracture fellowship in the process?
Christians across Evangelical traditions agree on this much: baptism matters. Jesus commanded it. The apostles practiced it. The Church has cherished it as a public declaration of faith and identification with Christ.
Baptism is not optional obedience. It is a sacred act that should be taught, encouraged, and celebrated.
But Scripture presses us to be precise about what baptism is — and what it is not.
The New Testament is unambiguous that salvation is a gift of grace received through faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith … not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Baptism is an act of obedience that follows salvation. It is not the mechanism that creates it.
The danger arises when a practice commanded by Christ becomes a line of condemnation drawn by believers — especially when that line is used to declare the eternal fate of others whom God may already be at work within.
The thief on the cross stands as a permanent witness against such certainty. With no opportunity for baptism, ritual, or religious performance, he received Christ’s assurance: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus did not lower the standard of holiness. He clarified the source of salvation.
This issue is not limited to baptism.
In charismatic and Pentecostal circles, many rightly emphasize the importance of spiritual gifts — especially speaking in tongues and prophecy. Scripture affirms these gifts. Paul encourages believers to desire them earnestly.
Yet most charismatics would stop short of declaring that a Christian who has never spoken in tongues or prophesied is therefore unsaved.
Why? Because we instinctively understand that manifestations of the Spirit are not the measure of justification.
Tongues matter. Prophecy matters. Baptism matters.
But none of these are the foundation of salvation. Christ is.
The argument in my living room did not erupt because either of us hated truth. It erupted because truth was being defended without enough humility, patience, or love. Admittedly — and to my regret — I did not feel much love for my friend in that moment, and my tone reflected it.
The apostle Paul warns us that even correct theology, when untethered from love, profits nothing. The enemy does not need false doctrine if he can use true doctrine wielded harshly to divide believers and damage witness.
The devil delights when Christians turn essential practices into tests of worthiness, or when debates over obedience eclipse the unity purchased by Christ’s blood.
We can — and must — call believers to obedience, including baptism. We can teach its importance without diminishing it. But Scripture does not authorize us to declare damned those who confess Christ, bear fruit, and walk faithfully, yet differ in practice or understanding.
Paul himself made a startling distinction: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Not because baptism was unimportant, but because salvation rests on the Gospel itself.
Grace is not opposed to obedience. It produces it.
But when obedience becomes the doorway to grace, the Gospel is quietly altered. Assurance gives way to fear. Fellowship gives way to suspicion. And brothers raise their voices at brothers.
I wish I had paused sooner that night. I wish I had chosen peace without surrendering conviction. That lesson, too, is part of discipleship.
The Church does not need fewer convictions. It needs more humility in how we hold them.
Baptism is a gift. Tongues are a gift. Prophecy is a gift.
Salvation is pure grace. It is grace — freely given, fiercely defended, and never improved by our additions.
If we can remember that we may yet preserve both truth and love — and deny the enemy the satisfaction of watching believers wound one another in the name of God.
Jerry McGlothlin serves as the CEO of Special Guests, a publicity agency known for representing guests who are dedicated to helping preserve and advance our Constitutional Republic, and maintaining a Judeo-Christian ethic.
