Acts 2:38 & 22:16 — Remission and Washing Away Our Sins in Baptism

In this study we will look at two particular verses from the book of Acts relating to the remission and washing away of sin in baptism.

Baptism For Remission of Sins

Acts 2 reads:

Acts 2:37–38 (KJV) Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Baptismal regeneration advocates point to this verse as proof that one’s sins are eternally remitted by God through water baptism. But is that what this text actually says?

The first point we want to note is that the individuals to whom Peter is speaking were regenerate Jews who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter says in verse 23:

Acts 2:23 (KJV) Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain

That these were regenerate men, at least by the time Peter had begun preaching to them, is evident from the fact that verse 37 says they were “pricked” in the heart. A stony heart cannot be “pricked”, God must give the sinner a heart of flesh in the new birth:

Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

In Scripture, being “pricked in the heart” is different from being “cut to the heart”:

Acts 7:54 (KJV) When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Notice the difference here. The first group was pricked in the heart, and the response was one of repentnace and sorrow over their sin. The latter group was “cut to the heart”, meaning the cutting stopped short of reaching the heart, and they responded by stoning a man to death.

Furthermore, we must reconcile this passage with numerous other texts which tell us that the Lord Jesus Christ already put away the sins of his people at the cross (John 1:29; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:14–18, etc.) Eternal remission of sins was already accomplished accordingg to Hebrews 10:18:

Hebrews 10:18 (KJV) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Notice what Paul says, where remission of these “is”, remission of sins is a present reality for all of God’s elect people. God promises “their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”. Jesus Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice accomplished this for his people on the cross, that is why there is no more need for animal sacrifice. If remission of sins is not a present reality, then we would still need animal sacrifice! That is the whole point of Hebrews 10!

So, what is going on in Acts 2:38? Peter is preaching to the very people who were present at and responsible for the Savior’s crucifixion. When they heard Peter’s preaching, they were strongly convicted of the sin which they committed and were sensible of the heinous deed they were responsible for. It is very probable that these brethren had already believed that Jesus was the Son of God prior to asking the question, hence why Peter did not command them to believe, but to repent. The Apostle is not instructing alien sinners about how to get into heaven. He is inviting believing children of God into fellowship with the Lord. The remission of sins here is temporal, not eternal. Experiential, not positional.

Confessing our sins before God is the first step to being in fellowship with him:

1 John 1:8–9 (KJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This is not talking about how to get out of hell and into heaven. It is instruction for God’s born again children about how we can walk with God in this life. This deals with fellowship and the experience of God’s fatherly forgiveness of his children. God’s people may often feel burdened by their sin as they attempt to faithfully follow the Lord. This forgiveness reassures God’s children of their salvation in Christ, and renews the way of fellowship when they fall into sin. The Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray regularly for the forgiveness of sins:

Luke 11:4 (KJV) And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

So long as the Jews in Acts 2 remained unrepentant, they would be alienated from God’s fellowship and weighed down by the guilt of their sins. They also risked the Lord’s fatherly chastisement falling upon them. Peter is exhorting them to repent and be baptized so that they might publicly renounce their sin against the Son of God, and walk in newness of life in fellowship with Him. Repentance and baptism would free them from God’s fatherly displeasure as well as allow them a visible way to put their sins out of their own sight.

Wash Away Thy Sins

A similar situation is found in the case of Saul of Tarsus in Acts 22:16, which is the next verse we will look at:

Acts 22:16 (KJV) And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Like the Jews in Acts 2, Saul was responsible for some heinous sins, namely the persecution of the Lord’s church, and consenting to the death of Stephen. Once again, the washing away of sins here is not eternal, for the Lord already washed his people from their sins in his own blood (Revelation 1:5).

Baptism does not eternally put sin away from God’s sight, for the blood of Christ has already done that legally, and the washing of regeneration renews us internally. Rather, baptism provides a visible way of putting sin out of the sight of the repentant sinner, when they are buried with Christ in baptism and rise to walk in newness of life. Elder E.D McCutcheon gives this beautiful explanation in his classic work entitled From Sonship to Discipleship, chapter 8 page 83:

This remission or forgiveness does not remove sins from God’s sight, but from the sight of the believer when he becomes obedient. Ananias told Paul to “be baptized and wash away thy sins.” (acts 22:16.) The washing of regeneration had cleansed Paul in God’s sight, but it allowed Paul to see his own sinful condition, and God has provided for us the same as he did for Paul; a liquid grave where we can bury that old man of sin and wash out of our own sight the sins that are past.

This highlights one of the purposes of baptism, namely, to point us to Jesus and the truth of the gospel. Baptism is just another means of preaching the gospel to God’s people. It does this using a visible sign or picture. The Lord’s Supper does the same thing. Baptism is another means whereby the child of God visibly expresses their salvation from sin, renouncement of sin, and comittment to walking with the Lord in newness of life. Saul of Tarsus could publicly “wash away” his sins from his own sight and put them behind him in Baptism.