
Ananias said to Saul, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16 ESV). What does it mean to “call on His name,” and what does it have to do with baptism? Does this mean that during baptism we are to call out to God in prayer? Let’s see what Peter had to say about this.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 3:21 ESV)
Peter specifically says that immersion is involved in our salvation. As the KJV puts it, “baptism doth also now save us.” We know this is an immersion in water because Peter makes it clear that this isn’t a bath to remove dirt from our body. Instead it is a request, or appeal, to God for a good conscience. It is “calling on His name.”
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