And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38, ESV)
One of the clearest statements regarding the purpose of baptism is Acts 2:38. It is an abundantly clear statement: baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. If one wishes to argue that baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38 must be dealt with. One common argument against the clear reading of this verse is to argue that the Greek word eis (“for”) can also mean “because” and that this is the proper translation of the verse. In that case, Peter’s statement should read, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ because your sins have been forgiven.” On this reading, a person is baptized, not to receive forgiveness of sins, but because their sins have already been forgiven. But is that a legitimate translation? No, it is not – let’s see why.
First of all, it is generally agreed within the academic realm that the idea of eis meaning “because” instead of “for” has been defeated. If you really want to dive into it, find the back-and-forth article debate by J.R. Mantey and Ralph Marcus in The Journal of Biblical Literature 70 and 71. But let’s be real, you probably don’t read Koine Greek or have any inclination to go digging through academic articles – and the same is true of your friend who’s arguing that we are baptized because we are forgiven. Since that’s the case, how might you approach this argument? I’d suggest two approaches:
First, take a look at the major English translations of the Bible. Grab a stack of them and look at them with your friend. Every one of them will say something along the lines of “be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins” and not one of them will read “because your sins are forgiven.” The NRSV is perhaps the most explicit: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Each of our major translations is the work of dozens of the very best Koine Greek specialists who come from a variety of backgrounds. Now, is it possible that all of our translations have misunderstood such a simple sentence? Realistically speaking, no. Since the translations are all very consistent and clear, the burden of proof falls on the person arguing that Acts 2:38 should read “because.” They must prove why their preferred translation is correct and all of the Greek specialists involved in translating our Bibles are wrong.
Second, after looking at various translations, grab one of them and turn to Matthew 26:28 where Jesus says, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Notice the last part of the verse, “for the forgiveness of sins.” In Greek, as reflected in English, this statement is almost identical to “for the forgiveness of sins” in Acts 2:38. In both instances, eis is translated as “for,” not “because.” Is Jesus’s statement difficult to understand or confusing at all? No, it is straightforward and is understood by all who read it. Would we ever argue that Jesus’s blood is poured out “because sins are forgiven”? Of course not! Since we would never translate Matthew 26:28 with “because,” we also ought not translate Acts 2:38 in that way.
Studies in the Bible 