Acts 22:16 Proves That Baptism Is Necessary To Our Sins Being Washed Away

In Acts 22:16 Ananias told Saul of Tarsus, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."Last time (message) we concluded that Saul (the apostle Paul) was not saved at the point of his faith, because Acts 22:16 proves he still needed his sins washed away at least three days (Acts 9:9) after he believed that Jesus was Lord. An important point we didn't mention is the fact that Acts 22:16 tells us that baptism is the point at which God washes our sins away. As we've already seen, forgiveness does not occur at the point of faith; instead it occurs at the point of our water baptism led to by our faith (Mark 16:16).The word "and" is used in Acts 22:16 to show that the second joined clause is dependent upon the first clause like the following example sentences:· James 4:7 - Resist the devil, and he will flee from you· everyday example - Cut my yard, and receive your five dollars paySo in Acts 22:16 the washing away of Paul's sins was contingent upon Paul being baptized.Acts 22:16 is just another verse that clearly proves that baptism is necessary to our salvation.