Is “Baptism for the Dead” Biblical?

Baptism is one of the most significant ordinances of the Latter-day saint movement, and Mormon doctrine teaches that without it, a person cannot enter the Celestial Kingdom.

Because it is essential for eternal life, the fact that many people have died without having had the opportunity to be baptized is a major problem! Latter-day Saints have sought to solve this problem through the practice of “Baptism for the dead”.

According to this doctrine, those who have already died can have baptisms performed on their behalf by living Latter-Day saints.

Mormons point to 1 Corinthians 15:29 as a proof text for this practice, but what does The Apostle Paul really mean in 1 Corinthians 15?

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:16-19)

In the context of this chapter, Paul is explaining why believers in Jesus can be sure of their future physical resurrection.

In Corinth, there were certain people who denied that believers in Christ will be raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12),  and Paul argues that if “dead people cannot come back to life, then Jesus could not have come back to life!” and “if Jesus was not resurrected, our faith is futile and we—Christians—are to be pitied for our beliefs!” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19)

This chapter isn’t really about baptism at all, but the centrality of resurrection in the Christian faith.

Let’s look a little later in the chapter at the verse in question,

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (1 Corinthians 15:29)

So what does Paul mean in this verse??

It is not clear what exactly Baptism for the Dead is.

Paul doesn’t explain what it is, the NT doesn’t actually tell us exactly what this practice was, and many different commentators over the course of history have been divided on exactly what this sentence means!

So we should take notice that there is not much detail given to clarify exactly what “Baptism for the Dead” was.

Paul does not command believers to practice proxy baptism.

Whatever “baptism on behalf of the dead” was, notice that Paul does not command anyone to do it!

Remember: this verse is a part of Paul’s greater argument to prove that Christians will certaintly be resurrected as Christ was.

Not only does he not prescribe this ritual, but this verse is the only one in the entire Bible that even mentions it or anything like it!

If this verse really does refer to proxy baptism and is really such an essential part of Christian doctrine, why is there no place in the entire Bible that commands it?

Why would there be no single reference to any kind of proxy works in either the Old Testament or New?

In fact, even The Book of Mormon does not contain a single reference to Baptism for the dead!

If this is as important as Latter-Day Saints suggest, then we should expect the Bible to clearly define and explicitly command it.

The Christians in Corinth were not practicing this “Baptism for the dead”.

Look at how Paul speaks to the Corinthians throughout chapter 15…

“Our preaching is in vain”, “your faith is in vain”, “we are found misrepresenting God”, “we of all people are the most to be pitied”, “why are we in danger”…

But look at what he says in verse 29:

“If the dead are not raised at all, what do people [they] mean by being baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t ever raised from the dead, why are people [they] baptized on their behalf?

Paul is not saying that “we”, (Christians who believe in the resurrection), baptize for the dead, but that “people”, (those who deny a resurrection), practice this proxy baptism.

The people practicing “Baptism for the Dead” were not the Corinthian Christians, but those who deny a resurrection!

But perhaps the most critical issue with the LDS doctrine of “Baptism for the dead” is that it directly contradicts what the Bible teaches about baptism, death, salvation, and proxy work.

Baptism is NOT a prerequisite for eternal life!

The Bible tells us exactly what is required for a person to be saved. Jesus was once asked,

“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

The whole Bible is clear about this point.

Our works—even works commanded by Scripture such as baptism—cannot save us.

We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). So it is not the one who gets baptized, but the one who believes in Jesus, who will have eternal life (John 3:36).

There is no chance for salvation after death.

The Bible is clear about what happens to us after we die. Hebrews 9:27 says,

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

When a person dies, he does not go to a holding place where another person can do works for him to get him out. This idea is entirely invented by man and cannot be found in the Bible.

Jesus once told a parable about a man who died in his sins and went immediately to judgment. According to Jesus it was impossible for the man to get out! (Luke 16:19-31)

If we reject the Gospel in this life, we will not escape future judgement!

There are no second chances!

Proxy Work is not Biblical.

The Bible tells us that people who die in their sins will be judged according to their own works (Revelation 20:11-15). Likewise each person is responsible to place his own faith in Jesus for salvation. One person’s belief or works do not have any saving power over another!

The LDS Doctrine of “Baptism for the Dead” though, claims that the atonement of Jesus is not enough, and that the missing piece can be provided by any random Latter-Day Saint who gets baptized on their behalf.

This means that the proxy work of a living Mormon is equally necessary for a deceased person’s eternal life as the crucifixion of Jesus.

While Paul’s mention of “Baptism on behalf of the dead” itself is peculiar, there are some things of which we can be certain: 

• Paul does not command us to practice it.
• The faithful Christians of Paul’s day were not practicing it.
• Baptism is not a prerequisite for eternal life.
• There are no second chances after death.
• No person can fulfill a requirement for salvation on behalf of another!

Rather than affirming it, the Bible patently rejects the LDS doctrine of “Baptism for the Dead”.