Acts 22:16 and the Conversion of Saul
A common denominational position is that a person is saved at the point of faith, that all you have to do is "accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour." But this theory is disproven by the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (later known as the apostle Paul). Baptists conclude that Paul was "saved on the road to Damascus" because he believed at that point. And it is true that Paul did believe when Jesus appeared to him on the road (Acts 9:5-6, 22:8-10, 26:15-18). Not only that, Acts 9:11,9 shows that Paul prayed and fasted, indicating that he had also repented of his sins. But was Paul saved from his sins at the point of his faith on the road to Damascus? The answer is decisively no, because we read in Acts 22:16 of Ananias telling Paul something to do in order to get his sins washed away, and that was at least three days after Paul believed in Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul was still in his sins at least three days after he believed in Jesus as Lord! Paul's conversion account clearly proves that a person is not saved at the point of faith. The apostle Paul's sins were not washed away until at least three days after he believed (at his baptism).