In an effort to prove that baptism is not essential to salvation, an appeal is often made to the Holy Spirit falling upon the household of Cornelius in Acts 10. The claim that is made goes something like this: “They received the Holy Spirit and were saved before they were baptized; therefore, baptism really isn’t essential to salvation.” In short, consider this.
First, the text does not say that they were saved from their sins when the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Read it carefully. It never says that.
Second, notice what the text does say was essential for them to be saved. The word “saved” is found once in the text. An angel told Cornelius to send for Peter, “who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (11:14). In order to be “saved,” they needed to have “words” spoken to them by Peter. Why? Because “the gospel of Christ…is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16), and in order to “believe” the gospel, it is essential for one to “hear” the words of the gospel (10:13-14), for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (10:17).
Ask yourself this question: “Could they be saved before and without hearing the words of the gospel from Peter?” The answer is obvious—No, they could not!
Third, note carefully when the Holy Spirit fell upon them. When Peter reported to the other apostles the events at Cornelius’ house, he “explained it to them in order from the beginning” (Acts 11:4). Peter said, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them” (11:15). The Greek word for “began” “indicates that a thing was but just begun when it was interrupted by something else.” They had not heard the “words” yet, as Peter had just started. Thus, they were not saved yet, although the Spirit fell upon them.
Fourth, note that Peter identifies this as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was “the same gift” that God imparted to the apostles “at the beginning” on Pentecost in Acts 2 (11:15-17; 10:45-47). There are no other accounts of Holy Spirit baptism than these two. It occurred in Acts 10 for the benefit of the Jews, as a Divine demonstration to them that God’s Word was for the Gentiles also (10:45-46; 11:17-18).
Fifth, note that they were “commanded…to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (10:48). Why would Peter command the Gentiles to do that? For the very same reason that he commanded the Jews to be baptized—“for the remission of sins” (2:38). Baptism was essential for all of them…and for us.
Read the text. Let the Bible do the teaching. They were not saved before they were baptized. No verse teaches that. In fact, every part of the text teaches just the opposite.