Does 1Corinthians 1:17 mean that baptism is not necessary for salvation?
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Paul did mention ones he baptized in that very context. If he was not sent to baptize, why did he baptize? In Acts 19:1-6, Paul even RE-BAPTIZED believers who had been previously baptized by John the Baptist. Why did he do this if he was not sent to baptize?
If one understands Paul’s mode of evangelism, he traveled with a ministry team who aided him in the work of the Gospel. While he was the main speaker, his team, apparently, did most of the actual baptizing. That would be consistent with how evangelism is carried out even to this very day.
The Bible actually emphasizes the importance of baptism.
In Acts 2:38, Peter made baptism in the name of Jesus Christ an imperative for the remission of sins, a most needed aspect of salvation. It was stated to be for all people (Acts 2:39). Paul was told this very same thing at his own conversion, which was attended by Ananias. The man of God told him to be baptized in order to wash away his sins (Acts 22:16).
In Acts 10:44-48, Peter COMMANDED baptism. In one of his epistles, he even said baptism saves, providing the reason it is so efficacious. It is predicated on the resurrection of Christ (1Peter 3:21).
Baptism is the essence of the Great Commission. It is evident in all four Gospel accounts. The Apostles were told by Jesus to go, baptizing (John 20:23; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47). This commission is what governs all Christian evangelism. Paul was commissioned to baptize as are all Christian witnesses. There are no exceptions to the Great Commission.
Within the Great Commission context, Jesus, likewise, said baptism saves (Mark 16:15-16).
On and earlier occasion, when referring even to John’s baptism, Christ said those who refused baptism “rejected the counsel of God against themselves” (Luke 7:28-30).
Closing with Paul
In Ephesians 4:5, Paul positioned baptism as one of the primary aspects of salvation. He stated the one hope of our calling to be, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
In Romans 6:3-5, Paul said baptism plunges us into the death and burial of Jesus Christ. He, thus, provided the theological basis for baptism washing away sin. Through that mystical burial with Christ, we come into contact with His blood and are immediately cleansed.
Baptism is the faith response to the Gospel. That is apparent in the Great Commission and in the evangelism of the book of Acts. None of us are sent merely to baptize. Baptism is preceded by the preaching (proclaiming) of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Baptism follows upon a person’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. And it is efficacious to save precisely because it is predicated on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.