Let's Go Back to the Bible

24. One Must Be Immersed into Christ to Be Saved

24

The subject of baptism is one of the most thrilling in all of the Bible, and yet it is one of the most widely disputed in the religious world.  Does baptism have anything to do with our salvation?  Must one be baptized in order to be saved and to go to heaven?  Let us not look to man or a church for this answer, but let us look to God and to His Word for His authoritative answer.

First, the Bible teaches who a Scriptural candidate for baptism is. In the New Testament, only persons who met certain conditions were baptized.  To be Scripturally baptized, one must first be taught the gospel (Mark 16:15-16), believe the gospel (Acts 8:12), be convicted of sins (Acts 2:37), repent of sins (Acts 2:38), confess faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 8:36-38) and arise of his own free will (Acts 22:16) to fulfill the purpose of baptism as specified in Scripture.

Second, the Bible teaches what the Scriptural method for baptism is. The Bible very plainly describes that in Bible baptism “much water” is required (John 3:5), for the person being baptized must come “to” the water (Matt. 3:11), go “down into the water” (Acts 8:36), be “buried…in baptism” (Col. 2:12), be “raised” from the water (Rom. 6:4) and come “up out of the water” (Acts 8:39).  The Bible makes it very clear that baptism is an immersion of the body (i.e., a burial, Col. 2:12) into water.

Third, the Bible teaches what the Scriptural purpose of baptism is. If we allow only God’s Word to teach us (without addition or subtraction), the Lord makes it abundantly clear that baptism is absolutely essential to our salvation.  In Bible baptism, one is “saved” from past sins (Mark 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21), obtains “the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), has sins “washed away” (Acts 22:16), is “freed from sin” (Rom. 6:3-7), is “born again” (John 3:3-7), “enters the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), enters the “one body” of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), becomes a “child of God” (Gal. 3:26-27), “puts on Christ” (Gal. 3:27), enters “into Christ” (Rom. 6:3), becomes a New Testament “Christian” (Matt. 28:19+Acts 11:26), and “appeals to God for a good conscience” (1 Pet. 3:21).  There is no New Testament passage that places baptism after one’s salvation.

Fourth, the Bible teaches what will happen if one is not baptized. Think again about all that the Bible says takes place when one is baptized, and realize that none of those things can be enjoyed by a person who is not baptized with Bible baptism.  In fact, Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  Salvation is not his!

Baptism alone will not save.  But when a believer in Jesus repents of his sins and confesses his faith, he must be immersed in water to obtain the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).  Have you done this?  Is there any reason you should not be baptized right now?  Make today “the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2)!

 

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