In Mark 16:15 & 16, our Lord said, "…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." We have briefly looked at the importance of faith, repentance, and confession. Now, let us notice the importance of baptism in God's plan of salvation.

The word baptize comes from the greek word "baptidzo" or "bapto." This word literally means to "whelm" or "immerse in something that envelopes on all sides." So, into what are we immersed?

Scriptural baptism is immersion in water. One example of this is the baptism of our Lord Jesus. In Matthew chapter 3 we read about John the Baptist baptizing in the Jordan River. In verse 16 we read, "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up strait way out of the water."

We can also refer back to the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. The scripture tells us that Philip preached to him Jesus and the eunuch said, in verse 35, "See, here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Then we read in verse 38, "…and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."

Spiritually speaking, baptism is a burial (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12). We know that Christ shed his blood in death on the cross (John 19:34). It is at the point of baptism that a person comes into contact with the blood of Christ which washes away one's sins.

In Romans 6:3 & 4 the Bible says, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When a person is baptized, their old self dies and is buried. When they come up out of the water, they are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Bible teaches us we are not saved until we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. That is why Peter said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38 - ASV), and in 1 Peter 3:21, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us…" (KJV). That is why Saul, who was a penitent believer and had been praying for days, was told to "arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).

The blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5), by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8), washes away our sins when we by faith (Hebrews 11:6), repent of our sins (Luke 13:3), confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Romans 10:9 & 10), and are baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26 & 27); because Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

__________________
Brother Jason Holladay