I have said that baptism refers to a man's coming out of Adam and into Christ. On one side is Adam. On the other side is Christ. We have to get out of Adam and into Christ. How do we get out? We were a part of Adam. How can we now come out of Adam and into Christ? Let me first ask one question: How did we get into Adam? If I ask how we can get out of Adam, some would say that they do not know. That is why I ask how we got into Adam. The way we enter in will be the way we get out. How did we get into Adam? The Lord Jesus said in John 3:6 that that which is born of the flesh is flesh. How did I become a part of Adam? I was born into him. Now that you know how you got in, you will know how you can get out. If you got into him by birth, you have to get out of him by death. This is quite obvious. But how do we die? God crucified us when the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross. Therefore, in Christ we have died to Adam. How then do we get into Christ? The Lord goes on to say that that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. I get into Christ by birth. Peter said that we are regenerated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead (1 Pet. 1:3). Hence, it is His resurrection that has regenerated us. Here we see two things: through the death of the Lord, we are delivered from the family of Adam. Through resurrection, we have entered into Christ. Through death, we are delivered from the first Adam. Through resurrection, we have entered into the second Man. All of these are accomplished by the Lord Jesus. He has died on the cross. As a result we also have died. He has resurrected. As a result we have entered into the new creation.

The death is spiritual, and the resurrection is also spiritual. But our baptism is physical. What then is baptism? Baptism is our acting out. Through His servants, His apostles, the Lord Jesus told us of His work: When He died on the cross, we were also included in His death. What should we do after we have heard this? According to history, this happened two thousand years ago. We were already crucified two thousand years ago on the cross of our Lord Jesus. His word is now preached to us. It tells us that we have died. What then should we do now? I once asked a village woman this question. She answered, "If the Lord Jesus has crucified me, then I need to buy a coffin." This is altogether right! The Lord Jesus has crucified me. Why should I not buy a coffin? Since He has crucified me, I must hurry to bury myself. Baptism is my request to be buried in the water because I have been crucified by the Lord. Baptism is a response to God's crucifixion of us. God has preached the gospel to you and told you that you are dead. Your response is that since you have been crucified, you will find someone to bury you. Hence, baptism means that we are dead in Adam already. Others are taking me out to be buried. Now we are on the ground of resurrection. Hence, death is our exit from Adam, and resurrection is our entrance into Christ. Baptism is our burial. Death is the termination of Adam, and resurrection is the new beginning in Christ. Baptism is the bridge between these two sides. Through baptism we pass from death to resurrection.

My friends, the Lord Jesus has accomplished everything. There is no condition required for us to be saved. All we have to do is to simply believe. To believe is to receive. I need only to receive because the Lord has done everything. I no longer have to do anything. Baptism is through faith. It is an acting out. Let me ask: If there is no plot, how can we perform? Do we have a plot first and then an act, or do we have an act first and then a plot? All plays exist because there was a plot already. Because there is a spiritual fact before God already, we can act it out through baptism.

May the Lord be gracious to us and show us that nothing other than faith can be a condition for salvation. Baptism has absolutely nothing to do with salvation or condemnation before God. We come out of condemnation before God through faith. Our acting out at baptism is only for our salvation before man. May the Lord be gracious to us and make us clear about our salvation.