In this lesson we shall continue to see the truth pertaining to baptism.
John 3:5 says, “Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This word clearly indicates that, to be regenerated and enter into the kingdom of God one must be born not only of the Spirit but also of water. Hence, baptism is a condition of regeneration and entrance into the kingdom of God. This, of course, refers not only to the outward form of baptism, but even more to the reality of baptism. Nevertheless, we must not consider the aspect of reality as altogether spiritual and neglect the practice. To be regenerated and enter into the kingdom of God we need not only to repent and believe that we may receive God’s life through the Holy Spirit, but also to practice baptism that everything of ourselves may be terminated by the water of baptism.
Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This shows that through baptism, as the conclusion of our repentance and believing, we are forgiven of our sins and we receive the Holy Spirit. Hence, baptism, together with repentance and faith in the Lord’s name, is a condition for us to be forgiven of our sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. If we desire to be forgiven and to receive the Holy Spirit, in addition to our repenting and believing in the Lord’s name, we must also be baptized as the conclusion of our repentance and faith.
The Scriptures tell us clearly that as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27), have been put into His death (Rom. 6:3), and have been buried and raised together with Him (Col. 2:12). This shows how closely baptism is related to our salvation. Baptism is the procedure by which we are put into Christ, and it is the step by which we are put into His death and are buried and raised together with Him. Hence, baptism does not merely signify our co-death, co-burial, and co-resurrection with the Lord, as many Christians believe. Through baptism we are actually put into Christ; we are in reality put into His death and are buried and raised together with Him. This, of course, requires faith. The inward believing heart, however, needs to be matched by the outward action of baptism. To be put into Christ, to be put into His death, and to be buried and raised together with Him, we need both the inward faith and the outward baptism.
In Mark 16:16 the Lord Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” This indicates that man needs baptism as well as faith to obtain full salvation. Just as faith is a condition of salvation, so baptism is also a condition of salvation. This is why Peter said that baptism saves us (1 Pet. 3:21) from this generation, just as the ark through the judging water saved Noah and his family of eight from that generation.
Many people often change the Lord’s word, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” into “He who believes and is saved shall be baptized.” They consider that faith alone is the procedure for salvation and that it precedes salvation, whereas baptism is something that follows salvation. Actually, what the Lord means is that baptism and faith together are the procedure for salvation and both precede salvation. To be saved we need to take only one step, but it requires two feet. One foot is faith, and the other is baptism. These two together make one complete step to bring us into the Lord’s full salvation.