by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
”Baptism is just an outward sign of something that has already happened on the inside."
but Paul was told (Acts 22:16):
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and
wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
We conclude that baptism of the believer is one of the conditions of salvation because: (a) Jesus made it a condition of salvation (Jn. 3:5, Mk. 16:16); (b) The apostles commanded it (Acts 2:38, 10:48); (c) It is the act that puts a person into Christ — his body, the church (Rom. 6:3, 1 Cor. 12:13, Gal. 3:27); (d) It is where we participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:4, Col. 2:12); (e) Every detailed example in the book of Acts concludes with the convert being baptized (Acts 2:41, 8:12, 8:38, 9:18, 10:48, 16:15, 16:33, 18:8, 19:5); (f) baptism washes away the sins that separate us from God (Acts 22:16) and finally, (g) baptism saves (1 Pet. 3:21).
Please read all of these scriptures and meditate upon them. If you believe what the bible says, the conclusion is inescapable. Given all of this evidence, how can any disciple of Christ or student of the bible minimize the importance of this command of Christ? Why not just teach and practice exactly what the bible teaches on the subject? When someone makes a statement about baptism that is not in the bible (e.g., that is is just an outward sign ...) this goes beyond the teaching of Jesus Christ, and 2 John 9 applies.