Why Be Baptized?
When Jesus was about ready to leave this earth, he said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." (Mark 16:15,16) Under the authority of this Great Commission Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and said to the people, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins." (Acts 2:38) These words of Peter were addressed unto all men everywhere, for in the very next verse he declares, "For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him."
Somebody asks, Do you mean to teach that in order to obtain the remission of sins a man must be baptized? Certainly so. Just to test the matter suppose we erase the "baptism" from Peter's statement, and see how it reads. "Repent ye, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins." What does that mean? Is it not clear to everybody that it means "in order to"? Is not the repentance "in order to" obtain remission of sins? Nobody would contend, would he, that repentance is because of the remission of sins. If he did, he would certainly have an odd religion. It would mean that a man wanted to be saved, and was saved; and then because he was saved, he repented! Since repentance is a change of mind, if a man repented after he was saved, it would mean that he had changed his mind and no longer desired salvation. That wouldn't work in anybody's religion.
We can all understand that repentance (in Peter's command) is "in order to" the remission of sins. But does the meaning change when we restore the words to Peter's statement, and read it as he spoke it: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins."
This a compound predicate in Peter's sentence; and the two parts of the predicate are joined together by the little coordinate conjunction "and." They are like two box-cars in a freight train, coupled together; whichever way one travels, the other must go also. "Repent" and "be baptized" travel together; whatever one is for, the other is for; whatever direction one looks, the other looks also. It is impossible to make repentance "in order to" and baptism "because of."
Why should I be baptized? Let me give you briefly four reasons:
1. The word of God says, "as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Notice that expression "baptized into Christ." There is no other way to get into Christ except by baptism.
2. The word of God says, "so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death." It was in his death that Jesus shed his blood. If I am to partake of the benefits made possible by the shedding of that blood, I must come to where the blood was shed. There is no way to partake of the benefits of the blood of Christ except by being baptized "into his death."
3. The word of God says, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19) Man gets into Christ by baptism; he gets into the death of Christ by baptism; he gets into the name of Christ, as a Christian, by being baptized. He has no right to wear the name of Christ until he has been baptized into that name.
4. The word of God says, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." (1 Cor. 12:13) There is no way to get into the body of Christ save by baptism. One cannot partake of all the blessings and benefits in Christ until and unless he is baptized into his body.
Every time the word of God says anything about baptism in connection with a relationship, it is INTO that relationship. Paul told the Galatians, "We are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized INTO Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 3:26-27) That, my friends, is the way to become a child of God. It is "by faith" in Christ; and the faith is such that it leads you to be "baptized into Christ." Until you have been baptized into Christ, you are not in Christ. Until you have been baptized into Christ, you have not reached the blood of Christ, nor his death, nor the spiritual blessings which are in him. Until you have been baptized into Christ, you have no right to wear the name of Christ, because baptism puts you into his name.
Until you are baptized into Christ, you are not a member of the body of Christ, the church of the living God; for baptism is that which puts you into this body.
As you look back over your life, and compare what you have done religiously with that which God's word sets forth, are you impressed by the facts that you have done exactly what the Bible teaches — just that and neither more nor less? If you cannot honestly say that you have followed the exact teaching of God's word, then will you not this very hour make up your mind to do so? Believing with all your heart that Jesus is God's Son, turn your back upon everything that stands in the way, confess your faith in Christ, and be baptized into Christ in order to obtain the remission of sins. That is the way of salvation. That is the only way God has to save a sinner from eternal ruin. Will you not follow God's way?