Salvation and Water Baptism

Romans 6:3,4 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Jesus wasn’t crucified because He was a criminal/ a sinful person, rather He died for our sins. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24)

The Bible instructs about different types of baptisms in different portions of the New Testament (Hebrews 6:2)

1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

This baptism by the Holy spirit is to form one body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the Baptiser who  connects us  to the spiritual body of Christ. This signifies having fellowship with other brethren so that we are continually nourished in order to mature spiritually.  A person who cuts off from the body of Christ dries up. This baptism happens the moment when a person is born again and receives the Holy spirit. 

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
This refers to water baptism, just as how Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river. 

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter concluded his first preaching by giving the crowd an altar call for repentance and water baptism.
This is different from the baptism we learnt yesterday which is being baptized into the body of Christ by partaking in the death of Christ and being a part of the body of Christ. 
Those who take water baptism will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

There are about 146 verses in the bible about water baptism. Biblically, water baptism (Mark 16:16) means to be dipped/immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you need to do it only once in life; but only after you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your lord and Savior because that’s the right order mentioned in Mark 16:16 - whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

Water baptism is a very simple act, yet many hesitate to do so for various reasons, and we’ll discuss it in the upcoming days after we get a clear picture of water baptism. 

1. Water baptism is associated with salvation - baptism is supposed to be done soon after/ along with the salvation experience.
Philip who was one among the seven deacons chosen by the disciples and had four daughters that prophesied (Acts 6). As he was faithful in the least, God led him step by step for a great evangelistic ministry. So in Acts 8, we see that an angel of the Lord told Philip to set out quickly to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Candace,, sitting in his chariot and reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. Hearing the man read Isaiah the prophet, Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture that’s stated in Isaiah 53 and told him the good news about Jesus - Jesus’s crucifixion for our forgiveness and healing and thereby the redemption of mankind. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
 
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away (spiritual transportation), and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

In the born again experience, the baptizer is the Holy Spirit where one gets baptized to the body of Christ; whereas in water baptism, the baptizer is a person wherein we become one with Christ.

Galatians 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

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