Crucified With Christ Through Baptism
Romans 6:1-11 (NKJV)
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The purpose and beauty of baptism has been trampled underfoot by religious leaders and “scholars” for a long time. We learn in Acts 2:38 that when an individual believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, they are baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. Most people would say it is good to be baptized. Many would suggest that baptism is an act of obedience toward God, but most people today will say that is it not necessary. This is a false teaching.
In the great commission Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. What did Jesus follow this command with? Did he say “He who believes will be saved?” Yes, but that’s not all. Jesus told His disciples in verse 16 “he who believes AND is baptized will be SAVED; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Why would Jesus make this statement if baptism isn’t a required step in surrendering to the gospel? That’s a good question to consider.
There are a lot of hypothetical situations that are brought to the table in a discussion such as this. Death bed confessions and car accidents on the way to be baptized are common arguments. We MUST remember, these are hypothetical situations. Should we base our salvation on a hypothetical situation that we aren’t even involved in? I’ll leave it to Jesus to judge in those situations, but for those who believe in Jesus, they must be baptized to have their sins forgiven.
Jesus commanded it and the Apostles taught it by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Peter instructed the Jews to do this in his first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and those who were baptized were saved, being added to the church, the kingdom. In every single example of conversion we find in the book of Acts, those who believe in Jesus as the Christ Messiah were baptized immediately.
Why? For exactly what Paul is explaining in our passage in question. Those who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. And those who were buried with Him through baptism into death, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
We are buried in that watery grave, just as Jesus was buried in the tomb and we rise from that watery grave just as Christ rose from the tomb, that we should walk in newness of life. We are UNITED with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection and freed from sin through baptism. (Roman’s 6:5-7)
Am I preaching “water salvation”? No. There’s no power in the water. The water by itself cannot save you. If you are baptized without believing in Jesus as the Christ Messiah, the Son of the Living God you’re just going down a dry sinner and coming up a wet one. The power is not in the water. The power is in the obedience of submitting to this symbolic act that brings us into contact with the soul saving blood of Jesus.
Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). For us to have access to God through Jesus, to begin living a life that glorifies God, and to begin the race of the Christian life in a relentless pursuit of Jesus, we must obey the gospel plan of salvation that we can clearly read and find examples of in the New Testament.
How does one obey the gospel?
Hear - We must first hear the word of God preached. We must hear about Jesus and get to know His person and work. We must come to belief by hearing about His life, death, and resurrection. “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)
Believe - Based on what we have heard, we come to a belief in Jesus as the Christ Messiah. We must believe in this truth in order to be saved. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
Repent - We must make the decision to change our lives for Jesus and live for Him rather than living to fulfill the lusts of our flesh. This is not a one time thing, repentance is something we consistently work on, so we do not turn back to the sinful man we once were. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
Confess - We must make the good confession that we believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. (Acts 8:37) These are most beautiful and important words a person can utter in this life. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)
Baptism - As we have thoroughly discussed, we must be baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of our sins. “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:41). “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (Acts 3:21)
Live Faithfully - If we want to glorify God and reach our heavenly home, we don’t punch our ticket to heaven at the moment we obey the gospel, we only begin the race of the Christian life. We must serve God faithfully and bear good fruit toward God.
It’s easy to say we agree with what God tells us to do, but our agreement or belief means nothing if it is not supported with action. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14; 17)
After reading this, I must ask you the question, have you obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures? I’ve presented the scriptures to you, now it is up to you to search them yourselves and come to a conclusion on where you stand with God.
If you have questions about what you have read in this article, please feel free to contact me to discuss it. If you would like to learn more about the gospel, I would love to schedule a Bible study with you. I know there might still be a few unanswered questions, but space doesn’t permit me to answer them all. Please contact me with any questions you might have about baptism that this article did not address.
- Eric Bullock, Evangelist
Contact Information:
Call/Text - (606) 669-3143
Email - empbullock@gmail.com
