Yes! There is Good News! 9.9.17

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.” In the last article I mentioned that with this short statement, Peter tells us several things. We talked about the first step for those who have been “cut to the heart” concerning their involvement with Christ’s death: they must repent. The second item is baptism.

I have heard some people say that we do not necessarily need to be baptized for salvation because that would be a type of “work” and we are not saved by works. I must ask the question, why was Peter so emphatic? This statement is imperative and that which is imperative is, by definition, a command!

We may also turn to the words of Jesus in His directive to the disciples after His resurrection, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

So, what is so important about putting someone under the waters of baptism?
Paul said it this way, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3)

If we would want to be identified with our Savior, we must be identified with Him in His death. This identification with Him is quite important for even He, who was without sin, underwent the waters of baptism to set for us an example. Two weeks ago I mentioned another scripture in the book of Romans, “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.” In the scheme of all things Godly we must recognize that our commitment to God, and the covenant He made with us, through the blood of the sacrifice of His Son, takes place in and through the death of our “old man.” Our sins are washed away in that watery grave of baptism. How else would we expect to live a new life?

The next thing Peter says in Acts 2:38 is “every one of you.” This is a simple statement but has great significance. Salvation is not a group thing! We are not saved because we belong to the “right” group or go to the “right” church building. This commitment we make to God is a personal vow or promise. We stand alone before God repenting for our own sins and accepting Jesus as our own personal Savior. Each one of us must act upon Peter’s statement by ourselves - alone.

Peter then tells us that we must be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Is this important? We’ll talk more on this, God willing, in the next article.