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made unto salvation (Romans 10:9–10).
The necessity of baptism. The Lord
Jesus said, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. He
who believes and is baptized will be
saved; but he who does not believe will
be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16). Faith
and baptism come before salvation in this
verse. When people heard and believed
the gospel, they naturally wanted to be baptized into Christ, so they could
be saved.
Jesus revealed the necessity of baptism when he told the ruler,
Nicodemus,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when
he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3–5).
The new birth of water and the Spirit refers to being baptized. When
a person is baptized, he receives the newness of life and freedom from
his sins. Romans 6:3–7 explains:
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into His death? 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. For if we
have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also
shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 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. For he who has died has been freed
from sin.
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