CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM

Scripture Reading: Mark 16:16; Acts 2:37-38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12; 1
Pet. 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 10:1-2
We must consider the matter of baptism. In general, people have a wrong concept concerning
believing in Jesus. They think that believing alone is sufficient for salvation and that baptism is
of little importance. Nevertheless, the Bible shows that baptism and salvation are related.

SEEING THE IMPORTANCE OF BAPTISM

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Bible regards the matter of baptism very highly. The Lord clearly said, “He who believes
and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). In order for a person to be saved, he needs to
believe and be baptized. At Pentecost, when the people heard the word of Peter, they were
pricked in their heart, and they asked what they should do. Peter answered, “Repent and each one
of you be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Baptism is related to the forgiveness of sins.
Later Ananias said to Paul, “Rise up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His
name” (22:16). This shows that baptism is related to the washing away of sins. In the matter of
Paul’s baptism, the Bible confirms that Paul “rose up and was baptized” (9:18). Furthermore,
according to Romans 6:3-4, we are baptized into the Lord’s death and are buried and resurrected
with the Lord. First Peter 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 both associate salvation with water,
not merely with blood. Thus, baptism is related to salvation. According to the Bible, whenever
someone receives the Lord through the preaching of the gospel, we need to tell him to be
baptized.

BELIEVING AND BEING BAPTIZED

MAKING SALVATION COMPLETE

Let me give an example to show that salvation is related to baptism. A believer who had a
university education once questioned me, saying, “I have been told that I was only half saved
because I have not been baptized. How can we have only a half salvation?” I answered, “The
salvation we obtain depends on the salvation we receive.” I then asked him what led him to
realize his need for the Lord. He said that he realized that he had a problem with sins and with
the weakness of his flesh. He indicated there were other problems, but he could not articulate
them. When I mentioned such matters as the world, culture, and customs, he admitted that they
also were problems.

Then I told him that he needed salvation from sins, the flesh, and the world, and only when these
problems were dealt with would his salvation be complete. When I asked him which of these
problems had been solved, he could only say that his sins had been forgiven. The problems
related to the weakness of his flesh and the world had not been solved. I said, “In this case, you
are not even ‘half saved,’ but merely ‘one-third’ saved.” I told him that he had received only a
minimal salvation and that he needed to receive more of the Lord’s provision for salvation in
order for his salvation to be complete. Receiving the forgiveness of sins by believing is the first
step in salvation, but receiving salvation from the flesh and the world by being baptized is a
further step. It is not sufficient to receive salvation merely by believing, we still need to receive
the salvation that is related to baptism. Just as there is an aspect of salvation related to believing,
there is an aspect related to baptism. Only through these two steps can we have a complete
salvation.

BAPTISM BEING A BURIAL

THAT SEPARATES US FROM THE WORLD

In God’s salvation there is an element related to death. Only a dead person does not sin because
death terminates his ability to sin. Death is the termination of sin just as death is the termination
of debt. Although death is terrifying to many, it is truly wonderful in God’s salvation because our
death in Christ terminates all our problems.

People are enslaved to sin and experience various sufferings because they are alive. But with
death, everything is terminated. Therefore, death completely “solves” their problems. Death is a
part of God’s salvation in order to deal with all our “unsolvable” problems. God saves us not
only by the life of Christ but also by the death of Christ. Romans 6:3-4 says, “Are you ignorant
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? We
have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death.” Christ’s death solves our
problems, and the meaning of baptism is death, that is, burial. Because we have believed into the
Lord, we have died with the Lord Jesus, and because we have died with the Lord, we need to be
buried with Him. Baptism is our burial with Christ.

When a person dies and is buried, he is spontaneously freed from the darkness of the world.
Baptism is not a ritual; rather, it is a burial. The waters of baptism forever separate us from the
world.

BAPTISM BEING THE GREATEST

AND THE MOST THOROUGH DELIVERANCE

Baptism is the greatest and the most thorough deliverance. With the blood we escape God’s
wrath, and with the water we are separated from the world. The blood of the Passover lamb
enabled the Israelites to escape God’s wrath, but they were freed from the usurpation of Egypt
and Pharaoh, that is, the bondage of the world and Satan, only when they crossed the Red Sea.
When we receive the Lord by confessing our sins and repenting, we receive salvation by the
blood; when we are baptized, we are delivered from the bondage of the world and Satan.

Noah was saved by being in the ark, but his whole family also was moved from a world that
opposed God to another kingdom through the flood waters. Noah was saved by the ark and also
by the flood. Those who have been baptized are the same as Noah. Having passed through
baptism, we have been delivered from numerous forms of bondage, whether these forms involve
sins, weaknesses, sicknesses, habits, frustrations, or anxieties. Complete deliverance involves
both death and burial; this is the significance of baptism.

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