Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). It puts one into Christ and thus into His body which is His church (Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:3; 1 Corinthians 12:13). It is an appeal to God for a good conscience through faith in the working of God (1 Peter 3:21; Colossians 2:12). It is that by which our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22). It is a requirement in order to be saved (Mark 16:16).
But there are some things that baptism cannot do.
Baptism cannot change a man’s will to turn from sin and unto God. Repentance is a change of one’s will, and it must precede baptism (Acts 2:38). When one thinks that if he can just get someone baptized, then maybe they will want to serve God, they’ve got the cart before the horse.
Baptism cannot remove the consequences of past sins. The guilt before God for those sins is removed and remembered no more by God (Hebrews 10:17-18), but guilt and consequences are not the same thing. The man who obeyed the gospel but was a thief still owes the repayment of that which he stole, for repentance demands fruits of repentance (Luke 3:10-14). The adulterer must leave his unlawful spouse, for baptism does not change adultery, an unlawful marriage, to a lawful marriage.
Baptism cannot forgive future sin. To say that a Christian never sins again is to deceive ourselves and to make God a liar (1 John 1:8, 10). But the sin that a Christian commits needs to be repented of and confessed to God in order for God to forgive him (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9).
Baptism cannot guarantee spiritual growth. Spiritual growth requires effort on the part of a Christian (1 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 1:5-11). Some Christians do not grow as they ought to (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Baptism cannot guarantee a home in heaven. God has promised heaven to those who remain faithful (Hebrews 10:26-27). God will be true to us and will not forsake us, but we must remain faithful and true and loyal to Him (2 Timothy 2:12-13). We can choose otherwise, and to do so will result in the loss of the inheritance of heaven (Revelation 2:10; 3:5)
The gospel plan of salvation includes hearing the gospel, believing it, repenting, confessing Jesus as Lord and Christ and the Son of God, and being baptized for the remission of sins. And it also includes continued faithfulness to the Lord unto death. Baptism is a necessary element in God’s plan to save us, but the things it cannot do remind us of man’s part in making his “calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).
-Larry Jones