There is much disagreement in religious circles about baptism. Teachings include no baptism, sprinkling or pouring for baptism, baptism after salvation, and the list goes on and on. Using a concordance, one could not deny the use of the word baptism in the New Testament. But what about its importance? We can see the significance of baptism when we find the Bible answer to this question: where did God place baptism?
God placed baptism between being out of Christ and being in Christ. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom 6:3). One cannot get into what he is already in, and in order to get into something one must first be outside of it. Baptism is into Christ; before baptism, then, one is outside of Christ. Baptism stands between a person being out of Christ and being in Christ.
God placed baptism between being a person being lost in sins and having his sins washed away. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Although Saul believed and demonstrated repentance (Acts 9:6, 9), he was still in his sins; he needed to be baptized to wash away his sins. The Jews on Pentecost were told, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Baptism was not because their sins were already remitted, but it was in order for their sins to be remitted. Baptism stands between one being lost in sins and having his sins remitted or washed away.
God placed baptism between being out of the Lord’s church and being in the Lord’s church. Peter had taught his hearers to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and the Bible says, “with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them…. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:40-41,47). Someone or something is outside of a thing until he or it is added into the thing. The butter is not in the cookie dough – it is outside the cookie dough – until the butter is added, and once the butter is added, it is in the cookie dough. The hearers who repented and were baptized for remission of sins are the saved who were added to the church; before repenting and being baptized, they could not have been in the church. Baptism stands between being out of the church and being in the church.
God placed baptism between being dead in sin and being alive in Christ. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:11-13). See that before baptism one is dead in trespasses. But being raised from the water of baptism, one is made alive together with Him.
Scriptural baptism stands exactly where God placed it in the Scriptures. No man can, nor does he have the right to, remove it or to move it somewhere else in God’s plan of salvation.
– Larry Jones