WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT BAPTISM
THE MOST POWERFUL POST ON BAPTISM YOU MAY EVER READ
Let me say this plainly: Baptism isn’t just a step. It’s not just a symbol. And it’s definitely not optional.
It’s the moment everything changes... when the Father removes your sin, clothes you in Christ, and adds you to the body. And that’s not opinion. That’s Scripture.
🔖 SALVATION ISN’T A CHECKLIST, BUT IT IS A PATH.
Yes, salvation is not about rigid formulas or man-made rituals. It's not a spiritual punch card. But let’s be clear: that doesn’t make it ambiguous.
The so-called "steps of salvation" are not tradition. They are a simplified view of what every convert in the book of Acts did:
🕊️ They HEARD the Word
📃 They BELIEVED the message
😞 They REPENTED of sin
😎 They CONFESSED Jesus as Messiah
💧 They were IMMERSED in water
Why? Because that's what the Savior commanded. That’s what the apostles taught. That’s what every example in Scripture shows.
And in every one of those examples, baptism was the turning point.
💔 SIN IS THE PROBLEM. BAPTISM IS WHERE GOD DEALS WITH IT.
Sin is what separates us from the Father (Isaiah 59:2).
The blood of Jesus is what covers that sin.
But that blood isn’t applied just because you believe. James says even the demons believe (James 2:19).
That blood is applied when we humbly submit to the instruction He gave:
"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the remission of your sins..." Acts 2:38
"Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:16
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." Mark 16:16
"Buried with Him in baptism... you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God."
Colossians 2:12
"Baptism now saves you... not the removal of dirt from the body but the answer of a good conscience toward God."
1 Peter 3:21
It’s not the water that saves you. It’s the Father, working in that moment, doing what He promised to do when you submit to His command.
✨ SALVATION IS BY GRACE, BUT GRACE REQUIRES FAITHFUL RESPONSE.
We are not saved by works. But we are saved through obedient faith.
"He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him."
Hebrews 5:9
Repenting is a work. Believing is a work. Confessing is a work. But none of those earn salvation. And neither does baptism.
💧Baptism is the moment of submission, where you stop doing and let God do.
🌐 WE DON’T TRUST TRADITION. WE TRUST SCRIPTURE.
If it’s not in the Word, throw it out. If it contradicts the Word, expose it. If it sounds good but doesn’t align with the Word, reject it.
"Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."
Galatians 1:8-9
Many trust feelings. Others trust tradition. We must trust only the Word.
"The heart is deceitful above all things... who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9
"Your word is truth."
John 17:17
🤯 EVERY CONVERSION ACCOUNT IN ACTS INVOLVES BAPTISM
Acts 2: "What must we do?" "Repent and be baptized... for the remission of sins."
Acts 8: The eunuch hears the Gospel and says: "Here is water, what hinders me?"
Acts 9:22, Paul is told: "Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins."
Acts 10: The Gentiles receive confirmation of their acceptance, and are commanded to be baptized.
Acts 16: The jailer is baptized the same hour of the night.
Not one person said, "Well, I believe now. That’s enough." Not one waited weeks. Not one made it optional.
✌️ FINAL WORD - THIS ISN’T ABOUT ARGUMENT. IT’S ABOUT OBEDIENCE.
We’re not trying to win debates. We’re trying to win souls.
Jesus said:
"If you love Me, keep My commandments."
John 14:15
If you’ve already been immersed with understanding, praise God. If not, don’t delay.
This isn’t about water. It’s about surrender.
And in that moment of surrender, the Father wipes your sin, clothes you in Christ, and raises you to new life.
You’re not earning anything. You’re finally laying it down.
That’s what baptism is.
That’s why it matters.
⏳️ Let’s be clear, the original Greek language leaves no room for modern reinterpretation. The word “baptizō” (βαπτίζω) never simply meant “symbolic ceremony” or “spiritual moment.” It meant to immerse fully, to submerge, to overwhelm... often used in ancient texts to describe dyeing cloth or even the process of pickling, where the item is changed by the substance it's immersed in. Not sprinkled. Not metaphorical. It was understood as a complete physical immersion. Add to that the Greek word “eis” (εἰς), used in Acts 2:38: “Repent and be baptized eis the remission of your sins.” Eis does not mean “because of” or “as a result of.” It means “into, toward, in order to receive.” It expresses movement into a result... in this case, the forgiveness of sins. So when Peter said “be baptized eis the remission of sins,” he was saying that baptism is the God-ordained point of entry into salvation, not a public sign of something already done. It is the moment when the Father removes your sins, adds you to the body, and applies the blood. The early believers knew this. They didn’t debate it. They obeyed it. Immediately. Every single example in the book of Acts confirms it.
🛑 Let’s bring it down to earth. Imagine blowing through a stop sign. You could claim you were confused. Maybe it was dark. Maybe you didn’t see it. Maybe it wasn’t clearly marked. Fine, once. But what happens when you run through stop sign after stop sign after stop sign? What excuse do you have when you’ve seen them? When you’ve had time to consider them? When someone literally pointed them out and read the words painted in bold red right in front of you? At some point, it’s not confusion... it’s rebellion. It’s pride. It’s refusing to yield. And baptism is one of those stop signs. Clear. Repeated. Direct. The Messiah commanded it. His apostles taught it. The early church practiced it, urgently and immediately. Every conversion in the New Testament points to it. Every one. Yet today, we explain it away, spiritualize it, postpone it, or ignore it altogether. But how long will we keep running past the clear warnings, and still expect mercy at the final judgment? The Father isn’t asking for a checklist... He’s asking for humble submission. And if He says, “Here is where I wash away your sins,” then we would do well to stop… and obey.
🫶 Context matters. When Paul is writing letters to churches like Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, etc., he’s not teaching unbelievers how to be saved... he’s correcting, encouraging, and instructing people who are already in Christ. These are baptized believers, added to the body by the Father. That’s why in places like Galatians 3:27, Paul says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," past tense. He’s not instructing them to get baptized. He’s reminding them of what they already did and what it means.
But in Acts, we get to see the raw beginning, real people hearing the gospel for the first time. The murderers of Christ. Pagan Gentiles. Devout Jews. And every time someone hears the message and believes, they are baptized, urgently and without delay. Why? Because they were responding to the command of Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-16. That’s the consistent pattern: belief, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and then growth.
So if you’re quoting Corinthians or Galatians to try to redefine how someone enters the body of Christ, you’re misapplying the text. Those letters are written to people already in the body. The blueprint for entering the body, for being saved, is clearly laid out in Acts, just as the Lord commanded.
♥️ If we refuse to submit to Jesus in baptism, we are rejecting His word, not the word of man.
This is not about Ben Grady, or any preacher or teacher.
This is Jesus’s own command in Matthew 28:18–20.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…”
When we reject that, we’re not rejecting a church tradition.
We’re making His sacrifice in vain for us... because we refuse the very means by which He told us to access that saving grace.
He made salvation available through His death, burial, and resurrection, but He told us how to receive it:
→ In humble submission
→ In obedient faith
→ Through immersion in water, where He does the work... not us (Colossians 2:12–13, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3–4)!
We don't earn it.
We don’t achieve it.
We simply submit our will to His.
⚠️ So the real question is:
Will you obey the King, or make His sacrifice in vain,
for you?
“Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Luke 6:46
copied from: Kara Hardison's facebook page
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