“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” the Bible commands everyone on the planet (Acts 2:38). Everyone who accepts the gospel need to be baptized, according to the book of Acts (Acts 2:41; 8:12–13; 8:36; 9:18; 10:47–48; 16:14–15; 16:33–34; 18:8). In order to comprehend the significance of baptism, we need to consider the overall message of the Bible.
Our hearts need to be cleansed
The Bible tells us that from birth we all have sinful hearts (Psalm 51:5) and out of our hearts flow sinful thoughts and actions that make us unclean (Genesis 6:5; Mark 7:20-23). We are in danger of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3) but we cannot save ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 10:26-27). Even our most righteous acts are polluted and unacceptable to God (Isaiah 64:6; Philippians 3:8).
However, even though we can’t fix our own hearts, we shouldn’t despair: the LORD is the God who saves (Psalm 42:11). Long ago, God sent His prophets to announce that a day was coming when God would send the Holy Spirit to wash clean the hearts of His people (Ezekiel 36:25-28; 11:19-20; Deuteronomy 30:6). Old Testament believers prayed for God’s promise to be fulfilled (Psalm 51:10).
John the Baptist
In order to bring about repentance and the redemption of sins, God sent [the final and greatest prophet], John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11–15). (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:4-5; Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24). The people who changed from their immoral ways after John’s baptism demonstrated that they were in fact God’s people. However, John’s baptism was only temporary (Acts 19:4-5). According to Acts 13:25, John baptized people in water to prepare them for Jesus. In addition to baptizing us with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33–34; Acts 1:5), who purifies our souls (Titus 3:5), Jesus came to fulfill all of God’s promises made in the Old Testament (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Jesus was baptized
John baptized Jesus Himself (Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21). Given that Jesus is the only one who has no sins to confess (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15), John was taken aback (Matthew 3:13–14). However, Jesus underwent baptism to demonstrate that He had come to sympathize with sinners such as myself (Matthew 3:15; Isaiah 53:4-6). Because of this, Jesus compares His death and resurrection for us to a “baptism” (Luke 12:50). As we can see from verses like Romans 4:25, 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, and 1 Peter 2:24, Jesus is pictured as going under the water and rising to take the punishment we receive for our crimes.
The meaning of baptism
In a similar way, Christian baptism symbolizes how, when we believe in Jesus, we are “clothed with Christ”, (Galatians 3:26-27), meaning that everything Jesus did 2000 years ago is counted as ours. So, as we are baptized, we’re acting out how we have died with Christ and risen to new life with Him (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12). When we are “washed” with the water, it is a picture of how the Lord Jesus Christ has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts to cleanse us (1 Corinthians 6:11) and wash away our sins (Acts 22:16).
Until that Last Day, Jesus commands us to share the Gospel with people of every nation, so that they too can put their faith in Him, and be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18-20).
