When Mark's gospel says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" the Lord Jesus
is teaching us the proper order; one MUST believe on Christ first, and only after faith in
Christ, be BAPTIZED.
Acts 2:41: "Then they that gladly received His Word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls"
And so, the Biblical model was established in this ingathering of souls! FIRST, there was
the new birth; sinners were born-again by the Spirit of God; delivered from the power of
darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God's Dear Son!
Those sinners that were saved willingly submitted to the command of Christ to be baptized
by immersion, openly and outwardly professing that they NOW identified with Christ,
and believed in His death, burial, and resurrection for the salvation of their souls, and the
atonement for their sins. THAT is what baptism symbolizes. |
