Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Baptism”
Categories: SALVATIONMust I be baptized in order to receive forgiveness of my sins?Sincerely,
What’s In The Water?
Dear What’s In The Water,
Yes. There are no examples of people becoming christians without baptism (the thief on the cross was not a christian… Jesus hadn’t died yet – read “The Thief On The Cross” for more details on that situation). When people asked how to be saved in Acts 2:37, Peter told them that they would be saved when they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38). Mk 16:16 says that we are saved when we believe and are baptized. 1 Pet 3:21 says that baptism saves you, and Rom 6:4 says that we receive a new life in Christ when we come out of the baptismal waters. Paul was immediately baptized (even before breaking a three day fast) when he had the Gospel preached to him (Acts 9:18-19). The Ethiopian eunuch asked to be baptized after Philip preached to him about Jesus (Acts 8:36-38). Acts 22:16 says that your sins are washed away in baptism, and Gal 3:27 says that we put on Christ when we are baptized. All of these verses (and many more that we haven’t cited) clearly prove that baptism forgives you of your sins. Baptism isn’t the end of your christian journey, it is the beginning… until you are baptized, you are still lost in your sins.
