The Texts

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

"God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise  for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call."

With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

"And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

...don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

You are all sons of GOD through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of GOD, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, GOD made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins...

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of GOD our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

...God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built, h it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through wirier, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ..

Baptism's Companions

The Holy Spirit identified baptism as one of the seven essentials of Christian unity: There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism,  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Baptism's companions are God (one God and Father), Christ (one Lord), the Holy Spirit (one Spirit), the church (one body), heaven (one hope), and faith.

God placed baptism in distinguished company. It must be quite important.

When Philip was invited to explain the Scriptures to the Ethiopian eunuch, ...{he} told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the wad, they come to some water and the eunuch said, "Look; here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:35-39).

When Philip told him the good news about Jesus" the eunuch's immediate and only response was, Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" Is there any way to escape the conclusion that the telling of the good news about Jesus included the charge to be baptized?

The book of Acts includes several conversion reports: the Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2); the Samaritans, Simon the Sorcerer and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8); Saul (Acts 9, 22); Cornelius (Acts 10); Lydia and the jailor (Acts 16); and the Corinthians (Acts 18).

Some of these accounts tell us what the people were instructed to do: some were told to believe; some to repent; some to be baptized.

But all of the accounts tell us what they did: every one of them was baptized.

Why is such importance attached to baptism in the New Testament?

Could it be because God designed baptism as the place where he would bestow the cleansing of Jesus' blood?

It is "the blood of Jesus (that) purifies us from every sin" (1 John 1:7). Yet Saul was told to be baptized and wash away his sins (Acts 22:16).

The connection seems clear...in baptism God confers his grace of cleansing by the blood of Jesus.