Is baptism necessary and can baptism alone save you?

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age – Matthew 28:18-20.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned – Mark 16:16.

There are many who hold the view that baptism is merely symbolic, but when we examine the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, that’s an authoritative command of Jesus. An official and important undertaking entrusted to us – A mandate. Commission is one word we commonly hear in government; when one is commissioned to serve it’s usually done by the highest authority and most times taking an oath for the office and how the individual will carry out his or her duties. It is a serious command… Every word.. In verse 20 the Commission says”… obey everything that I have commanded you. Mandatory! Not merely symbolic! Jesus himself has set the example for us with his baptism. A complete example of the Great Commission is in Acts 8:24-40 – Rise and go toward the south… Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus…and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”… and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him… Most importantly the act of baptism is participating in Jesus’ death and resurrection and for the purpose of cleansing. “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” – Romans 6:4. We must, in order to be like him. Symbolic yes – It must be demonstrated – Demonstrate what you believe.

So our next argument is: Can baptism alone save you?. The simple answer is, No. Mark 16:16 answers it and Romans 10:9 says this… If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. If baptizing and not believing could save you then the Non-Messianic Jews would be saved. They are still waiting on the Messiah to come and they all practise baptism and believe in the Father, but they do not believe what Romans 10:9 says. God has cornered them, I believe. No escape route, except through Jesus. Enough said.

How to explain salvation to non-believers

Salvation may be defined as freedom from the power of sin. In this way you are saved for eternal life. You are no longer lost to sin. Explaining salvation to a non-believer the main aim would be to assist such an individual to become a believer. It is therefore important to deal with the following:

What is salvation?
How was, and how is salvation received?
Why do you need salvation?

What is salvation?
A non-believer needs to be aware what this very familiar word is all about. Reiterating the definition – Salvation is freedom from the power of sin. One of the most common phrases or terms one often hear is that – only salvation lasts forever. This is implying that nothing else lasts forever. You can think as hard as you can, but you will not be able to think of anything else. Knowing this, what options do you have? What is your choice?

In reference to the definition, the word “sin” is involved. One may explain sin to be acting against what is good and moral. From the definition of salvation it speaks of the “power of sin,” which is saying that sin has power, meaning it has great influence over what is bad and immoral, which inevitably spells trouble. One also sees freedom in the definition. The opposite to all this is bondage, or being restricted. If one means well for him or her self, what would be the better option here? This is naturally a rhetorical question.

How was and how is salvation received?
One might be curious to find out how salvation came about. It came about after Jesus Christ gave His life through the shedding of His blood on the cross. This effectively saved you from all your sins, because He gave His life as a sacrifice for everyone. You therefore have no need to be troubled because the price for all sins has been paid for in this manner. The only thing left for you to do is to claim it.

How do you claim this great thing called salvation? It is claimed by accepting and believing that Christ died to save you from your sins. This requires repentance and baptism, which is participating in the death and resurrection of Christ and is a symbol of cleansing and purification. It is being born again. This involves making the decision to do away with the old and sinful life and take on a new life, which is holy and acceptable to God.

Why do you need salvation?
You may ask why it was necessary for Christ to go through all this suffering for you. It was necessary because you are just not capable of consistently upholding God’s command, in order to meet His requirements for eternal life. This provision was made for you through Christ, the risen one. You are able to seek His forgiveness, through confession, when you fail in obeying His word. This is so because no one is perfect, and you are all born as sinners.

Interesting inspirations as this one, and more from daily devotional – Devotions on the ROCK. The first edition available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1978141696 in print and kindle.