Baptism Is A Command
By Ron Boatwright

     After the apostle Peter taught the household of Cornelius we read, "And he commanded them to be baptized" (Acts 10:48). You do one of two things with a command. You either obey it or you disobey it by ignoring it. Jesus says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Jesus made baptism a condition of our salvation. If one really wants to be saved he must obey all the commands of Christ. One’s baptism must be for the purpose of remission of sins so one can be saved. Every person makes the choice to either to be submissive to Christ and His commandments and be saved and go to Heaven or to not submit to Him and be eternally lost in Hell.
     There are many who say that baptism has nothing to do with salvation. This contradicts what Jesus says and shows that they do not believe in Him. They say when one "accepts Jesus as his personal Saviour and says the sinner’s prayer" he is saved. This is nowhere found in the Bible. Then a week or so later he is baptized, but not to be saved since he thinks he is already saved. If this is the case then one still has every sin he has ever committed and is still lost. Doing what man says cannot save us. Judgment Day will be the beginning of a continuous eternal horror for all those who believe that God’s grace will save those who are saved by "faith only" and not by what Jesus says. One’s faith must be an active and obedient faith if he really expects to be saved and go to Heaven. If one is lost in Hell by following man-made doctrines, he will only have himself to blame.