BELIEVER'S BAPTISM

Our Lord says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). Three things are evident in that statement.

(1) FAITH IN CHRIST IS THE ONE CONDITION OF SALVATION. Baptism has no saving efficacy. It is not a condition to be met for salvation. It is not meritorious. It is not a means of grace. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

(2) FAITH IN CHRIST IS THE ONE PRE-REQUISITE FOR BAPTISM. Who may and should be baptized? We answer in the words of Holy Scripture, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest" (Acts 8:37). Baptism is not for believers and their children, but for believers only. Infant sprinkling (It cannot be called baptism, for that is immersion.) is without foundation in the Word of God.

(3) BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL. No one who is truly saved by the grace of God will rebel against and refuse to submit to the command of Christ. True faith is submission to Christ, not rebellion.