Water baptism is a symbol of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. It is a symbol of entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ, coming just as we are, clothed in our old life with all of its habits, mindsets, and behaviors.
Water baptism does not change who we ‘were’ until there is a change of mindset by the individual after the ritual.
The Bible tells us that there is a baptism necessary for salvation; however, it is not Water baptism! A person must be spiritually baptized into Christ to be saved:
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27 NIV).
At the moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Yeshua), a person is “buried with him [Jesus] in baptism,
Wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12NKJV).
Many people insist that water baptism is essential for salvation. However, this is incorrect. You see, salvation is and always has been about faith in Jesus Christ. You must be “baptized into Christ” to be saved; however, this is not the same as being “baptized in water.” Water baptism is purely an outward sign of God’s cleansing work in a person’s heart, and is therefore meaningless without a prior spiritual baptism into Christ.
Illustration
To illustrate this point, imagine that you have a friend who receives Jesus as Savior today but then dies in a car accident tomorrow. Your friend never had a chance to be water baptized, but was he or she saved? The answer is an award-winning yes.
That person was baptized into Christ, by faith. The same is true for the thief on the cross (see Luke 23:43), who received salvation because he was baptized into Christ, by faith. So we see that it is faith in Jesus Christ that brings about salvation — not a ritual.
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People in the Old Testament were not saved by sacrificing animals but rather by their faith in the coming Lamb of God. In a similar way, one is not saved by being immersed in water; nor is water baptism a requirement for one’s salvation. A person is saved purely by his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Just as it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (see Hebrews 10:4)
The natural water used in baptism will not wash away sin. Spiritual baptism into Christ is what saves, for a heart must be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.