In this sermon, the preacher discusses the importance of immediate baptism for believers. He references the story of the jailor in Acts chapter 16, who asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. They told him to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and he and his household were immediately baptized. The preacher emphasizes that baptism is a crucial step in receiving the remission of sins and the Holy Spirit. He also mentions other instances in the Bible where believers were baptized immediately upon conversion. The sermon concludes by noting that while verse 37 is found in the King James authorized version, it is not present in modern translations.

The Acts chapter 2, beginning at verse 37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said to Peter and the rest of the apocryphal men and brethren, What shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are a part of, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other works did he testify unto them, saying, Save yourselves from this underworld generation. Then they that gladly received this word were baptized, and the same day there were eight of them, about three thousand souls, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrines, as fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer. This evening we would like to continue this subject of baptism, considering once again what the Scriptures have to say on these things, and this morning we showed first of all the Lord's command to be baptized, and then how He said that those who believe and were baptized would be saved, and it's tying baptism to faith. And then we were noticing in Romans chapter 6, the doctrine concerning baptism, and what baptism means. It involves our dying with Christ, and our being buried and risen again with Christ. And I believe the secret of it is, in this matter, that it is with Christ, in order that we might receive and benefit His resurrection life in our lives. Now, this evening we would like to deal with some other Scriptures that deal with baptism, starting here in the Acts, and the first thing we want to do is simply to show what we mentioned this morning, and that I think that perhaps the majority of you are conscious of, and that is that in the Acts of the Apostles we find the apostles exhorting believers to be baptized immediately, and that these people, when they received the worship of Christ, they were baptized immediately. Now, right here on the day of Pentecost, Peter starts right off with that note. Repent and be baptized. And they did it. They repented, and they were baptized, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. Now, they didn't go forth pointing to baptism, saying, well, we need to learn more about this first. And the apostles didn't say, we have to test you first before you're going to be baptized. They simply said, repent and be baptized, and this is what they did. Now, as we move along, we find in chapter 8 and verse 12, the same thing happens when Philip is preaching in Samaria. Here it says, For when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Now, I think one of the most apparent things to find here is that they were baptized both men and women. There is nothing mentioned about baptizing a whole family that might involve children. Now, we do have, of course, a couple of instances of that in the scriptures, but I think that a close examination of at least one of them would show us that this all involved those who were of sufficient age to believe. In other words, the baptism was only a believer's baptism. It was not the baptizing of the children of believers when the children were not yet believers themselves. But here it says specifically they were baptized both men and women. I don't think you have to be 18 or 21 to be classified in this category of men and women. But you do have to be of an age to understand enough to believe. And another thing that I think is helpful here is to recognize, too, that this even included one by the name of Simon. That Simon was baptized, and Simon... Now, it turns out, as the story is unraveled for us here, that Simon evidently was not a believer. Now, so is his quibble about this afterwards. He said he baptized two people that made a professional state, and it seemed to him that they were sincere, and I suppose it seemed to him that even Simon was sincere, and so he baptized him as well. And I think that one thing that hangs us up on this matter of baptism is that we're always afraid that we might baptize someone that, if we baptize them too soon, we might baptize someone that really is not a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I think that actually, if we're to examine the general practice amongst us, even by delaying a person's baptism, even by waiting... I know that some people say, well, they like to wait until the person responds themselves, and I don't think that's the case. I think that the Lord Jesus said, make disciples and baptize them. In other words, it's the responsibility of the workers to see that these new converts get baptized. So that even when we have some that are postponed, and they have to wait, and we don't try to encourage them to get baptized just as soon as possible, that you still find some that may go on for a number of years, and then they drift away, and they become absolute atheists. Now, I don't know if you personally know such people, but this has happened in the assembly of God's people. There are people who made a profession of faith, and they were baptized, and they were received in the assembly, and participated in everything, and it seemed to be going along wonderfully for the Lord, but something came in that turned them aside. And so today, they absolutely deny the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and deny any belief in God. Now, that, of course, is going to the extreme, but that is what has happened to a number of people that are known. So that the matter of waiting before a baptism is going to be no guarantee that you are going to be able to weed out those that are not truly born again of God. I believe that we have a responsibility to simply follow the example of Scripture that is given to us here. So they were baptized, both men and women. Then we find that Ezekiel and Eunuch in the same chapter 8, beginning at verse 35, Philip again, Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him, Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and Eunuch said, See, here is water, quench up into me to be baptized. Now, he knew about baptism. Now, it might be simply from what he knew of Judaism, because as we saw this morning, baptism was practiced by the Jews. All Gentile converts were baptized in Judaism. And here, this man perhaps thought that there would be a similar thing being baptized in the Christian religion. Now, exactly what he was thinking was, we don't know. So, perhaps in this discourse that Philip gave him, Philip spoke to him about baptism. And so now they're baptized. Now, look, here's water, let's not delay. Let's go ahead and get on with this baptism. And so, he commanded that the child stand still. And I might say that verse 37, although you do find it in the King James Authorized Version here, you do not find verse 37 in any of the modern translations. It is generally recognized to be an interpolation. Something that was written in there, in a manuscript that was copied, and it was thought that the account was not full enough, and it's generally thought that to reflect the way the early church did it. That is, in the first, second, and third centuries, that they always asked the person, Do you believe with all your heart in your heart? And the person would say, Yes, I believe with all my heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and then all right, you can be baptized. And it had to be that formal sort of thing. They're basically that way. But anyway, I don't think that we lose anything by recognizing that this verse does not have sufficient manuscript authority. Because we do find similar things in many other scriptures that do have sufficient manuscript authority. But anyway, beginning at verse 38, the end then, And so this man then was another one, who was baptized right away. Then we find that for Paul's baptism, chapter 9, verses 17 and 18. The end, chapter 9, verses 17 and 18. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house, and putting his hands on his chest, rushed home, and worshiping Jesus, that appeared unto him in the way, and thought, Cain hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And there received he that fell from his life, that it had been scathed, that he received sight, was whipped, and arose, and was baptized. A case where one was immediately baptized upon his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as it was available to him. Now, one thing we might notice is that this is simply a matter of fact. He saw prompt obedience. As one who not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, he was prompt in obeying, conferring his baptism. I do believe that the scriptures would indicate that anyone who would refuse baptism would not be considered as being a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he would refuse, and he would deny the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, could not be considered to be such. In Peru, where a person, and you know, in Peru, there's a kind of people that's meant for baptism, and that's one thing or another, they have the feeling that to get baptized means from that time on, you've got to be all out for the Lord. But you can postpone your baptism and continue living half and half the way you were before. And you're okay, because you haven't been baptized yet. Well, with this kind of person, we just count them as being a sympathizer. Now, that's just a little translation of the Spanish word that we all know. Sin patisantes, in Spanish, sympathize for niggers. And you recognize this in the verses. Sympathize for the others, but you do not count them as a believer yet. Because they postpone their baptism. Here, of course, that's the example of a prompt obedience. Moving on into chapter seven, at the house of the Indians, in verse 44, When Peter yet shaped his works, the Holy Ghost saw, and all them which heard the words, and they of the circumcision, which were these, were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because they on the tenth round also were poured out the gifts of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnified God. Then answered Peter, Can any that forbid water that please should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then there is that great day against which now he searches in. And so here, once again, the very night, or night, well, whatever it was that these people received the Lord Jesus Christ, they were baptized at that time. No waiting of two days, or two weeks, or two months, they were baptized there, at that time. Moving over into chapter 15, verse 34, After the Philistines heard of it, the jailer brought them out and said, Sir, what must I really be saved? And they said, Believe, my Lord, Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same matter of the night, and washed them, and christened them, with that time he had all his days' work. And when he had brought them into his house, he set feet before them and rejoiced, deducing in God with all his heart. Now then here, we find the immediate baptism of a rather unsavory character. A man who was a hardened and talented man, like him, a jailer. He could sleep through all the singing. The prisoners in jail couldn't sleep as hard as they might have been. They couldn't sleep with Paul and Satan singing, but the jailer couldn't sleep after the earthquake that they came upon. And right then and there he bowed before the Lord Jesus Christ and confessed him according to this word that Paul gave him, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I shall be saved. And that very night he was baptized. Now another thing we notice here is that he was baptized in God's house. And this is one portion that is sometimes used to uphold helpful baptism. That is, three parents were baptized, even their unsaved children. But I think that the last verse shows us when he had brought them into his house, he set feet before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his heart. Now these are the times when we don't know exactly who they were, but they were of sufficient age to believe as many as he believed. So that even here it's a clear-cut case of Believer's Baptism. If the whole household is involved, thanks God for that. That's what it is, Believer's Baptism that is involved. Then the last instance that we have is in chapter 19, which is the disciple of John, reading verses 1-7. It came to pass that while apologizing for that comment, Paul hadn't yet passed through the upper courts, came to Ephesus, and found these Christian disciples and said unto them, Can you speak the Holy Spirit to these people, please? And they said unto him, We have not so much authority to whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, It was much better when ye baptized. And they said, Was this John's baptism? Then said Paul, John apparently baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto his people that they should believe on him, which had come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon him, the Holy Ghost came on him, and they stayed with tongues and prophesied. Now here again, then, we find another instance of baptism, and it's just a different matter is brought before them. There is no delay. It was a matter of vital concern. It was a matter that Paul told us there was something like it, and he said, Now wait a minute. What kind of baptism did you receive? And when he found out there wasn't Christian baptism, he told them, By the way, we should be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And they were. So invariably, then, in the book of the Acts where there are any details given, we find that those people, they believed that they were baptized right as soon as they had any knowledge of this baptism. The vast majority of the cases it was right. Now, this matter of baptism, I would just add another verse in the course of baptism. Verses 29 and 30. Because all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. But apparently then, lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized in the name of Jesus. Now, you see, this is talking, of course, about John's baptism here. I believe that the principle still applies that when people justified God, that is, they declared God to be righteous and all the heathen men know them, they were baptized in John's baptism. They acknowledge that. But those who rejected God, they rejected baptism. Baptism was rejected by God accepting it. Baptism was accepted by God accepting it. And I think that we can say that through Christian baptism, anyone who would reject baptism is, in that act, rejecting God. Now, they may not see it in that light, but this is a divine commentary upon what these people were doing. And I do believe that that is what we have today. Now, of course, I think that we also have to recognize, as we were making clear this morning, there are some that will sprinkle instead of immerse. And there are even some such as the Salvation Army that throw both baptism and the Holy Stuff around the door and say, because these things have had so much division amongst our people through the ages, we won't practice either one of them. Well, we, of course, can't go along with that kind of thinking, but that's the way we do it. And I don't think that such people in rejecting baptism are in their thinking rejecting God. And what I'm trying to do is limit this in a way to the application to today, because some people have been part of the thing, and it's amazing how people can read the Scriptures and have the same Bible and yet come to an absolutely contrary and different conclusion. And yet, these are things that even we will have to say that we probably have some blind spots where we don't see things as good as other people see things. And so as to the matter of baptism, more or less, is any understanding of these things why we can't go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on who was a Baptist scholar, one of the foremost Greek scholars that the United States has known he takes it that this then means you're half to thirty-eight these bad guys, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, are on the basis of the remission of sin in other words, repent so that your sin will be forgiven, and then be baptized on the basis of the forgiveness of sin but frankly, as I look at this, I wonder if we can actually do that because it seems to me that in defying both repentance and be baptized into, together here, as he says, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sin, repent for the remission of sin, be baptized for the remission of sin it does seem to me that the lyrical way to think of it is just as it's given here in the English version that it's just simply that God was requiring of them to eat no sin now, as we notice this morning, this repentance and being baptized doesn't mention anything specifically about faith and yet we know that faith must be in the story here faith must be in what? Well, faith is in that baptism because the baptism was simply the exterior manifestation of the inward faith and this baptism is not something apart from faith, it is simply faith manifesting itself and so, to my mind, there isn't anything particularly difficult with it, except that the answer is I think that this was something that God was requiring only of the Jews because they had rejected the Messiah I believe that it's just as it's given here in the book of God as a general thing it's the beginning of the preaching in the Acts, and this style of preaching was not changed throughout the book of the Acts now then, to follow up with it, would they need to be baptized for the remission of sin? well, here we'll look at another verse that is a little bit difficult to explain in any other way in the Acts chapter 12-2 now then, may I just say here that what we are dealing with in these particular verses are not simply history now of course history can tell us this I mean, you can get God doing things in one way at one time, and doing things in another way at another time but we do notice, in the book of the Acts, various ways in which things were fulfilled historically but where we get doctrinal statements, sermons, teachings, comments by Luke, and things of that nature here you get them as doctrines, not simply history, but doctrines woven into the history and what we found here in Acts 2-38 was doctrines as we would preach that doctrine now then, here in chapter 21, verse 15, the word comes to Paul, and he's given testimony he says, the Lord came to him, and now I carry it out, arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins call it on the name of the Lord arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, call it on the name of the Lord now it's interesting, we do not read about this back in chapter 9, where it tells us that Paul was saved and was baptized but we do read it here in his testimony, and he thinks that this is officially important to bring out now actually, these two verbs, be baptized, and wash away, are in the middle voice, which means more literally arise, and have thyself baptized, and thy sins washed away it was not that he was to baptize himself and wash his own sins away he was to have himself baptized, and have his sins washed away but then, what does this mean? well, just on the surface of things, it would seem to me that his sins would be washed away by means of that faith and baptism that were connected together in his life now, I don't know how else you would take that some might explain it, that that would only have it be as sins being washed away in the eyes of men but, nowhere does the scripture say that he had a public baptism so it's rather difficult to say it in that way wash away thy sins, be baptized, and wash away thy sins and so this baptism was definitely connected with the washing away of his sins and I think that's interesting, because it's definitely connected with faith it is simply a part of faith it's not a meritorious work by any means it is simply a part of faith and then, another thing that we find here in Acts chapter 2 Peter is saying to them, you've got to be baptized in order to receive the remission of sin and you've got to be baptized, not only to be baptized, but you've got to be baptized also in order to receive the Holy Spirit and here's something else that comes off rather strangely they had to do two things, they had to repent and they had to be baptized and there were two results that were to come to them and because of it, they were to receive the remission of sin and they were to receive the Holy Spirit because of fulfilling these two different things now then, in Acts chapter 5 and verse 32 is a verse that I think will help us Peter says, and we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to send that obey him God gives the Holy Ghost to send that obey him and you see, this matter of baptism would simply seem to be the obedience of faith it is not faith-worthy, I love it as such, but it is simply that first form of faith as it is presented to us in the scriptures now before I go on to add a few clarifying details to this, let's look at the chapter 8 we're back to Phil again in Samaria, and verses 15 and 16 Acts chapter 8, verses 15 and 16 O when they were come down, that is Peter and John being sent from Jerusalem by the Apostles having heard of this tremendous revival being carried out by Philip in Samaria when they were come down, praise for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost and then in parenthesis, Luke ends the comment he says, for as yet, he, the Holy Ghost, was fallen upon none of them ultimately, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus now let's give this as it is more strictly and literally translated into Arabic version he says, for he was not yet fallen upon any of them, not yet now that's exactly the way the two Greek words are, they're right together, not yet and then it says, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus now then, if we were to read out that word yet it would simplify things, he was not fallen on any of them only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus alright, so you would have two things that were entirely separate, not necessarily connected together at all one thing, they were baptized, alright but, the Holy Spirit did not come upon them, alright so the two things are not necessarily connected but the word says, he was not yet fallen upon any of them and that word yet is an emphasis that ties it in with what follows, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus in other words, something oddly ordinary had happened they were baptized, but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and that was out of the ordinary the ordinary thing was, they would be baptized and they would receive the Holy Spirit but the extraordinary thing here is, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but they had not received the Holy Spirit yet now, you might ask, why? well, it would seem, the explanation that I have heard is reasonable to me is that these Samaritans built a priesthood up to whom they believed and if they could have gone on in their own ways, separate from the believers in Jerusalem they would have done it because of the natural animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans but God is saying nothing good, there's nothing good in your religion, I'm sure you've got to be tied together and so he withheld the blessing of the Holy Spirit from these Samaritans until Peter and John went up there and prayed for them and laid their hands upon them and then they received the Holy Spirit through that prayer and laid on hands in order that they might feel, well, we've got to be all one Samaritans with these Christian Jews in Jerusalem so it's just as good about his doing this thing now there's another exception to the rule is in the Acts chapter 10 where, as we read, Peter's preaching in the house of Cordelia while he's almost, he's hardly done preaching when the Holy Spirit falls on them all they needed was an introductory thing to find out that Christ was for everyone and these people believed in their hearts and the Holy Spirit came upon them right away before they were baptized and then Peter says, well now, look since God has given the Holy Spirit to these can anyone forbid water that they should be baptized? and so, they're written as well and yet they wouldn't have forbidden water for them to be baptized if there had not been some exterior manifestation that God had received them I'm going to believe that what we have here in the Acts chapter 10 is not necessarily that which is the normal thing in God's primary plan and purpose now please take that into account in God's primary plan and purpose what we have here is another exception that God has to make in order to convince pregnant Jews now that God has to go to great lengths with Peter to get him to go to Cornelius' house and Peter recognizes, well all right God has accepted these Gentiles and doesn't make any difference to them but how about these other Jewish Christians that will live here? they certainly did not recognize this and God has to convince them in order that this middle barrier between them might be absolutely broken down and there might be a manifestation so that although many would explain it that this is the common way it happens today I really wonder if that is the best explanation or if the best explanation is not rather that even this was an extraordinary thing because of the animosity that existed between Jew and Gentile and they never would have left out the Gentiles if it were not for the fact that God manifested his insistence on them by giving them the Holy Spirit so that they could force themselves and magnify God now there's another thing here that ties this all in together what we read there in the Acts chapter 19 when we find Paul at Ephesus and finding these 12 disciples of God and you'll notice in verse 2 he says have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? and then it tells me we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost and what does Paul say? immediately he says unto what then were you baptized? you see Paul is connecting in his mind baptism and resurrection to the Holy Ghost if you haven't received the Holy Ghost unto what were you baptized? I don't know because if you haven't baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ you wouldn't have received the Holy Ghost and you would not have received the Holy Ghost and you see the connections that are showing up that are continually brought out here not simply in historical happenings but largely in things that are already brought out in conversations, comments, and other things so that it would seem to me that what is brought out in the book of Acts is that God's primary plan and purpose is that a believer a person to be converted to the Lord Jesus Christ should immediately be baptized and sit fast to the time in which he was baptized so that these two things are as one the person might then dare then receive the remission of sins and the Holy Spirit now what we have today is a very mixed up situation because of our failure to abide by the word of God because of the fact that we postponed baptism I don't think that God postponed the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit but that I believe that God's primary way is that these people should be baptized immediately so that they would on the same day believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized and receive the remission of sins and the Holy Spirit now this is what is brought out in Scripture and I'm afraid that in looking at these things and knowing what the Scripture teaches as far as salvation being a party of grace by faith alone apart from work that we cannot say that any meritorious work are at all necessary for one's salvation for the forgiveness of sins or for the reception of the Holy Spirit but it is the Holy Spirit doing that to the men as an exterior manifestation of faith by the Holy Spirit not as a meritorious work so that we find these things that are brought out to us then in the book of the Acts there are two more Scriptures that I would like to consider with you before concluding this evening in Galatians chapter 3 verse 27 for as many of you as have been baptized in the Christ have put on Christ now here first of all this phrase as many of you if we're simply to take that phrase we might say well now amongst this relation community there are some that have been baptized and some that have not been baptized but I don't think that we can look at it that way I think that we've got to take it in the line of verse 26 where he says for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and then when he says for as many of you this has the same width and breadth as the all of verse 26 in other words it's not that all of them are children in Jesus Christ and others and amongst that all ok some of them have to have been baptized I believe it's that as many of you have the same meaning as the all of verse 26 alright so he's been baptized in the Christ and has put on Christ now then looking at this in the light of verse 28 there is neither Jew nor Greek there is neither man nor creed there is neither male nor female for we are all one in Christ Jesus so is this baptism of Galatians 3 27 what is is it spirit baptism or is it water baptism now here's the case when you look up in commentaries and if you get a good enough selection you'll find that some commentators will say it appears to them to be water baptism and others say it appears to them to be spirit baptism well why can't people maybe this is just an easy way out but I see arguments on both sides and certainly according to what the point is concerning there is neither Jew nor Greek God nor creed male nor female this is certainly a one-sense that comes about through the baptism of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized in the body of Christ among our family so that there seems to be in this verse a tying in of both spirit baptism and water baptism and that then in our spirit baptism we put on Christ that is when the spirit baptizes us in the body of Christ we put on Christ but in our water baptism we're doing it in the exterior land we're showing to others that Christ Jesus is our Lord and that those that take it to be particularly water baptism point out it seems to be the idea of putting on a uniform a soldier identifying himself in the uniform of his country saying I'm a soldier at the service of my country and so the baptism is saying I'm a soldier at the service of my country Jesus Christ and then one other verse in 1 Peter 3 verse 21 perhaps we better read verse 20 as well in order to illustrate what Jesus will be referring to there verse 20 says for some time for disobedience when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing wherein few that is eight souls were saved by one the like figure of where I know even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the soul of the flesh the answer of a good conscience towards God by resurrection of Jesus Christ baptism doth also now save us now this is a phrase that has confused many and of course your pacramentalist will grant that phrase and he'll say well now look there you've got it you can't be saved without being baptized and that's the beginning and the end of the guidance so I'd be concerned but I honestly believe that this word save here baptism doth now save us does not mean that original forgiveness of sin we've come to recognize that in the scriptures salvation is spoken of in various aspects it is spoken of as being saved in receiving the redemption of sin that we are then saved we are saved from that point on we are saved but then the scripture also speaks of that day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to catch up with all of the rapture of the church that then too we shall be saved waiting for the redemption of our bodies the salvation of our hearts that too is another aspect of salvation and then the third aspect that comes between the two the scripture speaks of being saved in the present tense a thing that's going on day by day we are being saved and it's not a case that we might get lost in us pretending to be being saved but it's a case of being saved from the power of sin so that we might be able to live victorious lives and the one that is particularly the salvation that Peter has to do when he says polite figure now as this word translated figure is the anti-type that baptism is the anti-type of the water the flood in the days of Noah now then some people have taken the light figure to be the ark as looking back to the ark I believe that the ark is a type of Christ the water is a type of baptism and baptism is the anti-type so that what he's saying is that just as that water which brought judgment to the world brought salvation to Noah so baptism to us brings salvation to us in the sense of what we were considering this morning at Romans chapter six baptism is to help us live for the glory of God baptism is to give us a present everyday salvation baptism is to make us realize that we died with Christ we were buried with Christ and we rose again with Christ so that knowing this our old man has been crucified with Christ that we should no longer serve the serve sin and that we should reckon these things to be true and that we should shield ourselves and our members as instruments as weapons unto the Lord this I believe is the salvation that Peter has to give now you understand that Peter's view of salvation seems to me not to be that original salvation which we received the moment we converted to the Lord Jesus Christ but it seems to be rather the salvation that we received day by day as we go on walking with the Lord is a present continuous salvation as good as saving us from the temptations that come along which of course is a part of the overall salvation that we have and so in this sense baptism is the law from now on so I believe that baptism is a tremendously important thing a tremendously important thing because it does not save us in this sense of a day by day salvation we who have been saved in the past recognizing what our baptism means we are saved day by day not in the sense of that making us any more secure for heaven but in the sense of that making us more joyous you know like down here and then the idea that we spoke to point out from the Acts the book of the Acts seems to point out time and again that God's primary way and purpose of doing things the way that we have offended and we are at fault today for hindering this ordinary operation of things is that believers will baptize immediately so that being baptized immediately it could be truthfully said that they were to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Spirit and there is no problem in that when you get baptized immediately a month and thirty days there is a problem with it when we try to divorce the truth and we separate them by weeks and months at least and then you say well now when did the person receive the forgiveness of sins and when did the person receive the Holy Spirit well if we are going to divorce them this way I would say that we receive the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit the very minute we receive the forgiveness of sins but that's not God's way of doing things God's way is to baptize you with it so that it's all in then that you receive the remission of sins and the Holy Spirit now I don't know if this is going to encourage you to have baptism more closely aligned to conversion to the Lord I don't know if this is going to encourage you to have baptism more to conversion if this is going to encourage you to have closely aligned to the Lord I don't know if this is encourage you baptism more closely aligned to the Lord closely aligned I don't know to the Lord I don't know to the Lord I don't know if this is encourage you more closely going to to have more closely off towards the Lord and more oh not really forever but