Would you feel comfortable marrying someone who wanted to keep the marriage a secret? Neither does God. It's one thing to say in the privacy of your own heart that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, but it's quite another to walk out of the shadows and stand before family, friends, and colleagues and state publicly that Christ is your forgiver and master. This act ups the ante.
Jesus commanded all his followers to prove it, to make the pledge, by public demonstration in baptism. Among his final words was the universal command to "go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matt 28:19).
Baptism is the initial and immediate step of obedience by the believer. As far as we know, every single convert in the New Testament church was baptized. With the exception of the thief on the cross, there is no example of an unbaptized believer.
The thief on the cross, however, is a crucial exception. His conversion drives dogmatists crazy. It is no accident that the first one to accept the invitation of the crucified Christ had no creed, confirmation, christening, or catechism. How disturbing to theologians to ascend the mountain of doctrine only to be greeted by a thief who cast his lot with Christ. Here is a man who never went to church, never gave an offering, never was baptized, and only said one prayer, but that prayer was enough (Luke 23:33-43).
The thief reminds us that, in the end, it is Jesus who saves. Does the thief's story negate the importance of baptism? No, it simply puts baptism in proper perspective. Any step taken is a response to a salvation offered, not an effort to earn salvation. In the end Jesus has the right to save any heart, for he, and only he, sees the heart.
By: Max Lucado
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