Notice that it is baptism that puts us into Christ so we can be saved.  Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  Baptism is the only way a person can get into Christ.  The preposition into indicates a change of relationship.  You can search from the front to the back of your Bible, and you will find no other way to get into Christ except by being baptized into Christ.  Also Romans 6:3 says the same thing, “Or do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”  These are the only two passages in the entire New Testament that tell us how we get into Christ.  So the only way we can get into Christ is to be baptized into Christ.  Either a person has been baptized into Christ, or he is still outside of Christ.  We are either in or we are out.  Our hope is based on our being in Christ.  Have you been baptized into Christ in order to be saved and have your sins forgiven?  If you haven’t been, let us notice some of the things that you are missing.

1)  Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”  This verse tells us that every spiritual blessing is located in Christ.  Only those who are in Christcan enjoy these spiritual blessings.  Since this verse says every spiritual blessing is in Christ, then there can be no spiritual blessings for those who are outside of Christ.  If you have not been baptized into Christ, you are still outside of Christ, and you are not entitled to any spiritual blessings.  The Lord arranged it that way and no man has the right to change it.

2)  Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  On the Day of Judgment those who are in Christ will not be condemned; but those who are outside of Christ will be condemned.  We go from being condemned to being forgiven when we are baptized into Christ.  If you have not been baptized into Christ, then you will suffer eternal condemnation.

3 & 4)  Only those who are in Christ have been redeemed and forgiven of their sins.  Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”  Since redemption and forgiveness of sins are located in Christ, those who have not been baptized into Christ have not been redeemed and still have every sin they have ever committed.  The scriptures are so clear that a person needs help to misunderstand it.  Are you still outside of Christ?  You do not have to stay outside of Christ.

5)  Next we read 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  If one is in Christ, he has become a new creation.  This is how one is born again.  He has a new beginning in life, and his “slate has been wiped clean” since he has been forgiven of all his sins and has become a new saved person.  Although, if you are outside of Christ, you are still an old sinful creature.  You still have all of your sins and are without hope.  When is it that one becomes a new creation?  Romans 6:3-4 says, “Or do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death: that just as Christ Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  When is one raised to walk in newness of life?  This scripture says that it is when we are raised out of the waters of baptism.  At that point we begin our walk in newness of life.  Newness of life does not begin until after one is baptized into Christ.

In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Then two verses later in John 3:5, Jesus tells how being born again takes place: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  Our Lord is very emphatic in what he says.  No man has the power or authority to repeal what our Lord has said.  Nor does anyone have the authority to rationalize it away and teach otherwise.  Jesus said that we must be born of water and the Spirit.  Jesus said that being born again must not only include the Spirit, but it must include water.  Here we see that when one is baptized in water, he is raised to walk in newness of life, becoming a new creation, and thus he has been born again.  Are you still an old sinful creation or have you become a new creation by being baptized into Christ?

6)  The Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:10, “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”  Here we see that salvation is located in Christ, and for one to be eligible for salvation, he must be in Christ.  We cannot have salvation until we are in Christ.  Until one is baptized into Christ he is not in Christ and is not saved.  It will be a horrible thing for a person, who thinks he is saved, when he stands before the Lord on the Day of Judgment, if he is still outside of Christ.  He will have no salvation.  He will be lost eternally in Hell.  Please don’t let this happen to you.

7)  In 1 John 5:11 we read, “And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”  So according to the inspired word of God, eternal life is located in His Son, Jesus Christ.  Only those who are in Christ have been promised eternal life.  But the only way to get into Christ is to be baptized into Christ.  Those who are outside of Christ have no promise of eternal life.  So what does that leave them?  It leaves them only eternal punishment, which is a sad condition.  My heart bleeds for them, because I don’t want to see anyone lost.  But how can you get people to wake up to the truth of God’s word?

The following chart sums up what we have been discussing concerning the advantages of being in Christ.  As we have seen, it is baptism that puts us into Christ (Rm. 6:3, Gal. 3:27) so that we can enjoy all of these spiritual blessings which are in Christ.

Where on the chart are you actually located?  Are you outside of Christ or inside of Christ?  Not where you would like to be located, but where are you actually located at this time, depending on whether you have been baptized into Christ or not.  If you were baptized for the remission of sins in order to be saved then you were baptized into Christ.  But if your baptism was not for the remission of sins and not to be saved, then you are still outside of Christ.  If you are outside of Christ, you have no spiritual blessings, no redemption, no forgiveness of sins; you will be condemned on the Day of Judgment; you are still an old sinful creature; you have no hope of salvation and no hope of eternal life.

As Ephesians 2:12 says, “That at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”  Could a situation get any more desperate than having no hope and being without God?  This is the situation of those who are outside of Christ.

If you thought you were saved when you accepted Christ as you personal savior, and then later you were baptized, then your baptism was not to save you.  You thought you were already saved before baptism, but you are still lost because the baptism that puts us into Christ also saves us.  If you thought that your sins were taken away before baptism, when you accepted Christ as your personal savior, then your baptism was not for the purpose of forgiveness of sins.  You still have every sin you have ever committed and are still separated from God.  Many people fail to recognize the urgency of the Lord’s invitation.