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Hear, believe and respond
Acts connects baptism with repentance, forgiveness, and belief concerning God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. This is a conscious response to the gospel. We practise the immersion of believers who understand and accept that message.
United with his death and resurrection
Romans 6 explains baptism through participation in Christ’s death and rising to a new life. Galatians connects putting on Christ with belonging to Abraham’s promised seed and becoming heirs. Baptism therefore expresses more than a private feeling: it marks a new allegiance and relationship.
The beginning of discipleship
The water is not a magical agent and the act does not earn salvation. Its meaning depends on faith and Christ’s resurrection. Those baptised are called to continue in the teaching and way of life of their Lord.
What the first believers understood
Acts 8:12 names two connected subjects of belief: God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism follows a response to this gospel. It is therefore appropriate to learn who Jesus is, what his saving work means, and what God promises through him before being baptised. Understanding need not mean knowing the answer to every question. It means an informed confession of the message and a willing commitment to the Lord it announces.
From Adam’s family into Christ
Romans 5 contrasts the consequences of Adam’s disobedience with the obedience of Christ. Romans 6 then describes baptism into Christ’s death, burial with him and walking in newness of life. Galatians 3:27–29 connects that union with becoming heirs of Abraham’s promise. The water represents a profound change of belonging: a believer identifies with the crucified and risen Lord and enters a shared life whose future is his inheritance.
Cornelius and the gift of the Spirit
In Acts 10, the Spirit is given before baptism, demonstrating God’s acceptance of Gentiles. Peter does not conclude that baptism has become unnecessary. He asks whether anyone can withhold the water and commands them to be baptised. The event shows God acting freely while preserving the appointed response of faith. First Peter 3:21 likewise connects baptism with salvation through Christ’s resurrection, expressly distinguishing it from ordinary washing.
What follows the water
Acts 2:41–47 describes the baptised continuing in apostolic teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer. Baptism opens into a community and a way of life. It is not the end of learning or the removal of the need for forgiveness. Read Romans 6:11–14 and consider the practical conclusion Paul draws: the person who belongs to Christ is called to offer their life to God rather than let sin remain their master.
Questions & responses
What about the thief on the cross?
Jesus had authority to promise him paradise. That promise does not give later disciples permission to set aside the response appointed in apostolic preaching. We need not invent details about the thief’s earlier life to take both passages seriously.
Adapted from An Apostolic Faith, reference edition revised 20 September 2026, pp. 16.
Further reading: Robert Roberts, Christendom Astray, lecture 17. This article is a modern summary, not a quotation from Roberts.
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