Baptism
Baptism is the gospel in picture form.
What does water have to do with the Christian life? And why does Peter say “Baptism … now saves you”(1 Peter 3:21)? The answer is unexpected, and simple: baptism is the gospel in picture form. Baptism shows we have been washed with Christ’s blood–the blood by which God reconciles “to himself all things” (Colossians 1:20). This blood is how God declares us righteous and ransoms us from death (Romans 5:9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).Baptism not only connects us to Jesus’ blood but also his resurrection. As Paul says, “having been buried with him in baptism … you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God” (Colossians 2:12).