In the question over baptism, whether it is essential for salvation, or whether a man can be saved without it, what is easily lost is the heart of the matter, the heart of our salvation. If we understand what it takes to remove sin from a man, it becomes easier to understand how it is that a man is saved.
The heart of the whole matter is that when sin takes place, the only way it can be atoned for, the only way it can be forgiven, is by blood. A death must take place as an offering for the sin, for the penalty of sin is death, Romans 6:23.
The Law of Moses
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul,” Lev. 17:11.
Under the Law of Moses, when a man sinned, an animal was to be sacrificed to atone for the sin. The animal that was sacrificed depended upon who it was that sinned. Whenever the anointed priest sinned, he was to bring a bull as a sacrifice; likewise, if the congregation of Israel was guilty of sin, they were to bring a bull for the offering. If a ruler sinned, he was to bring a male goat, and if one of the common people sinned, they were to bring a female goat, or a female lamb (Chapter 4 of Leviticus lays out all the requirements for the sacrifices; here, I am only going to go into the blood aspect of them).
After the offering was killed, the blood was applied differently, again depending upon who the atonement was for. If it was for the anointed priest, or for the congregation of Israel, the blood of the bull was to be carried into the tabernacle (or, in later times, the temple), and the priest was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the veil, that is, before the Lord. Then he was to put some of it on the horns of the altar of incense which was inside the tabernacle; finally, the remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which was outside the door of the tabernacle.
If the sacrifice was for the sin of a ruler, or for any of the common people, the blood of the goat was applied to the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and the remainder was poured out at the base of the same altar. And, as a result of the offering, there was “atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him,” Lev. 4:35 (other requirements had to be fulfilled also, besides the blood aspects).
Now, even though it was said that his sins were forgiven, it was not meant in the sense that they had vanished; only that they were set aside. This is seen by the yearly Day of Atonement; for even though the individual sins were taken care of in each individual sacrifice, there was still necessity for further atonement.
On this day, the high priest brought the blood of a bull into the Holy Place, as a sin offering for himself and for his house, and the blood of a goat as a sin offering for the people of Israel; he was to sprinkle it on the east side of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat. This was to make atonement for the Holy Place and for all of the people of Israel. Further, he was to apply the blood of both the bull and the goat to the altar of incense inside the tabernacle, to make atonement for it (The 16th chapter of Leviticus details the full requirements of the Day of Atonement).
These were the blood requirements under the law of Moses; but in the book of Hebrews, we are fully shown the insufficiency of animal sacrifices,
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins,” Hebrews 10:1-4.
This being the case, it yet remained for a sufficient sacrifice to take place for the forgiveness of sin.
The Law of Christ
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another - He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation,” Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-28.
A sufficient sacrifice has taken place – Christ, our High Priest, has entered the true Most Holy Place, not the earthly copy, with his own blood as an offering for sin, not with the blood of goats and bulls; once, for all time.
Since the sacrifice which truly takes away sin has taken place, it only remains for the man to be washed in the blood of Christ, that he may be cleansed of his sins; for we must be washed in his blood in order to be saved, “To Him who…washed us from our sins in His own blood,” and, “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” Rev 1:5, 1 John 1:7. As it is evident that not every man is saved, there of necessity must be some condition which must be fulfilled, in order for the man to be washed in the blood of Christ.
God has revealed to us what this condition is in the conversion of Paul. This is Paul’s testimony, as to his salvation,
“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
“And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.,” Acts 22:6-11.
It cannot be denied that at this point, Paul had faith in Jesus, that he was Lord; for he calls him Lord. But was he cleansed of his sins? He continues,
“Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord,’” Acts 22:12-16.
Paul was not cleansed of his sins until he was baptized; therefore, it is in baptism that we are washed in the blood of Christ. This shows beyond doubt that faith alone cannot save a man; for if a man, not having been washed in the blood of Christ, is still in his sins, how could it be that he is saved, seeing as salvation consists in having our sins removed from us? As it is written, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned,” Mark 16:16.
This also reveals why it is that when Peter said, “let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” Acts 2:38, of necessity he meant that the reason they were to be baptized was so that they could have their sins removed, not because they had already been removed. For the Scripture says, “without shedding of blood there is no remission,” Hebrews 9:22; the blood of Christ has been shed, but we are not washed in it until we are baptized. Therefore, our sins cannot be remitted unless we have been baptized, for it is then that we are first washed in his blood.
Those who advocate faith-only know in themselves that faith by itself is not enough to save a man; this they unwittingly admit, for they say you must pray, accepting Jesus as your savior, and then you will be saved. But in this, they have changed the will of God, “be baptized,” for their own will, “pray the sinner’s prayer.”
The blood of Christ is what cleanses us from our sins, and he has revealed to us when we are first washed in it - in baptism. And afterwards,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,”
for,
“…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” 1 John 1:9, 1 John 1:7.