The keeper of the prison at Philippi asked Paul and his companions that very question. The answer is a stumbling block to many; it is deceptively simple (Acts 16:31):
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
People forget that the scripture was not written in English, even the English of the time of King James. Our use and understanding of language can be quite casual and we can use the same word to signify a range of different concepts. The New Testament scriptures, for example, evidently use several different words which we translate as ‘love’ yet the original words have different meanings. We should not be hasty to think that we understand the full import of a word such as ‘believe’. Jesus said (John 14:15):
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Surely, if we believe Him, we should keep His commandments. If we believe Him, we trust in what He says and do as He says. That’s what the prison keeper did. He knew that ‘believe’ signified more than holding an opinion (Acts 16: 33):
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his, straightway.
The Bible is consistent in its salvation message, once you forget about snatching at a word or a phrase. Jesus was baptised and this is what was said between him and John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-15):
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptised of him.
But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptised of thee, and comest thou to me?
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Those witnessing the miraculous events of the day of Pentecost also had the good sense to know that they had to do something and Peter told them exactly what that was (Acts 2: 37-38):
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
It’s exactly the same message as Jesus gave to Nicodemus (John 3: 3-5):
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
And exactly what John the Baptist said (Matthew 3:11):
I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
The way in which baptism (real baptism, not sprinkling) signifies re-birth is explained in Romans 6: 3-5:
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection
And again in Colossians 2: 12-13 which also mentions the quickening of the Spirit:
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses
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