Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized 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.

I have often heard criticism of Peter for his bold stance on the things in which he believed. While he was human and flawed and imperfect and may have done and said some things that he should not have, his boldness and direct approach to the need of the sinner in this verse is clear and impressive and necessary. The person who is without Christ needs to hear the truth of their peril if they do not turn from their wicked ways. They need to understand their fate if they die without coming to the saving knowledge of the LORD Jesus. They need to hear that there is no other way to come into the presence of the Father for all eternity without submitting their earthly lives to Son.

Peter preached with the authority of the Holy Spirit. He told his listeners to REPENT. The Greek word for repent is Metanoeo, which is very dogmatic in its definition. It means to make a drastic change. This word called for the hearers to turn from their lives of sin to submission to the one true God.

Peter continued by urging his hearers, once they had repented, to be baptized. Baptism is not a part of the salvation experience itself, but it is an external symbolism of an internal work of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, the believer shows the world that he is dead to sin and alive in Christ. He goes down into the water as his sin went into the grave with Christ; he comes out of the water just as Jesus came out of the grave victorious over death. This is why believers' baptism is in "the Name of Jesus Christ" so that there is no confusion as to whom the baptism is related.

The act of baptism has nothing to do with salvation. There are people who are saved who are never baptized (Luke 23:32-43) and there are people who are baptized who are not saved.

As a young girl, I walked an aisle and confessed a salvation that I did not possess and was baptized shortly thereafter. The leaders in that church had so little discernment that they had no idea that I was pressured into making a confession of faith. It wasn't until seven years later that I truly placed my faith in the Christ. The LORD convicted me over thirty years later that I needed to be baptized as a believer. My point is that my baptism made a statement, but it had nothing to do with my faith.

If you are a believer in the LORD Jesus and have not been baptized, do so as quickly as possible. Baptism as a believer is obedience to God. If you have not placed your faith in Christ, don't let this moment pass. You don't know when the LORD will require your soul. If you die without faith in Him, you will spend eternity in hell. Confess your sin to Him today. Ask Him to forgive you and be LORD of your life. Cry out to Him as if your life depends on it....because it does.