What is the First Step to Salvation?

What is the First Step to Salvation?(wmscog)
Now everything we do in our life has a purpose; to do something without a purpose is a waste of time. With this in mind, we have to know what our purpose should be for going to Church.

1 Peter 1:9 …for you are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of your souls.

Then, why does our soul need to be saved? Understanding the principle that salvation is needed by someone who is in danger, we can understand that our soul is in danger. The reason our soul is in danger is due to sin, which is leading us to death (Romans 6:23). In order to cleanse ourselves from this sin, God granted us the blessing of being baptized. That is why we can understand that baptism to be the first step to salvation.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Sin is like a terminal illness that is leading our soul to death. In order to cure us from this disease, God granted to us forgiveness of sins through baptism. The majority of Churches understand that baptism is an important step to salvation, and the reason it is understood is because Jesus explained it.

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

The difference, though, from Church to Church is regarding the appropriate time to be baptized. Some Churches teach that baptism should be received after 6 months of studying the Bible. Other Churches believe baptism should be performed after 1 year of study. Every Church has their own opinion as to when to perform baptism. However, in the World Mission Society Church of God, we believe baptism should not be delayed, but should be performed immediately upon understanding the gospel.


When Should We Receive Baptism?

God taught us in the Bible that we should not boast about tomorrow, for we do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1). The reason why God doesn’t want us to boast about tomorrow is made even clearer through a parable Jesus gave us 2,000 years ago.

Luke 12:16-20 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”

Through the parable above, Jesus let us understand the reason for not boasting about tomorrow: at any time our life can be demanded from us. In this situation, the best thing to do is to receive forgiveness of sins through baptism as soon as possible. As a loving parent who cannot bear to see His children in danger, Christ wants to remove the danger of sin through baptism right away. This same heart and mind was found in the disciples who continued the gospel work.

Acts 8:36-38 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

In the passage above, we can see how Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch: immediately, although they just met for the first time. There were many reasons why the eunuch could have postponed and delayed baptism. However, as soon as he understood the importance of baptism, he did not hesitate to be baptized. Philip, having the heart of Christ who wants to save His people as soon as possible, did not delay baptism even for a bit. Let’s see another example:

Acts 16:33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

When we read the passages above, we can see that the words, “At that hour of the night,” refer to midnight (Acts 16:25). Although there were many reasons why Apostle Paul could have postponed the baptism of the jailer, Paul did not do so. Understanding the heart of Christ, he allowed the jailer and his family to receive the blessing of baptism immediately, and by this, they were able to take the first step to salvation.

We Are Born Again Through Baptism

All men are destined to die because of their sin. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place where our physical bodies can never step foot. Even though our bodies are slaves to sin and destined to die, God allows us the opportunity to return to heaven. To enter the eternal kingdom, our spirit should be born again.

John 3:3-6 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

To be born again, our body must first die to pay for our sins. To make us realize this principle of the forgiveness of sins and rebirth, Jesus made atonement for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross and then resurrecting. As Jesus died on the cross, our body should be buried through baptism. And as Jesus rose from death, we are to be born again as the righteous, only after our sins are forgiven through the grace of Christ.

1 Peter 3:21 …and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God.

Romans 6:3-11 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life… Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him…In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.


Through baptism, we receive the forgiveness of our sins. It is not to wash the dirt off of our body, but to wash the sin off of our soul so that we may be revived, and be born again with a new life, just as Jesus was raised from the dead. That is why we are baptized. If we have not been baptized, we cannot keep the Passover and our names cannot be written in the book of life (Revelation 20:14). We must be baptized, and then keep the Passover, so that we can enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.