But He didn't give us water-baptism as the avenue through which we are joined to Him. He gave us FAITH.
He chose to remove our sins at the cross.
The above passages may describe what SYMBOLLICALLY takes place at water-baptism, but if you take it as literally physically removing of sins and raising to life, then you have to take the entire event as literal in present time and actually DIE or drown in the water.
You symbollize the dying and rising to life, but you literallize the removal of sins in the same ceremony.
The passage is explaining what the ceremony of water-baptism represents of the reality that took place BY FAITH.
FAITH is the gift, and faith is the word in the passages highlighted in red that the word baptism symbollizes.
In FAITH our sin has been removed when He took our sin upon Himself and nailed it to the cross.
Baptism represents that.
By FAITH we have risen to new life in Christ.
Rising from the waters of baptism represents that.
In FAITH our old self is crucified WITH Him.
(He wasn't crucified in water, He was crucified on a cross)
In baptism we symbollize our old self having been crucified by faith.
Right, Roger. (Lol, I just got that, lol)
Yes, there was a lot of baptizing going on in those days,
for alot of reasons, it seems. It's not unreasonable to think the new believer might tie his new belief to a popular ceremony, and he may have heard of MANY baptisms by John, or even that Jesus got baptized, many others in those days in that area, so why wouldn't he assume it was a good thing to do, whether he was commanded to right then and there, or not?
(Wilco)