“And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)
Many reject the concept that water baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, saying, “There’s no power in the water.” In 2 Kings 5:9-14 Naaman (who had leprosy)
was told to dip in water in order to be healed. At first he objected and went away (still a leper); yet after his servant convinced him, saying, “…if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” he dipped in the water and he was clean. Was the power in the water, or in the Lord? In John 9:6-7 Jesus healed a blind man by anointing his eyes and saying, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” The blind man did not object by saying, “There’s no power in the water.” He knew the power was of the Lord and he had to obey the Lord to receive the blessing. Thus, he promptly obeyed and, as a result, received his sight.
Likewise, it is not the baptismal water that has the power to forgive sins; the power to forgive is of the Lord. However, water is the medium that the Lord chose by which the command must be obeyed (Matt. 3:16; Jn. 3:5; Acts 8:36-39; 10:47-48). It is apparent
then that while physical water must be utilized, baptism into Christ is not a physical cleansing, but a spiritual cleansing (1 Pet. 3:20-21; Acts 22:16; Tit. 3: 5).
In spite of these biblical truths there are still those who object to water baptism. Is that what you believe? If so, friend, let me ask you: if the Lord had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38)? You see, the power to forgive is of the Lord, but one must go to the water to receive the blessing.