Often when discussing the necessity of baptism to salvation, the question will come up, "What about the thief on the cross? He wasn't baptized." This is an excellent question, and there is a biblical answer as to why we must be baptized to be saved while the thief did not. It is true that thief on the cross was saved ("you will be with Me in Paradise," Lk 23:43) just as many other people Jesus came into contact with during His time on earth (Mk 2:5, Lk 7:47-48). In these examples, Jesus saved a man who was lowered down into the room where He was through the ceiling as well as a woman who was a sinner and washed His feet. Today, we do not have to lower ourselves through the ceiling, wash Jesus' feet, or hang on a cross next to Him to be saved. Here is why:

Heb 9:16-17
"For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives."
--Just as our last will and testament is not in effect until our death, so God teaches us that Jesus' last will and testament was not in effect until His death. Until that time, He lived under the Old Testament, which He kept perfectly (Heb 4:15). However, upon Jesus' death, there was a change in the law and we are now under the New Testament (Heb 9:15). Thus what we need to consider when asking about what we need to do to be saved is what Jesus and His apostles told us to do after His death.

Consider these statements Jesus made after His death:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned"(Mk 16:15-16).

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"(Mt 28:19-20).

Further, Jesus' apostles clearly taught that baptism was essential (Acts 2:38-"Repent and be baptized…for the remission of sins", Acts 22:16-"Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins", Gal 3:27, 1 Pet 3:21) and those who heard the message obeyed it by being baptized (Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12-13, 36-38, 16:31-33, 19:1-5, 22:16).

We must follow after the apostles' and Jesus' teaching and the examples of those after His death. It is very clear that God expects us to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins. Let us be sure that we don't let the thief on the cross keep us from doing what God has commanded us to.___Jacob Hudgins