Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get up! Let’s go into the fortified cities and die there. The Lord our God has condemned us to die. He has given us poison to drink because we have sinned against the Lord.
Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
To God’s church that was made holy by Christ Jesus and called to be God’s holy people in the city of Corinth and to people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
he saved us, but not because of anything we had done to gain his approval. Instead, because of his mercy he saved us through the washing in which the Holy Spirit gives us new birth and renewal.
We have been sprinkled ⌞with his blood⌟ to free us from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with clean water. So we must continue to come ⌞to him⌟ with a sincere heart and strong faith.
Baptism, which is like that water, now saves you. Baptism doesn’t save by removing dirt from the body. Rather, baptism is a request to God for a clear conscience. It saves you through Jesus Christ, who came back from death to life.