You must be born again...
St. John 3:3-5 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
So how do you get born of water, and born of the spirit?
It involves water baptism (fully immersed) and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Born of water -
There are many debates over what the "water" in the latter verses means. Most that I have read believe it means the physical, natural birth. But I challenge this argument. Why would Jesus tell Nicodemus he had to do something he couldn't stop and had no control over? Why would this be a requirement to get into heaven? If you've ever read MacBeth, then you know it's possible to think that someone who was born by a C-section is not considered to have been born of water. Does this mean anybody who was born by a Caesarean section cannot enter the kingdom of God? I should surely hope not!
Baptism is essential because it is the second step in following Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Romans 6:3-4 says, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When we repent, our flesh dies (read St. John 3:6); when we are baptized, we are "buried" under the water, and the resurrection occurs with our infilling of the Holy Ghost (we'll discuss that later). If you just sprinkle dirt on your dead dog Rover, is he buried? No! Of course he's not! We must be fully immersed in the water as everyone else in the Bible was when they were baptized.
Jesus Himself was baptized. Of all people, why would Jesus be baptized? Because it was an act of obedience! He did it to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15). He needed to show us the way; how things had to be done. Mary, mother of Jesus, was baptized after He was. She, too, had to be baptized.
What about the thief on the cross? Jesus Christ told the man dying on the cross, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). He was not baptized, yet Jesus promised him a spot in heaven. Why? For this simple reason - Jesus Christ had not died yet. His salvation plan had not been set up; the man couldn't have been buried with Christ (see Romans 6:4) because Christ hadn't been buried yet.
Baptism is not a work! Many say that your works do not save you, but by grace do you receive salvation. This is so true, but they are forgetting that baptism is an act of obedience and faith, not a work. The Lord commanded the nations to be baptized in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19. It is for remission of sins, according to Acts 2:38. If it was soley a symbol, why then in Acts Chapter 19, were the believers re-baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (which is Jesus Christ)? They were already baptized unto John's baptism, which was the baptism of repentance. To answer the question, it is because they had to be buried with Christ (Romans 6:4) and put on His name.
In New Testament times people were baptized as soon as they heard the gospel
and had faith in Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:35-39; 16:30-34). There were no
postponements or delays; there was no such thing as waiting for a
"baptismal day." It was always "straightway," "the
same day," "the same hour of the night," etc. They thought
baptism was urgent and essential.
Furthermore, the inspired men of the New Testament did not take baptism
lightly. They never poked fun at it saying, "There's no power in the
water," neither did they accuse some of trusting in "water
salvation." They taught that Jesus made atonement for sin in His death, and
they commanded all to believe, repent, and be baptized in order to receive the
benefits of His death (Rom. 6:3-4). They viewed baptism as an act of faith in
and submission to Jesus Christ, the Savior, who has all authority (Matt.
28:18-20).
All would freely admit that there is no power in the water of baptism.
The power is of the Lord. Jesus healed a blind man by anointing his eyes and
saying, "Go wash in the pool of Siloam." (John 9:6-7). The blind man
did not object by saying, "There is no power in the water." He knew
that the power was of the Lord and he needed to obey to receive the blessing.
Likewise, there is no power in the water of baptism, but one must go to the
water to receive the blessing. To be cleansed of leprosy, Naaman was told,
"Go and wash in Jordan seven times..." (2 Kings 5:10). There was no
power in the water of Jordan, but if Naaman had not obeyed, he would not have
been cleansed. Similarly, if one does not obey in baptism, he will not be
cleansed.
One is not lost just because he is not baptized. He is lost because he is
a sinner. If someone who can't swim falls into a lake and a boat is sent,
but he won't get into the boat, is he drowning because he won't get into the
boat? No, he is drowning because he is in the water. Likewise, one is not lost
just because he is not baptized, but because he is in sin. Just as the boat is
the means of rescue and one must get into it, the gospel is the means of
salvation and must be obeyed (baptism included) to rescue from sin.
Who has the right today to label baptism as "non-essential"
or in anyway minimize any of the commands of Christ? Aren't all of the commands
of the Lord essential? He said, "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do
not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). As Lord, He has the right to
make baptism an important step in the plan. He is the Savior and His will must
become our's. He is the "author of eternal salvation to all who obey
Him." (Heb. 5:9).
If when baptized, you put one Christ (Gal. 3:27), wash away sins (Acts 22:16), have remission of sins (Acts 2:38), are saved (Mark 16:16), benefit from Christ's death (Rom. 6:3-4), enter the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), what is your condition without baptism? Why not repent and be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins? Let no man deceive you. Humbly obey the gospel today.
How must we be baptized?
The Great Commission, Matthew 28:19. Jesus commands His disciples to, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" Notice it says name, not name(s) plural. That must mean there is only one name, as in Acts 4:10-12 states. That name is Jesus Christ. See also, Acts 2:38, where Peter, who has the keys to heaven (Matt 16:18-19), tells the people they must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't need to tell his disciples what name to baptize in because they already knew it. They knew that Father, Son and Holy Ghost were just titles.
If Jesus would have said to baptize in the name of Jesus Christ, He would have been glorifying Himself in the flesh.
Born of the Spirit <-- Click here to read about being born of the spirit.