God’s gift of eternal life is in His Son.
▻http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/LifeInHisSon.html
We are therefore baptized into Christ because we take part in His death through baptism (which is a burial)! “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).
Through baptism we also take part in the resurrection! “We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Our old man of sin is crucified with Him (Romans 6:6) and we are “alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
That we are baptized into Christ also explains why Peter gives the command: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and why Paul was commanded: “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16) and why Peter says baptism saves (1 Peter 3:21). Our sins are washed away, we are forgiven, we are saved at baptism because we are baptized into Christ our Savior!
This means that people who think salvation is possible by faith alone without baptism, and view baptism as only a symbol, have not yet experienced Biblical baptism. By their own testimony, they were not baptized into Christ, they were not baptized into His death. They are still outside of Christ and still do not have eternal life.
Not every immersion is according to the New Covenant. Many people think: I was immersed, so my baptism is OK. They have learned that infant baptism is not valid. They think: If I was immersed that’s OK. But many people are not immersed for the remission of sins. They are not baptized into Christ. They think baptism has nothing to do with forgiveness of sins or with becoming a Christian. That is not the baptism that we read about in the New Testament.