From our Bible reading in the book of Luke 23:43 reading from the upper verse we understand that there were two thieves nailed on the cross by the sides of Jesus and between the two Jesus only choose one to go to the paradise with him even though he wasn't baptized that is because in the same Luke of the same chapter from verse 40 to 43 this thief acknowledge that he had sinned and was paying for the consequences of his sin he didn't have the privilege of being baptized so the only way to redeem himself was to be crucified and on that cross he met his saviour and made his repentance Jesus seeing the genuineness of his heart promised him that he will be going to paradise with him he only had that privilege because he was by the side of the maker himself and he was able to acknowledge him as the son of god and his saviour that was what made him escape the suffering in hell
Now coming to our own end baptized is the only thing that can redeem us from our sin and put us in the path of meeting Christ in heaven but then if we choose not to be baptized and say after all the thief in the cross wasn't baptized yet he went to heaven and then you choose to be nailed on the cross we should understand that we don't have the same privilege of being nailed together with Jesus and even if we were lets also note that the other thief by the other side of Jesus didn't not go to heaven why is that so this is to tell you that it's not about been nailed on the cross but acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and personal savior
Baptism came to us as a commandments from our Lord Jesus Christ after he had resurrected and to be a true disciple of Christ you must be baptized we see that in Matthew 29:19-20 and after baptism you must observe to keep all the commandments of God that's the only way to secure our salvation in Christ we should understand that baptism is our access to becoming disciples of Christ and keeping his commandments after baptism is our grantee of enter into the paradise with him
Before the death of Christ on the cross baptism wasn't made as an obligation to becoming his disciple but after his resurrection it became an obligation a mandate of a true disciple remember the other thief didn't enter the paradise with Jesus not because he was not baptized but because he did not acknowledge Jesus as his Lord and saviour while the other thief who acknowledge the saving grace of Jesus Christ was promised a paradise Baptism is our means of acknowledging the Jesus as our Lord and saviour and it is our means of entering the paradise at the end of our existence here on earth
JESUS IS ALIVE
GLORY BE TO GOD
AMEN