Where in the Bible does it say that baptism is an outward sign of an inward confession ?

It doesn't verbatim, but it does say the following.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING in the NAME......

Jesus told His disciples to go and teach all nations, Baptizing in a name singular..

Luke 24:47 (KJV) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

A changed man who formally denied knowing Jesus preached the first sermon after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus boldly told the Jews they had crucified their savior. The Jews cried out saying, " WHAT MUST WE DO? "

Acts 2:38 (KJV) 38 Then Peter said unto them, REPENT, and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the NAME of Jesus Christ ...( WHY ? ).....FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS and ......( THEN ? ) ...ye shall receive the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST.

There is a reward or blessing for those who obey..

THE PURPOSE OF REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM IN JESUS NAME IS FOR THE REMISSION OF OUR SINS.

Acts 2:39 (KJV) 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Those that heard and obeyed were added to the Brand New...New Testament Church.

Acts 2:41 (KJV) 41 Then they that gladly received his word WERE BAPTIZED and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:42 (KJV) 42 And they continued stedfastly in the APOSTLES' DOCTRINE and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

( For those who don't know the word doctrine is synonymous with the word teaching. )

Just as the Jews followed steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine it would behoove those who discount repentance and baptism......in Jesus name ......to repent and obey.

Philippians 2:12 .....WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV) 19 Go ye therefore, and TEACH all nations, BAPTIZING them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:20 (KJV) 20 TEACHING them ( WHAT ? ) to observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have COMMANDED you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

TRUELY THERE HAS BEEN GREAT REVIVALS of those who profess to KNOW HIM without REPENTANCE or OBEDIENCE to His word or His Apostles' word.

To those who say they would rather follow Jesus' word than the Apostles you err not knowing the scriptures. Matthew 28:19 (KJV) 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20. TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

The only outward sign of an inward confession of sin is repentance, a complete turning around regretting the old course of sin and living anew after the life of Christ.

There are a few different baptisms in the Bible. And the only baptisms which are real and not merely symbolic are the baptism in holy spirit and the baptism of fire.

Romans Chapter 6 v 4 and Colossians Chapter 12 verses 12 & 13

Doesn't quite say an outward sign of an inward change or confession but then that phrase was adopted by evangelists to make the texts easier to understand.

Where in the Bible does it say that baptism is an outward sign of an inward confession?

If you accept that the ‘act of believing’ represents an ‘act of inward confession’, then the following verses answer your question.

Mark 16:16 KJV

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

and

John 3:15-18 KJV

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

.

... 1 Peter 3:20-21: "...in the days of Noah...eight souls were saved...the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Chirist..."

Absolutely nowhere! It never even hints at that.

Despite the teachings of many churches today, scripture teaches that Baptism is required for salvation: Mk. 16:16; 1 Peter 3:20-21, and that is the means by which our sins are forgiven: Acts 2:38 (the Greek says "be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ into the forgiveness of sins..."); Acts 22:16

People make two errors in regard to understanding the importance and purpose of water baptism. First, they look at people like the thief on the cross as "proof" that we don't need to be baptized to be saved. This overlooks the fact that the thief lived and died under the Law of Moses, a different dispensation. Even if he had repented before his arrest, he had only two options at that time: animal sacrifice and the baptism of John. But even John's disciples needed to be re-baptized after the church began. (Acts 19:1-6)

Second, they look at the epistles and find verses that speak of salvation by faith, by grace. What they overlook here is that every one of the epistles was written to people who were ALREADY saved. They did not need to be told how to be saved, so that information isn't there in its entirety. Certainly the epistles do expound upon salvation, but they are not the place to look for the purpose of baptism.

The best place to look, of course, is where it was happening. And that is the book of Acts. From this book, we can learn a few important facts. First, baptism was always by full immersion. We know this because the Greek word baptizo means to immerse, to cover completely with liquid. In Acts 8:36-38, we see that in order to baptize the Ethiopian man, both Philip and the Ethiopian went into the water. If full immersion were not being done, there was no need for Philip to get wet!

We also know that baptism was always done using only the name of Jesus. The apostles never once repeated the titles of Mt. 28:19. Why? Because Jesus didn't tell them to baptize in 3 titles, but in the one NAME of the person who held those titles. We see in Acts chapters 2, 8, 10, 19 & 22 that they understood that name to be Jesus, because all the fullness of God dwells in the body of Jesus. (Col. 2:9) See also Acts 4:12 & Col. 3:17

We can also see that baptism was always done right away, immediately after belief and repentance. In Acts 16, we see that Paul and Silas, sore from being wounded, and tired because it was the middle of the night, baptized the entire household of the jailer. They clearly did not think it should wait until daylight, or the next church service. After all, there was a church in Philippi. But baptism is important, and so it was not delayed.

Baptism is one step in the plan of salvation. Faith is the first step. But faith without works of obedience to the terms of the Gospel is dead. Dead faith saves no one. (James 2:14, 17) Faith must be followed by repentance. This means a change of heart, a change of mind, a change of direction. In repentance, we die to sin and turn our lives toward God. This is followed by water baptism by full immersion in the name of Jesus so that sins will be forgiven. In baptism, we are buried in likeness of the burial of Jesus. Finally, we rise to a new life, being filled with the Holy Ghost, with the initial evidence or manifestation (1 Cor. 12:7) of speaking in other tongues. (Acts 2:4; 10:45-46; 19:6) That's how we get saved; the epistles teach us how to live that way.

i don't have the answer for that Q. but i can tell u that when u go down in the baptism it represents the Death of Jesus Christ and when coming up from the water represents Jesus raising on the third day

Where in the Bible does it say that baptism is an infusion of grace or washes away sin?

Either position is an inference from what the Bible says about baptism.

It's implied.

Leviticus describes how to obtain "ceremonial cleanness" by dipping yourself in water.

This is where Jewish "mikveh" rites came from, the cleansing of yourself and various things in water for ceremonial purposes.

John the Baptist used river baptism for spiritual cleanness.

The same place where it says:

- Christmas should be celebrated on Dec 25

- Christians should worship in church buildings or in kingdom halls

- Christians should pray with palms together or with fingers interlaced

- Christians should follow a book called "the Bible"

- Christians should find all of their doctrines in the Bible

etc.

So: how many of your religious beliefs are not Biblical? I'm quite certain that there are many. Have you asked yourself this same question about all of your religious beliefs?

Why, then, do you question a religious belief held by others solely on the grounds that it cannot be found in the Bible?

- Jim, Fundamentalist Christian, http://www.bible-reviews.com/