The gospel is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, that He rose again the third day. That’s the gospel! 1 Corinthians 15 . . . THAT IS THE GOSPEL! That is the core of all we do.
So why is it that the Bible commands that we be baptized? Because God wants to CONSTANTLY make real to us what happens when we get saved!
We die with Christ! We’re buried with Christ! We rise with Christ! WE LIVE WITH CHRIST! We’re going home to BE with Christ!
That’s what it’s all about! And BAPTISM is the graphic illustration of that.