The Bible clearly teaches that Israel’s passage through the Red Sea was a baptism and typifies baptism into Christ. Paul said to the Corinthians:
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:1, 2).
There are a number of important lessons to be learned here:
Baptism is a memorial.
A person is baptized in water because of the death of Christ. Christ died for him. Now by faith he is identifying himself with Christ’s death. Those of Israel who were baptized in the sea knew that a lamb had been slain for them. Their deliverance from Egypt had been purchased with the blood of that lamb.
Baptism involves a confession.
We have confessed our sins and our need. We have confessed that we not only commit sinful acts, but we are by nature sinners. Now we have been forgiven and freed from our sins. Similarly, Israel had confessed that they were slaves. They had cried to God for deliverance. The Lord heard them and delivered them.
Baptism declares a solemn determination.
When we rise from the waters of baptism, it is declaration and determination to be finished with sin We are embracing a new life and leaving the old behind We realize that in no way is it possible to return to bondage. The Israelites were facing a new direction They were determined to make Canaan their new home.
Baptism announces a separation.
When the waters rolled back by God’s intervention Israel marched through on dry land. But the armies of Pharaoh pursued them. God then allowed the waters to return. All the horses with their riders were drowned. The power behind our habitual sin is broken. But these same waters which give us deliverance, also cut us off from going back into the world. We may die in the wilderness if we rebel against God, but we cannot return to Egypt. Baptism should and must be our announcement of separation from sin and from the world.
Baptism means accepting a new identity.
We are no longer a sinner but a “saint.” We are set apart to God or sanctified. We no longer belong to ourselves but to Jesus Christ to whom we present ourselves as living sacrifices in water baptism. Our spirit, soul, body, mind—everything belongs to Christ. Israel was to be a part of Egypt no more. They were God’s people on their way to a new land. Because of this change of identity, our habits of fellowship also change. Our friends fit the person we have become in Christ.