Paul writes, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
The term “faith” as it is used in this chapter is in the context of the gospel of faith by which one is justified in contradistinction to the law and its demands. The righteous shall live by faith, and this is good news (cf. Rom. 1:15-16). In connection with man’s response of faith, is the revelation of a new covenant that reveals it. The “coming faith” of verse 23 would be revealed, i.e., the plan of human redemption that reveals faith as the condition of righteousness came to release those held in bondage under law. The revelation of that freedom is often called “the faith.”
Yet, the law was necessary to convict the human race of sin and give the awareness of their need for a Savior. For the Jews, it was their guardian or tutor until Christ came. When Christ, came and the plan of righteousness by faith was revealed, “faith had, come” and the Jewish Christian was no longer under the law. The law had served a necessary function to bring us to Christ.  Now, in Christ, identity as sons of God is through ,faith but the action of that faith is expressed by being baptized.  The idea of baptism being an outward sign of an inward grace is taken from an abuse of Ephesian 2:8-9 that confuses faith instead of salvation as the gift of God.  While Galatians 3:26 teaches that baptism is an act of faith, it is not God’s gift. Salvation or grace is the gift offered by ,faith and, while baptism is an expression of faith, one must recognize this attachment between faith and works that must not be separated. They are tied together so that saving faith cannot be divorced from its expression. By nature, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20, cf. verse 14). For this reason, Paul speaks of this act of faith as that which puts us into Christ (“baptized into Christ”). That is the way one “puts on Christ.”
There are extremes on both this –one that places too much emphasis on baptism alone without it being an obedience of faith and one that places too much emphasis on faith without baptism, claiming that salvation is at the point of faith. Ig to seek a point at which salvation is a reality, it is always after the mention of baptism (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:28, etc.). Why? Because baptism is how we put on Christ. It is how we may bury our old man with him so we may be raised with Him. It is how we “wash away our sins” (Acts 22:16).