Water baptism is a public outward demonstration of an inward change. It is not a means of, nor a necessity for, salvation. It is a testimony that you’ve accepted Jesus as the leader of your life and forgiver of your sins.

Baptism is witnessed in two important ways:

1. It is an act that tells others that you follow Jesus. It is a believer obeying God’s command to be baptized following salvation. Baptism identifies you, to the church and the world, as a follower of Jesus Christ.

2. Baptism symbolizes what happens in us through salvation in Christ. We die to our sins, are buried, and are brought back to new life through Jesus. It is the way that we identify with what Jesus did on the cross.

Romans 6:1-11 explains the significance of baptism.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

A cursory reading of the New Testament would demonstrate that baptism is for followers of Jesus. One’s baptism is to follow salvation, not precede it. In each New Testament passage where baptism is mentioned, it is clearly communicated to occur after salvation (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, Acts 10:47-48). In the first century, there was no such thing as an unbaptized follower of Christ. In other words - every follower of Christ needs to be baptized.

• Acts 2:41-42 – “Those who accepted his message were baptized. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship.”

• Acts 10:47-48 – “‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

There are two definitive reasons you should be baptized: Jesus commanded it, and the church practiced it (Matthew 28, Acts verses mentioned above).

• Matthew 28:19-20 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

We believe baptism is to be done by submerging in the water. There are four main reasons for this position.

1. The Greek term for baptize (baptizo) means to submerge or immerse. At least six other words could have been used to indicate one’s relation to the water, but in each instance, the term for submerging or immersing is always used without exception.

2. This form of baptism (immersion) was used by the Apostles and disciples of Christ and the early churches, without any known exception, for more than 200 years. And for more than 1300 years, immersion was the prevailing practice of Christian churches worldwide. This history gives us some non-Scriptural, yet important, support.

3. Immersion is the best picture of the spiritual reality of baptism (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12). Sprinkling, pouring, or any other mode of baptism does not carry the distinctive picture of being buried with Christ.

4. The Scriptures very clearly express immersion:

   • Mark 1:9-10 – Notice the phrase “coming up out of the water.”

   • Matthew 3:6 – “in the Jordan River” indicates immersion.

   • John 3:23 – Notice the need for “plenty of water.”

   • Acts 8:36-39 – Notice they “came to some water” instead of water coming to them. Also, notice the phrases “down into the water” and “came up out of the water.” The question answers itself – by immersion.

You should be baptized as soon as possible if you're a Christ follower.

• Acts 2:41 – “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

• Acts 8:35-38 – “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.”