Water Baptism is a commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ and shows our identification with His death, burial and resurrection. It is a way of declaring the Lordship Christ and your new birth in Him.
Below, is an outline to help you understand what Jesus and the Scriptures say about water baptism:
A. Jesus commanded baptism for believers (Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 16:15-16).
B. The apostles commanded believers to be baptized (Acts 2:38).
C. Baptism is for those who believe in Jesus as their Lord (Acts 8:5, 12, 35-38).
1. You must believe first before baptism.
2. Baptism is an outward demonstration of an inward faith.
D. In baptism, the believer identifies with Christ.
1. When I am baptized, I demonstrate what Christ did for me in His death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-6).
2. I die to sin. I am buried like Christ. I am raised in the power of the Spirit.
3. When I am baptized, I declare that I am a new person In Christ.
E. Baptism is an immersion in water for believers.
1. The Greek word used in the New Testament means to dip under or immerse.
2. Since baptism symbolizes a burial, we do not just sprinkle with water, but completely immerse the person under water.
3. Through water baptism, the believer declares that his old life of sin is dead and that he now has a new life with Christ.
4. Because baptism declares a person’s faith in Christ, we do not baptize infants. In order to be baptized, a person must make a conscious decision to follow Christ. A child must be old enough to understand that decision in order to make it.