From the opening pages of the New Testament, the Christian is confronted with the concept of baptism. Whether
you read the record of the early church in the book of Acts or the teaching of the epistles, it is evident that
baptism is very significant. Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly told His disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father
and the Son and Holy Spirit,” and yet this simple act of obedience has always had much controversy surrounding
it.

We hope this brief statement will be helpful in answering questions you may have and help you gain a clear
understanding on what the Bible teaches regarding baptism.

Our Lord instituted baptism
Our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ met with His disciples before returning to heaven and said, “All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you ;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19). It is evident from the concluding
words of the passage, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” that this command was not for
the apostles alone. Although the apostles did not live to the end of the age, it is certain that the church (made up
of all true believers in Jesus Christ) will exist until the Lord returns for His own, and therefore our Lord’s command
is to all Christians. Until Christ returns we are all to be baptized, and we are all to be involved in making disciples.
This matter of making disciples involves a whole variety of activities, but the Lord singles out two central ones:
baptizing and teaching. In other words, they publicly confess Him as Lord, initially through baptism and
continually through obedience to His teaching.

What is the significance of baptism?
This is an important question, and yet so many are confused right at this point. Many people assume that
baptism somehow saves them or “cleanses” them or washes away their sins or gives them “peace with God.” Let
us be very clear on this crucial issue. Only Jesus Christ can save. Jesus said, in John 14:6, “no one comes to the
Father, but through Me.” Only the blood of Jesus Christ shed at the cross can cleanse or wash away sin. No
religious ceremony, no matter how right and good in its proper place, can in any way make a sinner righteous
before our holy God. Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Him alone. Romans 5:1 says, “therefore having
been justified (declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The whole
teaching of the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8,9).
We emphasize this because so many blindly assume that baptism somehow saves them. Before we talk about
what baptism does signify, let it be repeated: baptism cannot save. It was never given to save. Baptism cannot
cleanse from sin. It was never intended to.

What, then, is the significance of baptism? Baptism, first and foremost, is identification with Jesus Christ. It is
publicly and openly identifying with the One who died for our sins and rose again. It is a symbol of the believer’s
identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

In baptism the believer gives public confession to the great gospel truth that Christ died for his sins. He also
confesses and acknowledges that his old life was crucified with Christ when Christ was judged for his sins, that he
was buried with Him, and that he has arisen to a new life in Christ.

In the New Testament the act of baptism signifies the believer’s death to the old life and his resurrection as a new
creature in union with Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The appeal for a holy lifestyle is based on the fact that “we have been
buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of
the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Colossians 2:12 states, ‘having been buried
with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised
Him from the dead.” Baptism publicly pictures the end of the old life and the beginning of the new life of the
believer.

Identification with Christ is at the same time identification with His body, the church. The picture of the believer’s
death and resurrection with Christ refers not only to his union with Christ but also to a unity of Christ composed
of many members. The truth behind this is stated in 1 Cor. 12:12 “for even as the body is one and yet has many
members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” A Christian
not only publicly acknowledges his identification with the Head (Christ), but he at the same time acknowledges his
identification with the body (all other believers). In his baptism he identifies publicly with the fellowship of
believers. Not only is his transition from the old life to the new life made public in baptism, but the transition
from union with the world to union with the community of believers is proclaimed as well. In his baptism the
believer takes his stand with the disciples of Christ. It should be noted that this identification with Christ’s body
(the church) is ultimately an identification with all Christians, not merely a local assembly or congregation.

Hence, one is not baptized into a local church or even a world-wide denomination, but rather into the church
universal, the family of God. In summary, baptism signifies a two-fold identification. First and foremost,
identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Secondly, identification with His people, the
church.

Who Should Be Baptized?
Since baptism is a picture of our identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, it follows that only
believers in Christ are candidates for baptism. The consistent pattern in the New Testament is hearing the gospel,
believing, and being baptized.

The method of baptism
Throughout history a wide variety of modes of baptism have been practiced by various groups. The three most
common have been immersion, sprinkling and pouring. Although the Bible does not describe in detail “how”
people were baptized, the word for baptize in the original language means “to dip or to immerse,” and therefore
immersion best suits the meaning of the term. Our identification in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is
best portrayed by immersion.

Should I be re-baptized?
Many people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after hearing the gospel and then wonder whether they
should be baptized because they have already been baptized as an infant. The answer is yes, since the Biblical
teaching regarding baptism is that it is for believers. When a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as their
Savior and Lord they are a “new creature” (1Cor. 5:17). They “pass from death to life” (John 5:24), are “born of
God” (John 1:12,13), and should be obedient to Christ’s command to publicly acknowledge their new life in Christ
through baptism. This is not a renunciation of their earlier “baptism” (which in some cases was initiated by
sincere, godly parents) but rather an acknowledgement that baptism is something God commands the believer to
do, not something his parent can do for him. For these reasons it is recommended that a person be baptized as a
believer and new creature in Christ, regardless of whether or not he or she has been “baptized” as an infant.

Conclusion
It is the distinct privilege of every person who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord to publicly confess
Him through baptism. Baptism is a picture of the believer’s identity with Christ in the great events of His death,
burial, and resurrection. In his baptism the Christian boldly proclaims to the world that he is a new person in Jesus
Christ, his old life is past, his new life is one of following his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.