The Bible emphasizes that belief in Jesus is the fundamental requirement for water baptism. Acts 2: 41 says, “Then those who gladly received His Word were immersed. Baptism symbolizes purification, renewal, and spiritual rebirth. It represents the washing away of sin and the believer’s entry into a new life with Jesus.
The act of being immersed with water signifies participation in Jesus death and resurrection as described in Romans 6:3-4, “Don’t you know that all we who were immersed into Messiah Yeshua were immersed into His death. We were buried therefore with Him through immersion into death, that just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”
Baptism is linked to repentance, meaning turning away from a life of sin and a desire to follow Jesus. It is an outward expression of an inward change, a public testimony to one’s faith in Jesus.
Many churches baptize infants, but the Bible does not support infant baptism because infants cannot understand or confess their faith. Baptism needs to be a conscious choice made by the believer.
Baptism is a cleansing from sin. It has powerful and long-lasting effects. It changes the spiritual character of a person forever. It is the mark of transformation that is unforgettable. It can never be erased.
The grace of baptism is a rebirth in Jesus. It opens a channel of blessing from God to us. It grants us a share of God’s divine life and delivers spiritual energy and power which enables growth in virtue and Holiness.
Baptism makes a person an adopted son of daughter of God. Baptism consecrated a person to God. The person then belongs to God with the realization that there is an ever-growing deep longing to know, love, obey, and serve God.
Baptism clothes a person with immortality and gives them a share in the redemption that Jesus won on the cross and makes salvation, eternal life, and everlasting glory with God in heaven possible. It unites a person to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
So many people do not realize what a baptism does for us. The general message is “If you get water baptized you will be saved,” but there is so much more it does.
From Pity to Praise 