Baptism unites us with Christ
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"Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;"
Acts 2:38
Baptism saves you as an appeal to God for a good conscience
"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 3:18-21
Repentance and baptism are connected to both forgiveness and receiving the Holy Spirit
"Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away,
as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”” Acts 2:38-39
“Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.” Luke 3:3
United with Him in death; no longer slaves to sin
"For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin." Romans 6:5-7
Buried with Christ when baptized; with him raised to new life
“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.” Colossians 2:11-13
It may seem mysterious,
but the door to life is
through the door of death.
Our sinful selves are crucified with Christ and we are set free from the power of sin.
Because of this,
we will also live with him.
Baptism is both a command and representative of this truth.
Someone may have a deathbed experience of repentance and faith in Christ but not have opportunity to be baptized. There is a similar example of the thief crucified next to Christ who likewise was not baptized but Christ assured him: "One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
After his resurrection, Jesus met with his disciples and issued what is commonly called The Great Commission.
"So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
It was his disciples, Christ followers, who were given this task to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Bible, John baptized in the Jordan River but I know of no specific type of water requirement in scripture. The example given in scripture is immersion. People have used various forms of a body of water including a lake, pool, hot tub, bathtub, horse trough, or in a church baptismal. All you need is a Christ follower and water.
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