What does it mean to be baptized? What is the meaning of Christian baptism or what we might call believer's baptism? The Bible is clear that it carries the idea of submerging someone in water (Matthew 3:6, 16; Mark 1:5; Acts 8:38). The New Testament teaches that when someone comes to faith in Christ, that person is immersed into Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:1-6). But, be careful here, there is no physical water involved in our salvation. Water doesn’t save us.

So, what does save us? For the answer to that question we will have to do some digging in Scripture to get a picture of the connection between our salvation experience and what follows: believer's baptism. Let's start with the Book of Romans.

(Romans 6:1-6)

1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. 5 For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

Verse three says that when we come to faith in Christ, we are literally immersed into His death. Symbolically we die with Him so that all of our sins are paid for in full. We are identifying with Him. (1 Corinthians 10:2) says that when the children of Israel went through the wilderness they were baptized into Moses. They were immersed into Moses. They became one with their leader. The same idea is meant here in that we are immersed into Christ.

Verse four tells us that when we come to faith in Christ, we are redeemed and saved. Paul is saying that we have been immersed into His death. This spiritual union into death is so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we might walk also in newness of life. If you are a believer, you were buried with Him, you died with Him, and you rose with Him.

Further in verse five he says we have been joined with Christ in the likeness of His death and also in the likeness of His resurrection. Verse six explains this thought by saying that our old self and way of life was crucified with Him so that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Christ is free from sin and if we died with Him sin no longer rules us. Sin is still real but it no longer has to controls us. Salvation is not adding Jesus to your life, salvation is immersing you into Christ. That's what it means to be "in Christ."

So, why should we now be baptized in water? What is the relation of water baptism and the salvation experience I have been talking about? First, let's remember that the ceremony of baptism is not a saving ceremony but it is important. Don’t you think if baptizing in water saved you that the Apostle Paul would have been baptizing everybody. But look what he said in (1 Corinthians 1:14-17) 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize—not with clever words, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.