From the beginning of the Christian movement, water baptism has been emphasized as a way for a new believer to publicly declare his or her allegiance to Christ. Immersion is the best mode of water baptism since it captures the essence of being united with Christ in his death and risen with Christ in his resurrection. The going down into the water symbolizes being buried with Christ, bringing to an end our self-directed way of life. Rising out of the water expresses our new unity with and dependence upon the life of Christ’s Spirit within us, who will help us live from now one as servants of God.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Romans 6:4-11 (NLT)

Jesus’ resurrection proved him to be the Son of God, the Messianic King, and the Lord of Lords. As such, he deserves our worship, appreciation, and devotion. Loving service to him is the highest good for those who call themselves disciples. Water baptism is a disciple’s declaration of allegiance or loyalty to the King. It is the equivalent of enlisting in the Great Commission Army of Witnesses and Disciple Makers. It is a decisive, no-looking-back, moment of truth that sets a disciple on a one-way path of service to Jesus.

But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (NLT) 

21st century in consumerist Christians often imagine that Jesus died merely to provide them with a free pass to heaven by dying to forgive our sins. This concept of being a Christian merely means “getting saved,” which is a kind of the Monopoly “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Consumerist Christians may point to a moment in their lives when they “gave their heart to Jesus,” but sadly their lives may currently show little or no evidence that he is actually and practically their Lord. To put it another way, they live as functional atheists with no regard to obeying Christ’s teachings or serving his mission.

This should make us all pause to think about Christ’s clear warning in Matthew’s Gospel.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)

True disciples, on the other hand, can be defined as followers of Christ and fishers of men.

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” Matthew 4:19 (NLT)

Jesus did not say, “Come follow me, and I will make you good church members.” He also did not say, “Give your heart to me, and do your own thing.” Following Jesus means we obey him and his teachings. We obey him via the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is able to communicate Jesus’ will to us personally and grace us to obey it.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

We also apply Jesus’ teachings, as found in the Bible, to our lives.

The key to being a follower of Christ is surrender , which is part of what water baptism symbolizes.

hen a believer goes under the water, it symbolizes what should have already taken place in his or her heart – true repentance and death to the old order of things. The old order includes living for our own desires, doing things without reference to God or his will, and all the sinful things we do as an outworking of the first two points.

Water baptism indicates that the disciple consciously and deliberately surrenders to Jesus.

Our new birth as sons and daughters in God’s image enables us to live the remainder of our lives here on earth for His purposes and glory. It is not enough to simply lay aside the old order of things: we must embrace the new.

It is not enough to merely receive all the benefits supplied to us through Christ’s death and resurrection: we must devote our lives in loving service to the one who laid down his life for us. That is what it means to be a true disciple. That is the meaning of water baptism.

Laying down our lives for Jesus through the power of the indwelling Spirit will manifest itself in three basic ways, which are laid for us in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

• We will love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Everything else flows from this. Love for God expresses itself in worship, prayer, meditation on his written Word found in the Bible, listening to the voice of God’s Spirit within, and obeying him from the heart.
• We will love others. Jesus taught that the second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He went on to show us that our neighbor is anyone in need, especially those who follow Christ. Love for others is spiritual, emotional, and extremely practical. Love for others compels us to serve others lovingly and sacrificially.
• We will actively pursue the mission to go and make disciples. The Great Commission propels followers of Christ into God’s mission.

Once we have been included in God’s ever expanding family through our faith in Christ and his finished work, we are immediately commissioned to be part of his worldwide army of disciple makers.

We do this by loving people enough to relate to them, befriend them, and serve them. Doing so opens the door to being able to share what is really eternally important: the gospel. Once people put their faith in Christ, we teach them to do the same thing we are doing – following Christ and fishing for people.

Water baptism is an extremely important gateway into discipleship.

If we cannot obey Christ in this simple area, we are only kidding ourselves to think we have surrendered our lives to him. If you have never been baptized in water since you put your faith in Christ, with the understanding that it meant a total selling out to Jesus and his rule in our lives, it is time for you to obey this command.

Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Acts 2:37-39 (NLT)