How to Be Baptized — In Biblical Context
Believer's baptism is the public immersion of a confessing Christian in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — an outward symbol of inward union with Christ in His death and resurrection.
Believer's baptism is the public immersion of a confessing Christian in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — an outward symbol of inward union with Christ in His death and resurrection.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — Matthew 28:19 (KJV)
The Biblical Context
Baptism follows belief. Every New Testament example — the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Cornelius's household (Acts 10), the Philippian jailer (Acts 16) — shows the same order: hear the gospel, believe, be baptized. It is the first act of public obedience for the new Christian, not a means of salvation but a witness to it.\n\nThe Greek word baptizo means to immerse, dip, or plunge. Romans 6:4 explains the symbolism: going under the water pictures burial with Christ; coming up pictures resurrection to new life. For this reason most New Testament churches practise immersion, though the believer's faith — not the mode — is what makes baptism meaningful.\n\nTalk to the pastor of a faithful local church. He will hear your testimony, instruct you in the meaning of the ordinance, and arrange a public baptism in the gathered congregation. The day need not be elaborate; the simplicity of Acts 8 — water, faith, command, obedience — is the pattern.
Where It Sits in Scripture
The core passage for this question, Matthew 28:19, sits inside Matthew 28. To grasp the full meaning, read the surrounding paragraph — the verses before set up the thought, the verses after carry it forward.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
Supporting Passages
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
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