Baptism is a command of Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

In obedience to this commission, the church community offers baptism to every person who believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ and whose repentance comes from the heart, bearing fruit in deeds. In order to receive believer’s baptism as instituted by Christ for the forgiveness of sins, a person must have reached the age of accountability.

Anyone who has been commissioned by the church community may baptize people as John the Baptist did, “with water.” Then he will lay his hands on the newly baptized and pray that Jesus will fill them with “power from on high” – with the Holy Spirit.

The form of baptism was set by Christ himself: washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Immersion in water symbolizes dying, being reborn, and rising with Christ to a new life of righteousness, through Christ’s victory on the cross. The pouring over of water symbolizes the washing away of sins and the outpouring of the Spirit.

The method of baptism that may be used – whether immersion or pouring over – is unimportant. What matters is the intervention of God to fully cleanse, forgive, and heal the one baptized.

Baptism is the declaration of a good conscience with God. Through it the church witnesses to and seals salvation in the name of Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” At Pentecost, when many in the crowd were “cut to the heart” after realizing their guilt for the death of Christ, three thousand were baptized in one day. Such repentance and the conversion that follows it are the only sure foundations for baptism.

True repentance is a gift of God. It is recognizable by a remorseful and contrite heart, a desire to confess one’s sins, and a changed life that shows fruits of a new spirit. One who truly repents will be determined never to sin willfully anymore, but rather to die than disobey God.

Baptism is a confession of faith – faith in Jesus of Nazareth , the son of Mary and son of God, who was born in poverty, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and will one day return to establish his kingdom fully on earth. Before a baptism is carried out in our church community, the candidate proclaims his or her faith in Jesus and affirms all the points of the Christian faith as stated in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

Baptism is a pledge to follow Jesus, come what may, obeying him in everything. The early Christians taught that just as a recruit becomes a soldier through taking an oath of allegiance, so baptism enlists us as soldiers for Christ, sworn to his service even at the cost of our lives.1

Baptism is therefore also incorporation into the body of Christ, “for in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” Through baptism we become fellow members with all believers through the ages, sharing in “one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Anyone who belongs to Christ will join with others who also belong to him: “He who does not gather with me scatters. ”

* This online version of Foundations is for reference only. For the authoritative version, see the print edition.