What Is Baptism?
Baptism is the ceremony with water that marks entry into the Christian life; the word comes from a Greek verb meaning 'to immerse, to wash'. In the New Testament it appears first as the baptism of repentance practiced by John the Baptist in the Jordan; Jesus himself was baptized by John at the start of his ministry. After the resurrection Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the early church applied this to those who believed the gospel. Paul explains baptism as the sign of the believer's sharing in Christ's death and resurrection: going down into the water pictures the death of the old life, rising out of it the new life. Baptism is also the visible step of joining the community. Though its form (immersion, pouring) and timing vary among churches, what it points to is shared: cleansing, new life and belonging to Christ.