What is Baptism?

There is only one question before every believer, every saved soul.  What does the Lord command? 
    Jesus says,  "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  (John 14:15)  Dismiss all prejudices, all family relations, and let the Word of God speak.
1. Who shall be baptized?
2.  What is the Scriptural design or purpose of Baptism?
                                       3.  What is the Scriptural Mode of Baptism?

I.  WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?  ANSWER:  a believer.  The Scriptures very plainly show that we are not baptized in order to be saved, but baptized because we are saved.  Every person should be baptized, that is very clear.  (Acts 2:41) "Then they that gladly received His word were baptized."  What is conversion?  (John 1:12)  "But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:"  To become a child of God you simply receive Him.  (Acts 8:29-38) The Spirit told Philip to join himself to his chariot.  Philip ran to do His bidding.  He found the Eunuch reading the 53rd Chapter of Isaiah.  Philip began at the same scripture and preached unto Jesus.  Why?  (Matthew 1:21) "For He shall save His people from their sins."

   Like the conversion of the Philippian jailor (Acts 16:30-31-33) "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway."

II.  WHAT IS THE DESIGN OR PURPOSE OF BAPTISM?
   Baptism is not essential to salvation, but is essential to obedience.  Therefore Jesus says, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15) and the Scriptures very plainly declare that baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins, but the answer to a good conscience toward God.  (1 Peter 3:21) "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:"
TWO GREAT TRUTHS SET FORTH IN BAPTISM    (1)  The death of Christ.  Let the Scriptures speak:  (Romans 6:3)  "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?"    (2)  The resurrection of Christ, (Romans 6:4-5) "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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:" 

III.  WHAT IS THE MODE OF BAPTISM ---  IMMERSION OR SPRINKLING?      If the translators of the King James Version of the Bible had followed the method of translating instead of Anglicizing the word "baptizo," everywhere in the New Testament where we find "Baptize" it would read "Immerse."    The scholars of all denominations agree that immersion means to "dip,"  "plunge", "bury," or "cover up."  Dismiss all prejudice, traditions, and let the Scriptures speak on the mode of baptism. (Matthew 3:13, 16) "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of Him . . .And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:"   Suppose you had never heard of Baptism and read the account where Jesus and John both went down into the River Jordan, and John baptized Him.  What would be your conclusion?  What does the Scriptures say?  Should we immerse or sprinkle?  Take the example of Philip and the Ethiopian.  (Acts 8:36-38) "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."   Again, suppose you had never heard of baptism and what would you conclude if you saw two men:   (1) "Go down both into the water."   (2) "Both Philip and the eunuch."   (3) "And he baptized him."   (4) "And when they were come up out of the water."  Does that look like Philip sprinkled the eunuch?  Let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST   There is only one thing that the believer can do as perfectly as Jesus did.  They can not speak as He did for no one ever spoke as our Lord.  They can not perform the miracles He did for only God could raise the dead.  No one can live the sinless life as He lived.   But, every believer can walk down into the baptismal waters and be buried in the likeness of their Lord's death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection.

IV.  WHY WE DO NOT SPRINKLE   First, there is not one single, solitary example of sprinkling in the New Testament.   Second, the word "baptizo" in the original Greek means to immerse, and was Anglicized, and not translated from the original Greek.   Third, sprinkling does not set forth the design in the New Testament, which is to represent the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.   (Romans 6:3-5) "Know ye not, that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:"

V.  THEREFORE SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM MUST HAVE
   FIRST, a scriptural subject, a born-again believer.
   SECOND, the scriptural mode, immersion.
   THIRD, the scriptural motive --- not the washing away of sins, but the answer of a good conscience to God.  Not baptized in order to be saved, but because we have been saved.
   FOURTH, the scriptural authority, namely, a New Testament Church that teaches and stands for the above truths of God's word.

   Following is the article of faith concerning Baptism, as commonly held by Baptists from New Testament days:

   We believe that Scriptural Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer; in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Ghost, by the authority of the local church, to show forth, in a solemn beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effects in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is a pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper. 

The above text is taken from "What Does the Bible Teach Concerning Baptism?" by
 Dr. Louis W. Johnson --- Pastor of the Tucson Baptist Temple.