I have several articles and videos on the subject of baptism.  These are mostly focused on refuting the error of baptismal regeneration that comes up in various Christian circles from time to time.  None of the articles and videos are meant to address what water baptism is for and why we should baptize in water.  I thought that there was already plenty of material out there on that subject, so I didn't feel that I needed to add to it.  However, I need to make sure that my articles and videos aren't used to justify the opposite extreme, that we needn't bother baptizing in water at all.

Water baptism is very, very important, an identification as a type and representation of our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ, and the washing away of our sins.  You should think of it holistically:  The physical is identified with the spiritual but understanding the spiritual does not mean we do away with the physical.

For example, we have the Lord's supper, where the wine is identified with the blood of Jesus and the bread is identified with the body of Jesus.  If we understand the spiritual, then why continue with the physical?  Do you partake in the Lord's Supper?  Why?  Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me."  Why?

For example, we now know the "mystery" revealed, as explained in Eph 5:22-33, that earthly marriage is a type and representation of Christ (the bridegroom) and his bride (the εκκλησια, traditionally translated, the "church," but meaning the body of Christ).  That is why we have the strict moral rules around sex and marital fidelity.  There is one woman and one man, meaning that there is one Christ, no other Christs/gods, and one body of Christ, not other bodies of different faiths.  The man will never leave or forsake his wife, as Christ will never leave or forsake us, and the woman will never leave or forsake her husband, as we will never leave or forsake Jesus.  The man loves his wife, as Christ loves his out-called, and gives himself for her; the woman submits to her husband, just as we submit to Christ.

Now, that said about marriage, should we say that now that we know that the physical points to the spiritual, and understand the spiritual, should we abandon the physical, or think of it as of no consequence?  Should we marry and divorce to suit our fleshly desires?  Why even marry?  Should we just sleep around and have sex with whomever we want?  And why stop there?  Why not endorse homosexual relations?  What difference does it make?  All the marriages are over with when we get to heaven anyway, right?  The answer is that the physical type is identified with the spiritual reality.  Those who scorn the physical scorn the spiritual, and those who desecrate the physical will not do so without consequences.

So then, water baptism should be viewed holistically, that is, that you cannot separate the physical from the spiritual in practice.  The apostle Paul is told, in one breath, "And now what are you waiting for?  Get up, be immersed, and wash your sins away, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16).  "Immersed into what?"  Water, or some non-physical thing?  Stop thinking like that.  They are all linked together.  Immersed into water, immersed into death, immersed into the name, immersed into pardon of sins, immersed into the body of Christ, washed clean of our sins.

The error some people and groups make is in thinking that the spiritual reality cannot exist without the physical.  But they are being shortsighted, because that is not the case.  The physical reality is subject to the spiritual reality, and not the other way around.  The spiritual reality is not subject to the physical type that is identified with it.  If a man spiritually believes but is not immersed in water, then his faith is still credited to him as righteousness before he does anything physical at all.  And, in the opposite scenario, if the physical is observed without acknowledging the spiritual, then the physical is likewise meaningless.  If you jump into a swimming pool for fun, you are certainly immersed in water, but it means nothing spiritually.

Or, consider that, certainly, you can remember and recognize the blood of Jesus for our sins and the body of Jesus for our afflictions without drinking wine or eating bread.  And then, in the opposite scenario, if you eat bread because you are hungry, and then decide to have a glass of wine with it, with no further thought than that you wanted to eat and drink, that is spiritually meaningless, as well.  When we immerse a new believer in water, we declare him dead to his old life and risen to a new life -- the new birth.

Why can't people see this?  Water cannot "wash away sins."  Neither can "the blood of bulls and goats" take away sins (Heb 10:4).  We who have the revelation of the principles of the New Covenant should know better than that.  Now, in the case of the blood sacrifices, Christ obviously was the fulfillment of that, so you will not see Christians sacrificing animals.  Rather, Christians baptize in water, and that is to show the fulfillment of Christ.  If we were to offer blood sacrifices, we would be going back to the Law of Moses.  But water baptism does not revert anyone to the Law of Moses.  Water baptism is identified with the new birth of a new believer, who effectively dies to his old life, regardless of whether he was a Jew under the Law of Moses or not, and we do it again and again, once for every new believer.

Taking this one step further, obedience to the Law of Moses, including the blood sacrifices, showed that you were a Jew, and if you neglected or scorned these things, then your faith in God was called into question.  Similarly, water baptism is identified with conversion to the Christian faith, and if you neglect or scorn it, then that would be reason for men (not God, men) to question your identity as a Christian, a disciple of Jesus.  As I pointed out in another article, a man is justified in the sight of God by faith alone apart from works, yet is justified in the sight of all creation by his works apart from mere profession or presumption of faith.

Jesus himself was baptized in water.  Isn't that enough cause for us to follow in his example, since he demonstrated the model for us to follow?  Jesus told John, "Let it be so now, for it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness."  (Matt 3:15)

The Lord's Supper is identified with the blood of the New Covenant, which is for the remission of sins, and also the body of Jesus, to redeem us from our afflictions.  We do this again and again to recognize and remember the body and blood of Jesus.

Water baptism has always been the practice of initiation into the Christian faith, a sacrament of the Christian faith, like the Lord's Supper.  Scriptures clearly do not link that as a precondition to salvation from anything, as I have clearly proven in my articles and videos.  But from the baptism of John forward, we see it as the consistent practice of believers, identifying the New Covenant conversion.  So, let's do it.