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Why should a person be baptized?
From the beginning, baptism represented the ideas of identification and allegiance. Remember how the Gentiles were changing their identity? Once they baptized themselves, they were no longer Gentiles; they were Jews. People who were baptized by John were identifying with John's teaching for repentance. That is why Jesus allowed Himself to be baptized by John. The identity factor is underscored in Acts where we find that those who were baptized to identify with John were rebaptized in the name of Jesus in order to identify with Him. Therefore, one reason for baptism is that we publicly identify with Jesus' teachings.
Second, baptism is a picture that carries the weight of cleansing and resurrection and allegiance. The visual picture of baptism represents (1) cleansing from the sin of the old life; (2) dying to the old life and being born to a new life; and (3) a sign of commitment or allegiance to a new Master or way of life. This visual picture of an inward decision is best summed up in the sentence "I am not ashamed." Baptism is the believer's declaration to the world that Christ is the standard by which he or she intends to live.
Another reason a believer should be baptized is that Jesus commanded us to be baptized, and following in obedience should be a part of every believer's life. In the Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20), Jesus instructed the remaining eleven disciples to "go there fore and make disciplesÃ…Â baptizing them." The disciples were instructed to lead people to know Jesus as Savior and then to baptize them as a sign of their allegiance and identification with Him. As obedient children, we must consider baptism as the next step after salvation, one that should be taken without delay.