As I was creating this website God pointed out this very important subject to me, one that many do not understand. Religion and society has changed baptism so much that, as you can see, there are several meanings to the word.

Baptize, To administer the sacrament of baptism to; to christen. By some denominations of Christians, baptism is performed by plunging, or immersing the whole body in water, and this is done to none, but adults. More generally the ceremony is performed by sprinkling water on the face of a person, whether an infant or an adult, and in the case of an infant, by giving him a name, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is called Christening.

Now, here is the truth from the Bible, there are two types of baptism, the baptism of Christ (which is the Spirit of God poured upon you) and the water baptism (which is the entire body being immersed in water after being saved) . John the Baptist puts it simple. “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” - Mark 1:8

What Is Water Baptism?
Water baptism is a complete body immersion of water as a public profession of one’s faith and acceptance of their salvation through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Water Baptism symbolizes His death, burial, and resurrection. When we stand in the water we are dead to sin, looking to Christ on the cross, when we get emerged into the water our sins are buried in the tomb with Christ, when we come up out of the water we are resurrected with Christ. 

Baptism Is Only For Those Saved
Do not mistake baptism for salvation, a person that has been baptized in water, without getting salved is not saved. Salvation must come first, which is to be baptized with Christ, water baptism is not required to be saved. If you get saved and never get baptized in the water you are still saved. What water baptism does mean is that one cannot truly understand the power of God (Holy Spirit) in them until they are baptized. We learn this several times throughout Scripture, but the most notable is in the Book of Acts with Philip and a eunuch.

"And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 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. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing." - Acts 8:34-39.

The only way the eunuch could get baptized was after he believed in Christ. This is why it is it does no good for a baby to be baptized, in order for a person to be baptized they must know they are a sinner.

Infant Water Baptism is Unnecessary
Many feel that if infants die without baptism they will go to hell and thus baptism is the means to remove original sin and save them from hell. However, if that were the case then why do those who are baptized need to be later "confirmed" in personal faith? Apparently, after baptism they still possess a sinful nature, they still sin and they still die which are all the consequences of being related to Adam and original sin. No Baby Dies And Ends Up In Hell. Babies are protected by God because they do not know what sin is. We have to be at an accountable age to be subject to hell, once we know we can sin that is when we need to get saved. And do not think that God does not know the difference between someone who ignorantly and deliberately sins, no matter what age they are.

BAPTISM DOES NOT SAVE OR HELP SAVE YOU
A favorite device of the Devil is to have man look to their works for salvation instead of Christ. False religion is controlled by the devil, he leads some to trust in their morality, some to depend upon church membership, some to depend upon confessions to a priest, some to believe baptism is crucial for salvation. That is a fatal mistake. Since baptism is a work, cannot be saved by our works, it in no way saves us from death and hell. "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:4-7

Why Have We Gotten It All Wrong? False Interpretation of The Scriptures
The bottom line in all this is that people are misinterpreting the Scriptures. Anyone can misread Scripture, but as we grow we learn the truth. Many false religions have twisted or even changed the Scriptures to make us think we are doing something right when it is actually wrong. For example Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38.

Some people think that this verse means a person must repent (believe in Christ) and be baptized by water in order to saved. What they fail to do is read all of the Scripture. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." - Acts 2:37-41.

We Will Break It Down:
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” - They heard the Gospel and asked what they must do to be saved.

“Repent, and ” - Repent means to admit they are sinners and Believe in Christ alone for their salvation.

“be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” - Now, this is not a water baptism this is being baptized in Christ.

“and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost..” - Once you get saved you immediately receive the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) in you.

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: ” - Then they who believed got baptized by water after they were saved.

Christians are supposed to be baptized as soon as possible after they are saved. Why? Jesus got baptized to receive the Spirit of God in Him. Yes, while Jesus is God in the flesh, He lived as an ordinary man for thirty-three years. He came to John the Baptist to be baptized, and it was then that He received (in human sense) the Spirit of God in Him. Another misinterpreted verse is one that Jesus said Himself, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." - Mark 16:16.

Many believe this verse also to mean that you must believe and be baptized to be saved, but this is also incorrect.

We Will Break It Down:

“He that believeth ” - Believes in His death, burial, and resurrection for their salvation.

“and is baptized shall be saved;” - This is another instance of baptized with the Spirit of God.

“but he that believeth not shall be damned.” - But those who do not believe are damned (condemned to hell).

People Saved in The Old Testament, Without Water Baptism
We have the record of many people in the Bible who were saved without water baptism, God has never had, but one plan of salvation. In the Old Testament it was "not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" In fact, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews tells us of case after case of people of the Old Testament times showing they had to believe in order to be saved. "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." - Acts 10:43. Every Old Testament sacrifice and ceremony was a picture and shadow and type of the Lord Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!"

Now, all of these Old Testament saints were saved without baptism, for there is not a word in the Old Testament about baptism and no record of a single person's ever being baptized before John the Baptist began it. Baptism, then, is not a part of God's plan of salvation.

People Saved in The New Testament, Without Water Baptism
Since people were saved in the Old Testament without baptism, you would expect them to be saved in the New Testament without baptism, and they were. In Luke 7:37-50 is the story of a woman, a notorious sinner. Verses 47 to 50 tell us plainly that her sins were forgiven her and that her faith had saved her. "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, ARE FORGIVEN; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, THY SINS ARE FORGIVEN. And he said to the woman, THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE; go in peace."

Jesus plainly stated that the woman was already forgiven and was already saved by faith. She knelt at the feet of Jesus, trusted Him, and went away a saved woman. She was saved without baptism.

In Luke 18:35-43 we are told about the healing and conversion of a blind man. Verse 42 tells plainly, in the words of Jesus Himself, just how he was saved: "And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE." 

Thief on Cross Saved, Without Water Baptism
The most remarkable case of this kind is the thief converted on the cross as told in Luke 23:39-43. When that poor man turned to the Lord Jesus and asked to be in His kingdom, the Lord Jesus replied, "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise"! He died that day on the cross as we are told in the Scriptures and so could not have been baptized. But that day, according to the express statement of the Savior, he went with Jesus to paradise. And some happy day, all who trust in Christ will see him there.