Once a person admits that he or she is a sinner and turns to Christ for salvation, the Bible says the watching world needs to know. Baptism has always stood as a kind of public test for people who have moved from being a seeker into being a believer.

Believers are those who have realized that their sin has separated them from God. They have given up all efforts to reach God through good works or religious activity. They have concluded that Jesus Christ's death on the cross for their sins is the only thing that can bridge the gap between them and God. A believer is someone who has decided to trust Christ alone for his or her salvation.

If you have come to this point in your spiritual journey, then you are ready to be baptized.

A word about infant baptism... If the purpose of baptism is to publicly identify a believer in Jesus Christ, you may well be asking yourself, "What was the significance of my baptism as a baby?" In the Bible, we find parents bringing their children to Jesus. He held them and prayed for them and told us to welcome them. But He did not baptize them, and He did not tell anyone else to baptize them. Baptism is for those who have made a personal decision to trust Christ alone for their salvation. If you were baptized as a child, it was the intent of your parents that you would one day be a follower of Christ. Your baptism as an adult can be viewed as the fulfillment of your parents' wishes. It in no way repudiates the baptism you received as a child.