Baptism is an important step in every Christian’s life. In baptism, we are immersed in the water and raised again as a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Just as Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead, we are choosing to die to our old way of life and living a new life in Jesus.
You do not have to be baptized to go to heaven because baptism doesn't save you. Ephesians 2:8 says, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith." Baptism is an act of obedience, and a public declaration of faith for all Jesus has done for you.
The first thing we see is that Jesus Himself was baptized. "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented." Matthew 3:13-15
Jesus baptism was an expression of His solidarity with us and our plight with sin. Jesus' baptism was also a foreshadowing of what He would do for us on the cross. Jesus would take all of our sin upon Himself, die a horrendous death, and three days later rise again from the dead.
Acts 2:41 says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." There is no reason to put it off. If you wait until you feel worthy or good enough, or are simply waiting for the perfect time, you will never follow through on what Jesus has commanded you to do. When we get baptized, we are expressing our love and commitment to the One who paid in full the price for the wrongs that we have done.
The word "baptize" in the Greek is "baptizō" which means "to dip under". In the New Testament, every baptism was by immersion, including Jesus'. This is significant because baptism symbolizes the death, and resurrection of Jesus. When you go under the water, you are identifying with the death of Jesus and when you come up out of the water, you are identifying with His resurrection. Romans 6:4-5 says, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
If you were baptized as a baby, that baptism wasn’t wrong or evil; it was just your parents way of dedicating you to the Lord. When you get baptized the way the New Testament says baptism is to be done, you are seeing the fulfillment of their prayers back on that day.
In the New Testament, the only people who were baptized were those who understood for themselves that their sin separated them from God. They understood for themselves the price that was paid so that they might be forgiven, and they each made their own decision to be baptized.