WATER BAPTISM: We believe that Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church: water baptism¹⁰⁵ and the Lord's Supper¹⁰⁶. The Bible teaches that after repenting of one’s sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation a believer should be baptized through their immersion in water. In the New Testament church, every believer was commanded to be baptized¹⁰⁷. Baptism symbolizes the following:
1. Cleansing and forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16)
2. The New Birth (John 3:5)
3. Circumcision of the Heart (Colossians 2:11-12)
4. The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:3-5)*
5. Salvation (I Peter 3:21)
*Immersion in water is the only physical act that pictures this so beautifully and accurately.

105. Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16
106. I Corinthians 11:23-26
107. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12