Water baptism is a fundamental requirement, it cannot be ignored by any true believer. It is nearly impossible to begin a meaningful relationship with God without water baptism. Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, ask the Lord to plant you in a local Church. A local Church does not mean the Church nearest to your house. It simply means the Church where God directs you to, where you can be of service to Him whilst by His Holy Spirit He is also building you up in your relationship with Him through the apostolic and pastoral ministry of the leaders of that Church.

Because God knows you better than you know yourself, because He has certain plans for you as part of His redeemed people, God will direct you to a Church where you can be nurtured and equipped for every good work that He intends for you to carry out in His kingdom. God’s choice of Church for you may not be near your home at all. You must be sensitive to the leading of God’s Spirit, you will know where He wants you to worship Him because He will give you plenty of signs that you are there. Some of the signs that you are in the Church that God intends for you will include:

• A feeling of inward peace and conviction that you are where God wants you to be
• A feeling that you are in the right family environment (because the Church is actually a family of Jesus Christ)
• An awareness of belonging and learning and growing
• An awareness of being wanted and needed and valued
• An awareness that the pastoral and apostolic ministry in the Church caters for the needs of the whole Church
• An awareness of the signs and demonstration of answers to prayer, of God’s presence
• Amazing testimonies of God’s impact upon the Church and Church members
• Your own personal experience of breakthroughs and spiritual growth

You must submit yourself to water baptism in that Church, if you have not been previously baptised or you were baptised as an infant, or you were baptised in another Church when you did not actually know the meaning of baptism and, therefore, you did not make any strong or genuine commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Clearly, if you were previously baptised in water and your life did not change and you simply carried on with your old life, then you need to be baptised anew!

Water baptism is required for the following reasons:

• You only submit yourself to it due to a strong conviction and commitment that you no longer want to carry on sinning against God but you have repented, you are genuinely sorry for your sins and you want to start being obedient to God in every aspect of your life
• You are publicly identifying with the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, affirming that by His death on the cross Jesus paid the penalty for your evil doings, and by His resurrection from the grave, He gave you the hope of eternal life
• You are declaring to everyone that your old life of rebelliousness against God is over, you have moved from the camp of Satan into the camp of God; you are now willing and ready to accept the lordship of Jesus over every aspect of your life
• You are making a public vow, an absolute promise that you will accept the authority of your Church, especially, the authority of your Pastors, in working together with them in order to ensure that the mission committed to them by the Lord Jesus Christ can reach as many people as possible for the sake of His kingdom
• You are confirming that you understand that your relationship with God is for your entire lifetime, and you will keep this broad picture in view no matter what you face during your lifetime.

These are the reasons why nobody must be forced to undergo water baptism. Parents must not push or force their children to accept water baptism. When someone is not ready but they are “pushed” or “pressurised” to undertake water baptism, it always ends in disappointment.

Also, these reasons show plainly why infants do not require water baptism, neither do young people who are not of age or of strong conviction or commitment. Our Lord, Jesus Christ Himself, was baptised aged about 30 years. Although He did not need to be baptised as a sign of repentance (which is why we need to be baptised), He submitted to baptism as a sign of His commitment and relationship to the Father, His willingness to undertake the mission that His Father had given to Him, a mission that included dying on the cross like a criminal in order to pay the penalty for all our sins. This is what happened when the Lord was baptized:

Matthew 3: 13-17: Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."