Baptism

"Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19 NLT
-Jesus

Baptism Is an act of obedience after receiving salvation by faith in Christ. Baptism acknowledges the grace given to one through the death of Jesus Christ, while the act of being immersed in water provides a metaphor of one’s conversion [Col. 2:12]. It is an outward expression of an inward faith and does not save or enhance once status before God. When going down into the water it signifies our old life going down into the grave and being buried with Christ in his death. Rising out of the water signifies being raised with Christ in his resurrection and entering into a new life. In the Bible, the word for baptism means to plunge, dip and immerse. Jesus taught that one of the marks of a follower of Christ is that they will be baptized [Matthew 28:19]. The pattern revealed in the New Testament is that those who give a genuine profession of faith should be baptized (Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:12, 10:47-48, Rom. 6:3-4, Gal. 3:27)

The Evangelical Covenant Church affirms baptism as a sacrament. In this sense, it is a means of grace, so long as one does not see it as saving grace. The early church used this term to describe a public covenant oath to Jesus as Lord. It, however, believed that God alone was the author and sustainer of the biblical covenant. Thus it had to mean more than simply a loyalty oath. It proclaimed the power of Christ’s redeeming grace to both summon and seal that holy covenant. Thus baptism is both covenant and mystery.

This sacrament is a sign / symbol that points beyond itself to the gracious work of God in the one being baptized. Others have defined the term sacrament as a sacred action, a means of grace by which the message of the Gospel is brought forth into an individual life, or more simply put, a visible sign of an invisible grace.