Water Baptism:
Water baptism is the act of being immersed in water according to the commandment and instructions of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19). This ordinance has no power to wash away sins but is the answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). It is an outward expression of the inward change that has taken place in our life and represents the believer’s identity with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord (Romans 6:3–5).
Mark 16:16 further reinforces the necessity of this step of obedience: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.” On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter told those under conviction that they should “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
The Apostle Paul teaches us that through baptism the old life is put away and a new life emerges. He states that baptism is like a circumcision not done by human hands, but a circumcision of our sin nature, done by Christ.
"Your whole self-ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." (Colossians 2:11-12)
The Apostle Peter says that Christ paid the price to free us from sin. He stresses that baptism doesn't save us. Rather, it is the "resurrection of Jesus Christ" that saves us. He affirms that the act of water baptism is the pledge of a clear conscience towards God and through it we identify with the power of the cross and resurrection to deliver us completely from the power and authority of sin.
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." (1 Peter 3:18-22)