In early times baptism were conducted in public places where family and friends could observe. This public witness marked the person as a follower of Christ. Though today baptism are often done in church buildings for convenience, a public statement still is a part of the meaning. The person who is baptized identifies with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The apostle Paul explained that baptism also symbolizes the believer's union with Christ: "or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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" (Romans 6:3-4).
Who should be baptized? Anyone who has received Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord should be baptized by immersion. Immersion in the baptismal waters symbolizes the end of the old way of life. Coming up out of the baptismal waters pictures the new life found in Christ. The person who was previously dead in sin has been made spiritually alive by the same power that raised Jesus from the grave. United with Him, the follower of Christ is released from the power of sin in order to obey God.