The argument for water baptism as a necessity to enter heaven, aside from one's belief in who Jesus was, is based on Jesus' answer to Nicodemus' on how one had to be "born again" to see the Kingdom of God. Jesus answered Nicodemus, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit (or born from above)." - John 3:5. Jesus and his disciples are said to have baptized those who accepted him and his teachings, though apostle John makes it clear that Jesus himself did not baptize anyone, rather his disciples did. - John 3:22 & 4:2. After Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, the "Great Commission" that he gave his eleven disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) included baptizing new believers from all nations with water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20. Finally, supporters for water baptism point to the baptism of Jesus himself, that he set the example for his followers.
John the Baptist's water baptism was to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord and bear witness to the person of Jesus, the Messiah. Apostle Paul said "John's baptism was to demonstrate a desire to turn from sin and turn to God." - Acts 19:4. Then there was a prophecy in the Old Testament by Isaiah as we read in Isaiah 40:3-5. The Baptist himself said, "I didn't know he (Jesus) was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Son of God (or the chosen one of God)." - John 1:31-34. Jesus took the water baptism of John the Baptist to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy that I mentioned earlier. It could have served no other purpose in the case of Jesus, for he was the sinless "Son of God," "the Lamb of God" who takes away the sin of the world! - John 1:29.
John said that while he (John) baptized with water, one greater than him was coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, John 1:33. When Jesus answered Nicodemus that one had to be born of the water and the Spirit, he elaborated more on the rebirth occurring in a person resulting from the Holy Spirit. "Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." - John 3:6-8. One could argue that the "Great Commission" was for the apostles to go into the world and make new disciples of Jesus Christ who were then to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Paul himself upon his conversion from a Pharisee persecuting Christians to a believer of Jesus Christ was baptized, giving credence to the "Great Commission." - Acts 9:18. We don't read of any of the first apostles as having taken the water baptism.
Does a Christian need water baptism? If so, does it matter whether the person was baptized as an infant or as an adult? To answer these questions I think it's important to define who is a Christian. Being born into a Christian family does not make one a Christian, anymore than a democrat or a republican is one born into such a family. Apostle Paul when addressing the Jews in Rome says, "For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people." - Romans 2:28-29.
To be a Christian is a conscious personal decision one makes to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for one's sins and rose up on the third day and ascended to heaven to be seated on the right hand of the Father as the intermediary for mankind. Taking water baptism is a first step towards a life long public testimony of one's decision to be a follower of Christ and his teachings. Can an infant make that conscious decision? No, so I would rule out the significance of infant baptism as nothing more than a religious ritual.
Would a follower of Christ not be able to enter heaven having not taken water baptism, the answer to which seems to be in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God." - John 3:14-18. More than a physical action, faith in the redemptive power of Jesus seems to be the key. This is seen in Jesus' pardon of the penitent thief on the cross.
But then why not be as the Ethiopian royal official on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza to whom when apostle Philip preached the Good News about Jesus, upon coming to some water on the road side said to Philip, "Look! There's some water! Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him." - Acts 9:26-36. On a personal note, I was born and raised in a Christian family belonging to a denomination that practices child baptism. My family and I made personal conscious decisions and took water baptism as a first step of our public testimony to follow Christ.
The wise King Solomon concluded, "But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting! Here is my conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person." - Ecclesiastes 12:12-13.
Hillsong United - I surrender
