Many churches today do not place much significance on baptism. In the New Testament though we see when sinners trusted Christ they were baptized. The early church was made up of baptized believers. Baptism, though, has absolutely no bearing on one’s salvation. A person can be saved and go to heaven without ever going through the waters of baptism. The thief on the cross is an example of this. On the other hand a person may have been baptized but end up in hell if they were never born again.
Baptism is the believer’s public identification with the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Going down into the water and coming up out of the water pictures the believer’s death, burial and resurrection in Christ. Baptism pictures the believer’s denial of his past religion and the embracing of the true Christ. It pictures the believer’s submission to Christ for it shows the believer’s willingness to do what his Lord has commanded.
Believer’s baptism is just that, it is for believers. If you went through the ceremony of baptism in religion but yet you have come to see today that you were not truly saved at that time, then you need to be baptized. Nowhere in Scripture do we see babies being baptized or unbelievers. Again, baptism is for the believer who, in obedience to the Lord’s command, desires to publicly identify with Christ. What about you? Is this your desire? If so please let your pastor know so that he might make the arrangements necessary to be baptized.