I believe that Jesus commanded us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that" He commanded (Mt 28:19, 20). I believe that He is with us always, even to the end of this age. I believe that the early church practiced water baptism by submersion from passages such as Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in which "the eunuch said "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?"...and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him" and then "they came up out of the water" (Acts 8:36, 37 38). I believe that water baptism is the desire of our Lord Jesus for every believer, but that water baptism itself does not "convey grace" and that it is not necessary for salvation, for salvation is the gift of God which is entered into by grace through faith and not through human works (Eph 2:8, 9) like baptism. In summary I believe water baptism is a sign or an outward indication of the inner change that has already occurred in the believer’s life by grace through faith and thus serves as a public identification with Jesus Christ, and a public testimony of the change that has occurred.