In Greek "baptizo" means "to immerse, cause to be dipped, to submerge, to overwhelm". To baptize something in water means to put it under the water. Therefore in the Biblical sense, to baptize a person in water literally means to put that person wholly under the water.

Water baptism for the Christian symbolizes and appropriates our death, burial and resurrection with Christ. It means identification with Christ.

"Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4).

It is clear then that the tradition of sprinkling people or pouring water on them does not symbolizes burial. Only immersion in water shows a true burial.

The practice of water baptism appears in the Bible first with the appearance of John the Baptist. "John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching baptism for the remission of sins. And all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." (Mark 1:4,5)

Baptism in those days was understood to be a rite of initiation into something new. Water baptism was a sign of adherence to the teachings of the respective teacher. John taught repentance for the remission of sins. Those who received his teaching had to repent (turn from sin), confess their sins (Mark 1:5) and "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:7,8). There had to be a change of heart before John would willingly baptize the people, coming to him for baptism.

Christian baptism is a dedication to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to be His disciple. (Mathew 28.19). To be baptized you must do something practical. You must humble yourself. In Christian baptism you must identify yourself with Jesus Christ. As He dedicated himself "thus to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15) so must you when you are baptized in water. You make a covenant with God to submit yourself to obey the Spirit of God to the point of death, dying to the deeds and lusts of the body and all that is old, to let the past be buried and to rise up to live to fulfill all righteousness - not through your old life but in the new life given by God.

In order to make this dedication, it is obvious that first there must exist real repentance in your heart. You must also have confessed your sins to God. With this baptism you commit yourself through the power of the new life of Jesus within you to "bear fruits worthy of repentance".