Throughout the New Testament, we hear the call to believe and be baptized. Baptism, commanded by the Lord Jesus, publicly and outwardly declares an inward spiritual reality. In baptism, each person affirms what is already true by faith: Jesus has saved them. In a way we can see with our eyes, baptism pictures our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, showing that the Christian has been raised to new life, forgiven, and washed clean.