A baptism is one of the few moments in church life where the whole congregation is watching a single person, and the words you read over them are the ones they will remember years later. The passage is doing real work: it tells the church what the water means and tells the candidate who they now are.
This guide gathers the Bible verses about baptism grouped the way a pastor actually reaches for them: the command of Christ, the baptisms recorded in Acts, the passages that explain what baptism pictures, the account of Jesus at the Jordan, and verses to give the candidate and their family. Each includes notes on when it fits and how to deliver it.
The Command and the Commission
The default reading at a baptism, and the right one if you only read one text. It names the authority under which you are acting, which is the whole reason the moment is not merely symbolic sentiment.
Ties belief and baptism together in one breath. Useful when the congregation includes people who have believed for years but never been baptized.
The first Christian sermon ends here, at the water. Verse 39 is the covenant text that paedobaptist traditions lean on; read the whole passage rather than clipping it.
Baptism in the Book of Acts
The Ethiopian's question, ‘what prevents me from being baptized,’ is the single best line to read over someone who has waited a long time to do this. It carries urgency without pressure.
Cornelius and his household, the moment the church discovered the door was open wider than it thought. Fitting when the person being baptized is an outsider to the church's usual circle.
The Philippian jailer. A household baptism at midnight, hours after conversion. Worth reading when a whole family is being baptized on the same day.
What Baptism Means
The passage that explains the picture. For an immersion, read verse 4 as it happens: buried as the person goes under, raised as they come up. Nothing else teaches the congregation as fast.
A one-verse version of Romans 6, useful when the service is tight or when several people are being baptized in sequence and you want a short text between each.
Frames baptism as clothing rather than washing. Lands especially well with someone whose testimony involves shame; they are not being scrubbed, they are being covered.
The hardest verse in the set and worth a sentence of framing if you use it. Peter's own clarification, ‘not as a removal of dirt from the body,’ keeps the congregation from hearing the water itself as the thing that saves.
The Baptism of Jesus
The Father's words over the Son at the water are the reason many pastors read this at every baptism. The congregation hears what God says over a beloved child, then watches it enacted.
Mark's shorter, faster telling, and the direct second person of ‘you are my beloved Son’ makes it the better read if you are speaking it over the candidate by name.
Verses for the Candidate and the Family
The most given baptism verse, and rightly so. Write it on a card with the date and the church's name; people keep these for decades.
For an adult candidate whose testimony involved a long turn. Written in the first person, so it reads as something the person can say back rather than something said at them.
For a teenager or older child being baptized. Speaks to the congregation as much as to the candidate, which is the point.
For reading over parents, whether at an infant baptism or a dedication. Names the ongoing work that the day is committing them to.
‘I have called you by name, you are mine’ is worth speaking over the candidate by their actual name. The water imagery in verse 2 makes it feel written for the moment.
How to Use These in a Baptism Service
Choose by what the moment needs to teach. If the congregation needs to understand what is happening, use Romans 6:3-5. If the candidate needs to hear who they now are, use Isaiah 43:1 or 2 Corinthians 5:17. If the church needs to be reminded why it does this at all, use Matthew 28:18-20. One text, chosen for one purpose, does more than three read in a row.
Believer's baptism and infant baptism call for different passages. For a professing believer, the accounts in Acts and the union texts in Romans and Galatians fit naturally, because they assume a personal turn to Christ. For an infant baptism or a dedication, the covenant language of Acts 2:39 and the parental charge of Deuteronomy 6:6-7 do the work, since the promises being named belong to the family and the congregation rather than to the child's own profession.
Read it at the water, not from the pulpit. A baptism text is not a sermon text. Say the words where the people can see the water, keep it to a few verses, and let the act carry the weight. Explaining the passage at length pulls attention away from the thing the congregation came to watch.
Speak the person's name into the verse. Isaiah 43:1 and Mark 1:11 are both written in the second person, so they can be spoken directly to the candidate by name. Doing that turns a general truth into something addressed to one person in front of witnesses, which is exactly what a baptism is.
Pair the scripture with their testimony. Ask the candidate ahead of time for one or two sentences about what changed, then choose the verse that names it. Someone who came out of addiction hears Romans 6 differently than someone raised in the church. The fit between the text and the story is what the congregation remembers.
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Start free →Frequently asked
What does the Bible say about baptism?
Scripture presents baptism as the commanded, public sign of belonging to Christ. Jesus commissions it in Matthew 28:19. Peter preaches it in Acts 2:38. Paul explains it in Romans 6:3-5 as union with the death and resurrection of Jesus, and in Galatians 3:27 as being clothed with Christ. The consistent picture is an outward act that publicly marks an inward reality.
What scripture should be read at a baptism?
Matthew 28:18-20 is the most common, because it names the authority under which the baptism is happening. Romans 6:3-5 is the strongest choice if you want the congregation to understand what the water pictures. For an immersion, reading Romans 6:4 as the person goes under and comes up is hard to improve on.
Is infant baptism scriptural?
Christian traditions read the same texts differently and have for centuries. Those who practice infant baptism point to the household baptisms of Acts 16:15 and Acts 16:33 and to the covenant continuity of Acts 2:39. Those who practice believer's baptism point to the pattern of belief preceding baptism in Acts 2:41 and Acts 8:36-37. Follow your own tradition here; both readings are held in good conscience by serious Christians.
What is the difference between baptism and a baby dedication?
A dedication is a parental vow and a congregational blessing over a child; it is not a sacrament or ordinance and claims nothing about the child's own faith. A baptism is the church administering the sign of the covenant or of professed faith, depending on tradition. Churches that practice believer's baptism generally use dedication for infants and reserve baptism for those old enough to profess faith themselves.
What is a good Bible verse to give someone being baptized?
Galatians 2:20 (“I have been crucified with Christ”) and 2 Corinthians 5:17 (“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”) are the two most given, because both name the change the water is picturing. For a younger candidate, 1 Timothy 4:12 fits well. Write the verse on a card with the baptism date; people keep them for decades.
What did Jesus say about baptism?
His clearest word is the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, where he ties baptism to making disciples of all nations and names the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He also submits to baptism himself in Matthew 3:13-17, telling John it is fitting “to fulfill all righteousness,” which is why the account of his own baptism is often read at a service.