Do I need to get baptized to get to heaven?

[Never thirsty!]

I'm hydrophobic by webster's definition... Make that extremely hydrophobic I only drink water when I can't see it's water as in I put it in a shaded water bottle I can't swim cause I'm too scared to be even 5% submereged in water I get like Finn did in that one episode of adventure time if that's any help I freak out when I step into puddles the root word I hate water so much I never got a water pokemon and couldn't complet any pokemon games because I could never learn surf or waterfall or hydro(shudder)pump so why would I willingly submerge myself in water? If I can't do that but need to I fear I won't enter heaven.

[K. Ayato]

I believe baptism is not a requirement for salvation. While some might view it differently, each time someone got baptized in the New Testament, it was AFTER they repented and accepted Christ. Not before. So relax.

[seaglass27]

Within most Protestant traditions, baptism is not viewed as being what saves someone, but rather something that someone does after becoming saved to proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ is their Lord. It's an outward symbol of an inward happening. As long as you aren't avoiding baptism for the purpose of keeping your faith a secret I would say that you have nothing to worry about.

[K. Ayato]

^ What he said.

[DaughterOfZion]

Unless you have rabies, you don't have hydrophobia- you have aquaphobia. If you do have rabies, well...good luck.

[Xeno]

Do you have rabies?

[Never thirsty!]

I don't have rabIes so ok aquaphobic fine but either way I fear water a lot.

[ClaecElric4God]

Yeah, what OJ and K-chan said. I would highly recommend trying to get over your fear of water to a point where you can be baptized. But I'm not gonna twist your arm about it. It's not required for salvation, but it's still a part of your testimony. It's called for in the Bible.
But to answer your question, no, you don't need to get baptized to get to heaven. Basically, baptism is a command, but disobeying it isn't a sin unto damnation. Whether you put effort into getting baptized or not is really just a reflection of how serious you are about your walk with God, but has no bearing on whether you're saved or not.
Now that's just my two cents, so take it or leave it.

[Never thirsty!]

I really want to get baptized maybe if I just throw into the deep end and let myself sink down a few feet that would help a lot and the survival instinct would probably make me learn to swim which would be really good in ridding myself of this fear

[Rewin]

Or you'd drown, which isn't recommended. You don't have to be submerged for baptism, if you tell your pastor about your fear of water he'd probably just do a little water on your head.

[Mullet Death]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that if you've never been baptized, then you should recieve it. Don't know how much you're exaggerating your fear of water, but you can be baptized with just a bit of sprinkled water on top of your head.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Baptism doesn't mean anything. It's entirely symbolic.

Also how do you take showers???

[K. Ayato]

Maybe he was a victim of Hitchcock? Janet Leigh (of Psycho) was so affected by the infamous scene that she never took a shower again.

[Never thirsty!]

I take extremely quick showers and use the lowest water pressure possible so I'm not in the water for too long if you have to be rabid to be hydrophobic does that me the tail of a phospholipid has rabies I'm just saiyan (yes I know it was horrible but not as bad as algebra nothing's worse than algeba.) it's really weird I'm totally fine with rain but not any other form of water

[anlptgtsg]

I agree with most that baptism is not a way of salvation and is symbolic. I can't help but say it is a special thing when I read the part when Jesus was baptized.

lol at algebra. Math is my favorite subject

[Vilo159]

I differ from everyone else here, I believe baptism is a necessity for salvation, and has to be done correctly (full immersion in water). It is symbolic in nature, but still necessary.

If you truly desire to be baptized, I would suggest you pray for the strength and help from God to do so. Prepare yourself as much as possible, but then trust the Lord to take away the remaining fear. The Lord wants to make his children happy, I'm sure he would grant you the help you need.

[Xeno]

I differ from everyone else here, I believe baptism is a necessity for salvation, and has to be done correctly (full immersion in water). It is symbolic in nature, but still necessary.

Curious as to why you believe this. Is this a doctrine of the LDS church, and if so what is their reasoning behind it? The United Pentecostal Church believes the same thing that full immersion baptism is necessary for salvation, but they vary in that they don't believe there is any symbolism involved. They believe the act of baptism is what actually removes sin for the first time, so without it you are never really made clean.

[Atria35]

I really want to get baptized maybe if I just throw into the deep end and let myself sink down a few feet that would help a lot and the survival instinct would probably make me learn to swim which would be really good in ridding myself of this fear

No. Do not do this. Humans don't have a magical mysterious survival instinct when it comes to water and swimming, otherwise all those horrific tales of shipwrecks and sinkings wouldn't end with "and everybody died".

There are licensed counselors and therapists that deal with phobias, if you really want to get full-immersion baptized then go to one of them.

Also, some of this is dependent on full-immersion being necessary for your faith. First things first, if you go to a church, then go and talk to your pastor/preacher/whatever and ask him or her how your specific denomination and church handles baptism. If you don't have a church or denomination, then the easiest answer is "do whatever the heck you are most comfortable with" because the Bible never ever explicitly stated what kind of baptism was necessary or even if baptism in and of itself was necessary to begin with.

As you can clearly see, every denomination and church deals with it differently. There is no right answer.

[Vilo159]

I differ from everyone else here, I believe baptism is a necessity for salvation, and has to be done correctly (full immersion in water). It is symbolic in nature, but still necessary.

Curious as to why you believe this. Is this a doctrine of the LDS church, and if so what is their reasoning behind it? The United Pentecostal Church believes the same thing that full immersion baptism is necessary for salvation, but they vary in that they don't believe there is any symbolism involved. They believe the act of baptism is what actually removes sin for the first time, so without it you are never really made clean.

The short answer is yes, it is an LDS doctrine. Baptism washes away all sin from a person, and from that point they start with a clean slate. From there though, they must go through the normal repentance process. The symbolism is of the resurrection, and involves the death of the worldly, sinful life, and the rebirth of the person into a spiritual life. To my understanding, that's about as far as most churches go with baptism, which is why I understand why people wouldn't deem it mandatory. We have other things associated with baptism (making covenants, entering the church as an official member receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost) that make it more understandably necessary. PM me if you want more details.

I am aware that my view has lots of strings attached, so while I won't tell you (Never Thirsty) that its acceptable to just skip it or do it incorrectly, because I don't believe that, I will say that if you have a desire to be baptized, you should make an effort to do so, in what ever form that may be (like Atria said, ask your pastor or do whatever you're most comfortable with; my version of correct probably isn't yours). Seek as much help as you can on your own, and the Lord will help you from there if you ask.

[K. Ayato]

Why not just up and take swimming lessons? Atria is right. Essentially trying to drown yourself in the deep end of a pool is NOT the proper way to learn to swim. And who knows? Learning to swim may just end up being enjoyable and you'll come to realize there is no need to be terrified of water.

If I may ask, does this fear stem from something traumatic, or is it irrational? Either way, some counseling can't hurt.

[dothackzero]

I'm hydrophobic by webster's definition... Make that extremely hydrophobic I only drink water when I can't see it's water as in I put it in a shaded water bottle I can't swim cause I'm too scared to be even 5% submereged in water I get like Finn did in that one episode of adventure time if that's any help I freak out when I step into puddles the root word I hate water so much I never got a water pokemon and couldn't complet any pokemon games because I could never learn surf or waterfall or hydro(shudder)pump so why would I willingly submerge myself in water? If I can't do that but need to I fear I won't enter heaven.

[quote="NIV - John 3:16-17]16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.[/quote]

You just need to believe in Jesus like the verses say. As for baptized it's a representation of Jesus dying for a our sins(Getting dunked) and reviving(coming back up). You don't have to worry about being saved by works including baptism. The works come as side product of Jesus working within you, not something that you have force out.

[Never thirsty!]

The fear comes from me being at a swimming lesson and I got pushed and fell head first into the deep end(no idea why I would want to try going to the deep end again) sank to the bottom 20 ft pool there was a lot of pressure and obviously I had to hold my breath to the point I almost blacked out next thing I remember there's a lifeguard giving me CPR(the mouth to mouth kind)not pleasant. Especially because it was a guy and he needed a mint(that's me being nice)