[legion]

The way baptism was explained in my church (Lutheran) is like this:

Baptism is a gift from God. It doesn't save a child. It doesn't guarantee anything. There are no requirements one must meet to be baptized. The church just asks that only baptized people take communion.

I have never been baptized. The church my parents attended believed that baptism "marks" you as a child of God. They also believed that being baptized was a choice an adult made for himself/herself.