Why am I a Baptist?
I am congregationalist as far as church polity goes and as far as baptism goes I am credo-baptist, which in laymen's terms means that I believe in believer's baptism by submersion.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
—Ephesians 4:4-5

Like Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul, I believe that credo-Baptism (viz. believer's baptism) is the proper ordinance of baptism instituted by the church and practiced by the Apostles.

The Reformers on Baptism
Though, many Reformers continued to practice the doctrine of paedo-baptism (viz. infant baptism) or baptism by sprinkling as was the practice in the Roman church. However, many among those prominent Reformers readily conceded that baptism by immersion was the ancient, apostolic and established mode of baptism. Martin Luther wrote: "Baptism is a sign both of death and resurrection. Being moved by this reason, I would have those that are baptized to be altogether dipped into the water, as the word means and the mystery signifies." The respected church history chronicler Philip Schaff avowed, "Luther sought to restore immersion, but without effect" (History of the Christian Church. Vol. II, p. 251). Although, John Calvin admitted infant baptism by sprinkling was among the proper modes, he asserted that baptism by submersion was the practice of the early church and the Apostles. Calvin wrote: "The very word baptize, however, signifies to immerse; and it is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient Church" (Institutes of the Christian Religion. Book IV, Chapter XV). William Tyndale proclaimed belief in believer's baptism, declaring, "Baptism was a plunging into the water. Baptism to avail must include repentance, faith, and confession. The Church must, therefore, consist of believers." Surprising to many modern Methodists, John Wesley, founder of Methodist movement, practiced baptism by immersion. Commenting on Romans 6:4, in his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament (1755), Wesley wrote: "We are buried with him–alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion."

Baptists on Baptism
Finally, I offer no apologies for being a believer's baptist adherant, for it was the mode of the early church, and an ordinance practiced by John the Baptist. As A.W. Pink says,

This is the name which God gave to the first man who He called and commissioned to do any baptizing. He named him John the Baptist. Hence, real Baptists have no reason to be ashamed of or to apologize for the Scriptural name they bear.
—A.W. Pink, "The Churches of God," Studies in the Scriptures, (Dec. 1927), p. 5.

While I was raised in a Congregational Christian church, if I were to move out of town, in all likelihood I would settle in a sound Baptist church.

C.H. Spurgeon, the Baptist Prince of Preachers from London, once said,

We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther and Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man...

There is a modicum of truth to this statement as there have always been adherants to believer's baptism throughout Christendom, throughout its history from Christ's time, and long before the Reformation and they persisted in isolated quarters even in the days of Papacy's ironclad supremacy over Europe. Though some of my ancestors admittedly tried to reform the Church of England, but I have good reason to concede that those ancestors were probably beholden to paedo-baptist doctrine. I cannot maintain my Christian forefathers were all Baptists. Eventually, their posterity opted to become Puritan Congregationalists and leave the established Anglican church, particularly the branch of the family that made passage to America, and those Christians in my lineage became Baptists for the most part as well.

An interesting side note: many parishes within the Orthodox church insist on baptism by submersion, and the Orthodox claim that their traditions proceed those instituted by Rome. So, this is another monkeywrench for those who seek to appeal to the antiquity of paedo-baptism as doctrine.

What Baptism Represents
Please read John Piper's John Piper Series on Christian Baptism for a clearly articulated in-depth elucidation of baptism. Simply put, the ordinance of baptism is symbolic of cleansing, putting off the old man, and being buried and raised in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
—Colossians 2:12

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
—Romans 6:3-4

We obey the ordinance because we seek to please God, and to reflect upon the new man, but it is by no means requisite for salvation.

We Baptists do not believe in any notions of baptismal regeneration, which we find to be a rather baneful works-righteousness doctrine opposed to Scripture. I've heard the infant baptism rebuttal on occasion, "Those baptists think that droves of water shall save them." That is a straw man argument. No Baptist believes that. Granted, some Baptists have offered weak attacks on paedo-baptists using a similar line of reasoning. It's not the church you need, it's not the sacraments you need, it is Christ's blood and Christ's blood alone that saves the soul!!! Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, and Christ alone.

I remain unmoved by those brands of covenant theology that presuppose that the ordinance of baptism, supposedly was put in place to directly supplant the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenant seals of circumcision. It's just blatant eisegesis. Besides, baptism is for all believers, not just males. There is nothing explicit in the Scriptures giving credance to infant baptism as an established Apostolic mode. It's a Papal contrivance. I've heard some pretty shoddy arguments from certain Presbyterians who happen to be absolute dogmatists about the validity of infant baptism, and the invalidity of believer's baptism. Whereas many Reformers who accepted the validity of infant baptism readily acknowledged that baptism by submersion was the mode of the early church, these Presbyterians go so far as to deny Jesus was even baptized by submersion (Luke 3:15-17). By far some of the more comical rebuttals is hearing that when Jesus went down to the River Jordan, he was merely sprinkled from afar along the banks. Jesus and John the Baptist were not hydrophobic! I grant that merely because baptism by submersion was the established ancient mode, it doesn't de facto make infant baptism invalid for that reason alone. However, why set yourself up for a fall like that? Admittedly, there are more reflective thinkers who make cases for covenental infant baptism, but I remain unpersuaded.

The Meaning of Baptism
The word "baptize" is translated from the original Greek/Koine word "baptizo", which means to immerse. "Baptizo" does not mean to sprinkle, the act of sprinkling, or the act of pouring. God would have inspired the New Testament writers to use the Greek word "rhantizo," if he meant sprinkling to be the proper mode. So there is your big rebuttal, when you paedo-baptists say, "Oh yeah, well believer's baptism isn't mentioned explicitly either." The word baptism means submersion! Duh!

Baptists criticized for infant dedications...
Some infant baptism adherants have a penchant for mocking public infant dedication in evangelical churches, which is admittedly not an Apostolic ordinance! Why must one ritualize everything anyway? And what Baptist ever said it was? Joshua 24:15 says, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The faithful have long dedicated their children to God, and pleaded for their salvation, and for God's blessing in their lives. Hannah dedicated the prophet Samuel after all. There is nothing wrong with dedicating a child whether in public or private, assembled with a family in prayer, or husband and wife pleading for God's blessing in their children's lives—or in public profession amongst a congregation. The dedication means that the parents commit themselves to raising their child in the ways of the Lord, and pleading for blessing and protection upon the life of that child. That is essentially what these infant baptism adherants do with infant baptism, and only to turn around and mock us for not using their presupposed requisite sprinkling of H20. I shall dedicate my future posterity to Christ, and ask for his blessing upon their lives, and wisdom as I commit myself to raising them in fear and admonition of the Lord. I have already prayed for them before.

The Closing Salvo

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
—Mark 1:9-11

Believer's baptism is biblical! "Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized" (Jhn. 3:23). Now, why did John the Baptist want to goto place with "much water" to perform baptism? "...And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38). Again, why go down to the water to perform baptism? Sprinkling and pouring merely requires that one bring the water to the person being doused with water. Notice the following verse, "Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away... and he went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39). In order that that man come up out of the water, he first had to be submerged down into the water.

Finally, just read Luke 3:15-17; Luke 3:21-22; Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:4-11; John 1:29-34 if you need an added baptismal doctrinal lesson.

Yeah, one has to lift weights and freebase creatine to be a Baptist preacher... some of these baptizees aren't featherweights you know. Yes, we could take the easy way out like those hydrophobic denominations like Episcopalians and Presbyterians, but we're sticking with the Bible's way.

As for concern whether other modes of baptism are Biblical, it's not my concern, and I won't speak to the matter, but I will, however, embrace the mode of baptism established by John the Baptist, the Apostles and the early church—which is believer's baptism by submersion.

Related Articles:
Pro-Credo-Baptist
A Scriptural Critique of Infant Baptism by John MacArthur
An Exposition of Acts 2:39 and Infant Baptism by John Reisinger
The Ancient Mode of Baptism by John Gill
An Introduction to Christian Baptism by W.J. Seaton
Baptism—A Burial by C.H. Spurgeon
Baptism: A Matter of Obedience by John MacArthur
Series on Christian Baptism by John Piper

Pro-Paedo Baptist
Granted, since I have alluded to some of the weaker arguments made by Presbyterians I shall be even-handed and reference some of their more thoughtful and reflective theological arguments vindicating infant baptism, least I be guilty of erecting the same straw man arguments that I have seen some of them doing in attacking believer's baptism.

A Case for Infant Baptism by Rev. Scott J. Simmons
Candid reasons for renouncing the principles of anti-paedobaptism by Pastor Peter Edwards
Covenant Baptism: I Will Be Your God and Your Children’s God by Dr. R. S. Clark
Covenantal Infant Baptism: An Outlined Defense by Gregg Strawbridge


Credits
(Baptismal picture above is from River Springs Church baptismal service.)