Should I Be Rebaptized?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The question — and baptism as the one-time new birth

• The question posed (a credentialed minister's question, relayed by the host): what, under what circumstances, is it appropriate for a person to be re-baptized? The minister specifically had in mind: if a person's been baptized in Jesus' name at some point in their life, is there a set of circumstances under which maybe they should consider being re-baptized in Jesus' name? And while addressing that: the biblical parameters for being re-baptized, regardless of how you were baptized the first time. His answer: again, this subject was addressed in my book, The New Birth — but to summarize it: we as Apostolics believe that water baptism is part of Christian initiation; it's part of Christian conversion; it's part of what we call the new birth, or the plan of salvation. So we see this in John 3:5: you must be born of the water, and you must be born of the Spirit. So we believe that being born of water is water baptism — not merely the act, but God removing our sins at water baptism. We also look at Acts 2:38: if someone truly believes the gospel, they should repent of their sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost — of the Holy Spirit. So in that context, when we talk about baptism of water, that's meant to be a one-time experience: at our initiation, conversion — at our new birth experience. It's not meant to be repeated. But it must be scriptural.
• So when we look at the minimal elements in Scripture — first of all, it's by immersion in water: that's the literal meaning of baptism in Greek. It's always in the name of Jesus Christ, as we've discussed elsewhere. But just to say: in the whole Bible, all the actual accounts of water baptism into the New Testament church are in the book of Acts. There are nine mentions of baptisms there; only five mentions that include a baptismal formula — in every case it's the name of Jesus: so Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 19, and Acts 22 — in every case it's by the invocation of the name of Jesus. So, to be scriptural, then, a Christian baptism should be by immersion in water, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are two conditions: faith and repentance — and of course we see repentance there in Acts 2:38.

Scriptures: John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 2; Acts 8; Acts 10; Acts 19; Acts 22

When the one baptism suffices — and the two defects that warrant rebaptism

• So my answer is this: if you had faith in Jesus Christ — your baptism an act of faith — and you repented of your sins, at least to your knowledge at that point, and you were baptized in water by immersion, with the invocation of the name of Jesus — specifically Jesus as our Lord, Lord Jesus Christ — then that one baptism suffices. You don't need to be baptized again. However, if you did not have repentance or faith, you should be baptized — because we don't really believe that original baptism was valid. So we don't accept infant baptism: so if you baptize an infant, even if it's in the name of Jesus, you should be re-baptized upon personal faith and repentance.
• Likewise, if the name of Jesus was not invoked, we have a very clear precedent of Acts chapter 19: there were some disciples of John who had been baptized by John. He baptized in water by immersion; he required repentance of sins; his baptism was God's will for that time. Yet the Apostle Paul, when he found out they didn't really know about the Holy Spirit — they didn't really understand that John's baptism pointed toward Jesus — he baptized them a second time. And the only difference was their new understanding of Jesus, and actually invoking the name of the Lord Jesus — but that was sufficient to require rebaptism. So anybody who has not been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ: they should be baptized in Jesus' name.

The childhood baptism: memory, pressure, and genuine child faith

• So now, getting to the bottom line: what if someone was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ — perhaps, typically, the example might be as a child — and then later, as an adult, they will come? Usually one of two cases. One case: they might say, well, I don't really remember my baptism; I was a small child; I don't really remember the significance. Well, I would talk to them and say: if you were just being baptized because your parents said so, or peer pressure, or just imitating what other people — that are scared of going to hell — but you don't remember actually believing Jesus, you don't remember repenting of your sins, then I will consider rebaptizing you. But we're not asking for an adult level of faith and repentance: you don't necessarily have to have an adult comprehension of what all sin might mean. Even adult new converts don't have a full understanding of sin or holiness — but they have an attitude of repentance of what they know. So if, as a child, you were baptized, you really did have faith in Jesus Christ as your savior, you really did want to live a holy life, and you were sorry for your sins — they're lying, or rebelling against their parents, or whatever — if you had a genuine faith and repentance, you should rely on that. But if you look back and you say: I don't remember any of that; I don't think I did; or, I know I didn't — I know I was just doing it because somebody told me to — well, then we will consider rebaptism.

The backslider: renewed to the original experience, not reborn

• The other example is: someone backslides and goes into sin. And I would say: but wait a minute — go back to your original baptism. Was it genuine, as we've already described? If so, you just need to be renewed to that experience. You can't be born again, again — you just need to be renewed to your original new birth experience. And so a good example is in Acts 8, when Philip baptized the Samaritans: obviously they would have repented; the Bible says they believed. Well, Simon the Sorcerer was one of those who was baptized. Now, there's no indication that his original baptism wasn't legitimate, or that he didn't have faith and repentance. But when Peter and John laid hands on people and they started receiving the Holy Spirit, then Simon said: hey, I want to be able to do that — I'd like to pay money where I could buy this power, where I could lay hands on people, they'd be filled with the Spirit. Apparently they were speaking in tongues, and he saw this miracle. Peter (he corrects himself from 'Paul') rebuked him and said: you need to repent of your wickedness; you can't buy or sell the Spirit; you've got a wrong attitude — repent. So he didn't say: get baptized a second time. It seemed like he was just saying: you need to repent, and be renewed to where you were when you first were baptized. And that's what I would tell people: even if they lived a life of sin, you don't technically need to be born again, again. Once you're born, you're born.
• Now, you know: a child is born — I have three children; we can never erase the fact that they were my kids. Now, if they repudiate the family, and they turn against us, and refuse to come to family dinners, break off all contact — well, they won't have the benefits, and they could be disinherited or disowned. They can't be unborn — but they can be disowned, or disinherited. So I would say: a backslider is not unborn — but they aren't living in the benefits. And if they die in that condition, they won't inherit the eternal benefits. So, to correct that: they can't be reborn — but they can be restored to their original experience. So technically they're not being baptized in water again; they're not being baptized in the Holy Ghost again; but they're being renewed to their original new birth experience. So just because they feel guilty of their sins, the solution is to repent of their sins — not to be re-baptized a second time.

A rare case, the Jordan River, and the blood that covers forward [captured text ends mid-sentence]

• Now, I've dealt with a very rare case: someone who grew up in an Apostolic church, was baptized in Jesus' name as an adult; he converted to Trinitarianism, so they re-baptized him in the Trinity. So then he comes to me, now feeling remorse and coming back: should he be baptized again? Well, technically, if his original baptism was valid — and if Trinitarian baptism was not valid — it couldn't cancel out a valid baptism. However, for the sake of his own conscience, and for the sake of his testimony — because if he's talking to other people, he needs to have confidence that he's baptized correctly — I said: look, I will baptize you privately in Jesus' name — not to say your original baptism was invalid, or not to say that Trinitarianism could cancel your baptism, but to say: I want you to be able to testify with a clear conscience that you have obeyed what you profess, and so you wouldn't have doubt, and so you could witness to other people with confidence. And so I did re-baptize him in Jesus' name — but that's obviously a very rare set of circumstances.
• To summarize: I think we need to value water baptism very highly. Sometimes I've been on a trip to the Holy Land; people want to get baptized in the Jordan River. I said: wait a minute — there's nothing sacred about the land or the river. Your baptism is valid; you can't be baptized a second time for the remission of sins. Now, if you want to just have a symbolic reenactment, I guess I'm okay with that — but let's not call it really a baptism, because you're almost insinuating that this is better, or that yours is not good enough, or it doesn't last. So I've discouraged them from getting baptized if they've already been baptized in Jesus' name. I don't care where it is — it's just as valid.
• But I will summarize it — people saying: well, if you're baptized for the remission of sins, well, if you had a number of other accumulated sins, especially very grievous ones, or you backslid, shouldn't you...? And here's what I say: when you're baptized, upon repentance and faith, the blood of Jesus Christ moves backward to cover all of your past sins that you've repented of. But likewise, the blood of Jesus Christ moves forward to cover all sins that you do repent of in the future. So if you have unrepented sin in your life: no, it doesn't cover it. But once you repent, that one baptism is sufficient. So, to summarize: if someone has a guilty conscience, the solution is a genuine repentance. But if someone concludes: I never had faith to start with, when I was baptized — or I never had repentance to start with — then I would consider [the captured text ends here, mid-sentence; the answer's closing words and the podcast outro were not captured — see the coverage flag on the record; nothing has been invented to fill the tail]

Scripture index: John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 2; Acts 8; Acts 10; Acts 19; Acts 22.