what about rebaptism?

Question

i was born and raised in a christan family. my dad was a deacon at the church and my mom volunteered when she could. i was just there. going to church was a chore to me. when i turned around 12 my mom bothered me non-stop about getting baptized. i gave in at 14 and got baptized, but for the wrong reasons.

im 17 and this year ive had a total make-over of my faith, i have a faith of my own now. my friends have helped me out alot including some teachers. but i always come back to one question, my baptism. was it real? if i died tonight where would i go? i did it for the wrong reasons, to get my mom off my back. i was pressured into at the time.

my family is against re-baptizing people. is there anywhere in scripture that it says its wrong? i want to do this, i want to do it for me, not for my mom, for me. i feel like something is missing in my life, and this is the missing puzzle piece. getting re-baptized for the right reasons. but why would my parents see anything wrong with it?

Answer 1

Your baptism doesn't save you. The fact that you were unsure about your faith at 14 is no reason to be rebaptized. However if it deepens your faith you can be rebaptized. There is nothing unscriptural about it. But there is something upscriptural about not honoring your parents. If they are against it you need to continue to talk to them about it and you continue to pray about it and maybe they will change their mind.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, this is the problem with anabaptist, reformed theology. It makes Baptism into something we as humans do to obey God (essentially that's making it into a Law), rather than something God does for us (the real Gospel). This always leaves you wondering if you've done enough.

It's good that the Holy Spirit has worked to mature your faith. But you have to remember it was not you who did the work at your Baptism. God does the work for this very reason, so you don't have to continually guess whether you were sincere enough, serious enough, holy enough, etc etc.

So it doesn't matter whether you "did it for the right reasons" or not. You were given all the gifts promised if you were baptized with water & in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. It doesn't even matter if the pastor who baptized you was secretly a heretic or not, because God does the work in Baptism.

If you were baptized with water & His Word, you are God's child, period. So it is wrong to be baptized again because you would essentially be telling God that the job He did the first time wasn't sufficient. What heresy that would be! Who are we to judge God?

If you want something real that you can touch, feel, smell, taste, to strengthen your faith, that is what God gave us His gift of Holy Communion for. It is something we are to do often, again & again for strength & sustanance during this life. Maybe this is what is missing in your life. Learn about it at www.lcms.org. What makes Communion effective is the hearing & believing of the Word of Christ that is connected with the bread & wine (Matt. 26:26-28).

Learn more about LCMS Lutheran theology at www.lcms.org >Belief & Practice

What About Sacrament of the Altar? (http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/wa_communion.pdf)

Answer 3

at the same time you were baptized. Jesus knows your heart now. he already washed away your sins. you may think you have done it for the wrong reason but the fact is you still were baptized. we dont believe in re baptism at all. unless we feel you were not properly baptized. put it plain we believe baptism in the name of Jesus. and if you were baptized any other way but are a member of our church they would preach and ask you to be baptized in Jesus name. however we dont force you too either. it would be your conviction. most churches baptize in the name of the father and son and holy ghost. anyways. i dont know if it actually talks about re baptism or not. i do not it talks about once you have been forgiven of your sins and baptized you cant do that again. you are already forgiven. you say sorry for what you do but you are already forgiven and have asked for that. when you do it a second time you are basically crusifying Jesus a second time.


i would just pray and ask God to guide you. and do what you feel is best and right.

Answer 4

baptism is not what saves...the blood of Jesus is what saves and the power of the cross...Baptism is an outward expression of your acceptance of Jesus..the submersion is symbolic of the death of your flesh and coming out of the water is symbolic of your new life in Christ. If it were up to being baptized the thief on the cross who Jesus promised would "see eternity that very day" would not have made it because he was not baptized after he repented. There is no place that I see in scripture that says it is wrong to re-baptize..so here is what I would do in your case..have a private baptism...you and a few of your christian friends can have it in a swimming pool. as long as you are understanding what salvation is and you are giving your life to Christ there is no certain place that it has to be done...many people did it in rivers. It is what is in your heart that matters, not traditions of man. God bless you

Answer 5

If you were born and raised in a Christian family, then supposedly you were "marked out" as one of God's own, as part of a covenant between God and his people. Baptism therefore belongs to God, not man, and you did participate in it at 14 years of age.

And now your faith has come to fruition, and you are still just as "marked" as you were at 14. However, if that is not your belief, that doesn't mean that I would not celebrate with you as you get dunked -- or re-dunked, for that matter. To you, you get truly baptized. To me, you get wet, but enjoy the experience.

But a question then, if you "backslide" or fall away from the faith, do you feel that you would need to get baptized yet again?

Answer 6

Many Christians would say that, 'technically,' you do not need to be re-baptized. But I would urge you to do it.

Jesus taught that believers should be baptized as an outward sign of their re-birth. OK, maybe technically you did that at age 14 - but there is absolutely nothing wrong with re-confirming your commitment and re-baptizing. I used to go to a Lutheran church )LCMS) where the pastor even was re-baptized and many of us were also.

I know of no scriptures that say it's wrong - there is something ain the Nicean Creed about "one baptism for the remission of sins" but that's basically saying 'once is enough," not "two is too many and sinful."

I would not get into the idea that we need to re-baptize every time we screw up - that's almost OCD...(if so I'd never dry out! )but it sounds like it would be a great thing for you to do as part of your growth in Christ.

Blessings to you.

Answer 7

The Bible is very clear about baptism. There are two points we all need to understand. (1) Baptism is to take place after a person has received Jesus Christ as Savior, trusting in Him alone for salvation. (2) Baptism is to be by immersion. The word baptize literally means to "immerse / submerge in water." Baptism by immersion is the only method of baptism that adequately illustrates what baptism symbolizes - believers dying, being buried with Christ, and being raised to newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).

With those two key points in mind, what about those who were baptized unbiblically? For the sake of clarification, let's divide this into two categories as well. First, in the instance of someone who was baptized before he/she became a Christian. Common examples of this are those who were baptized as infants, or those who were baptized later in life, but did not truly know Jesus as Savior when they were baptized. In these instances, yes, such a person definitely needs to be rebaptized. Again, the Bible states that baptism is post-salvation. The symbolism of baptism is lost if a person has not truly experienced salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

Answer 8

There's only one valid Christian baptism allowed per person.

If you were originally baptized with water in the the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you're OK forever.

Attempting to get baptized again would be an act that is very close to denying the power of the Holy Spirit ... and you don't want to do that.

Take up everything else with the Lord, in prayer.

Answer 9

Good for you! I'm soo happy to hear this! There is nothing in scripture (that I can find) that says you can only be baptized once, I say go for it.

I believe that you don't have to be baptized in order to get to Heaven, I think that just having faith in God is enough, but I was baptized anyway, just because it's like you're coming out and saying "look at me! I love God!" I think you should definitely do it again, especially because you want to so bad.

Answer 10

There is nothing wrong with rebaptising, to ease your mind.

At this time, honor your parents - as you are under their authority. When you move out - perhaps get married, then ask your church when you join (if you move) to baptise you.

The good thing is that Baptism is symbolic of the change in your relationship to Jesus Christ. It is representative of following HIm through death, burial , and resurrection to a new life! It is NOT a prerequisite for Heaven.

The main questions for you would be - Have you realized that you are a sinner, and have asked Jesus to forgive your sins, and come into your heart as Lord and Saviour?

If the answer is Yes, then at that moment, your name was written into The Lamb's Book of Life - never to be removed.

If you are to die tonight - see you when I get there!
If I die tonight - see you when you get there!

John 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly!
Jesus said it - believe it - and do not worry.

If sometime down the road you have the opportunity to be baptised, now that you know what you know, then do it.

But do not waste another minute worrying about it.

Blessings, O Theophilus! ( Lover of God)

Answer 11

Lots of churches allow you to be baptized again when you rededicate your life to Christ. The church I grew up in lets you do this ... it was part of the Missionary Church denomination, I don't know if that matters.

Anyway, your salvation doesn't depend on it, we're saved through faith alone, but we get baptized in order to fulfill a command God has given us. Were you to die tonight, you would go to heaven even if you had never been baptized. The Bible says, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" Romans 10:9.