Re-Baptism

[Salty]

If an individual in your church had been scriptually baptized in the past - and for whatever reason wanted to be re-baptized - would you / your church do so?

I am not referring to someone who thought they were saved in the past - and needs to be baptized.

This would refer to someone who may have backslid and needed to rededicate their life to the Lord, or other such situation.


Note: Just edited - I had initially put spiritually baptized - corrected to scriptural baptized.

 

[Reformed1689]

If an individual in your church had been spiritually baptized in the past - and for whatever reason wanted to be re-baptized - would you / your church do so?

I am not referring to someone who thought they were saved in the past - and needs to be baptized.

This would refer to someone who may have backslid and needed to rededicate their life to the Lord, or other such situation.

I'm not sure that Scripture actually speaks to the subject of rebaptism.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

No.

 

[Mikey]

Nope.

 

[Mikey]

Can you clarify what you mean by " spiritually baptized" ?

 

[JonC]

I'm not sure (new church for me). I've seen it done in the past, and I disagreed with it because it redefines baptism.

 

[Van]

Can you clarify what you mean by " spiritually baptized" ?

Since God only knows who are those He "spiritually" baptized into Christ, I expect Salty meant water baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Since I am in the OSAS camp, once God puts you in Christ spiritually, you will never need to be put in again. OTOH, water baptism is done by humans, so it could be done again and again. Once is enough to provide our public witness, and if we backslid, then walking the talk for a number of years provides witness of our devotion to Christ.

 

[37818]

. . . may have backslid . . .

". . . we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. . . ." -- Hebrews 10:39.

 

[Salty]

Can you clarify what you mean by " spiritually baptized" ?

I would if that is what I meant! Somehow I typed in the wrong word - should be scripturaly baptized

 

[Ziggy]

Last time I saw a "rebaptism" it was an already-baptized father who wanted to show "solidarity" with his kid who was then getting baptized on his profession of faith.

As I saw it, I was surprised the pastor allowed such a mockery of what "one baptism" should have meant.

 

[37818]

Last time I saw a "rebaptism" it was an already-baptized father who wanted to show "solidarity" with his kid who was then getting baptized on his profession of faith.

As I saw it, I was surprised the pastor allowed such a mockery of what "one baptism" should have meant.

While I agree that the "one baptism" refers to the believer's water immersion burial with Christ, it is not a matter of salvation, and a believer re-baptizing re-affirming it would not negate it being "one baptism." Not that I would agree to such a practice of re-baptism. But then there are cases that it ought to be done (Acts of the Apostles 19:3-5).

 

[Deacon]

1. It is not uncommon for some churches of the fundamental ilk (and like others) to not recognize the previous baptism of another church or denomination. Personally rather than be re-baptized I’d look for another church.

2. In a previous church a long term member confessed to the pastor that thought he only recently believed. He was re-baptized.

Baptism is not a rededication ceremony. Nor is it a place to draw attention to one’s self.

Rob

 

[Marooncat79]

I grew up in W KY and saw this all of the time

C of Christ. Def

Pentecostal of any type. Yes

Methodist. Yep

Presby Yep

Free Will Bapt. Yes Sir

General Baptists. Yes



At leadt, It artificially kept baptisms up

 

[Reformed1689]

So does anyone actually have any Scripture against rebaptism? I haven't seen any so far. I really don't have a position pro or against on this because I really don't think Scripture speaks to it unless I have missed something.

 

[rsr]

Either you have been baptized or you haven't.

I can see how one may have been baptized out of custom or peer pressure and later comes to see that he or she may not have really entered into baptism as a proper subject of baptism and wishes to experience credobaptism properly to publicly proclaim allegiance to Christ may want to undergo the ordinance again.

However, someone who wishes to undergo baptism for some salvific and sacramental reason doesn't understand baptism from a Baptist perspective. Baptism is not rededication; it can only be done once. For goodness sake, even the Latin Rite folks understand you can only be baptized once. (One of my beefs with the Primitive Baptists, BTW.)

While I'm on my soapbox, what's with Protestants who go to Israel to be "baptized" in the Jordan River? If they want to plunge in the river, do it, but it's not baptism; it's getting wet in commemoration.

 

[Reformed1689]

Either you have been baptized or you haven't.

I can see how one may have been baptized out of custom or peer pressure and later comes to see that he or she may not have really entered into baptism as a proper subject of baptism and wishes to experience credobaptism properly to publicly proclaim allegiance to Christ may want to undergo the ordinance again.

However, someone who wishes to undergo baptism for some salvific and sacramental reason doesn't understand baptism from a Baptist perspective. Baptism is not rededication; it can only be done once. For goodness sake, even the Latin Rite folks understand you can only be baptized once. (One of my beefs with the Primitive Baptists, BTW.)

While I'm on my soapbox, what's with Protestants who go to Israel to be "baptized" in the Jordan River? If they want to plunge in the river, do it, but it's not baptism; it's getting wet in commemoration.

Scripture reference?

 

[Dave G]

Scripture reference?

Mark 16:16.
Acts of the Apostles 2:38.
Acts of the Apostles 8:36-38.

...for starters.
Do a subject study on all the places baptism is found in Scripture, and I daresay you will only find one place where a person was ever baptized twice:

Acts of the Apostles 19:1-7.

Why?
Because they had only been baptized with the baptism of repentance from John the Baptist, and not in the name of Jesus Christ.


Scriptures against?
No.
Scriptures in favor?
No.

Scriptural precedent:

Not one of the apostles was ever baptized twice.
Jesus Himself was only baptized once.
No mention of anyone in any of the epistles ( excepting 1 Corinthians ) ever speaks about re-baptism as being customary, "required", or anything close.





One thing to add:

1 Corinthians 15:29, which I still can't quite figure out.

 

[HankD]

I was re-baptized, Don't remember my first "baptism", I was an infant

 

[Dave G]

I was re-baptized, Don't remember my first "baptism", I was an infant

Believer's baptism, Hank, to identify with your Saviour?

 

[rsr]

Come on, Hank. You were only baptized once; the first time you only got wet.

But this is a good opportunity to discuss baptism seriously. My late wife was baptized in the Latin Rite church and was even given Extreme Unction as a young child. But she was later baptized in a Baptist church upon her profession of faith. Guess which one was the biblical baptism.

I was baptized in a Baptist church upon a profession of faith when I was 7. I have often wondered if this was a Baptist version of infant baptism. No more. I know that I made an identification with Christ that, despite my defections in years since, continues to define everything that I do and want to become.