What are your views on this? Does it matter where you are immersed in baptism, and who officiates your baptism? I am interested in your view of what was a hot issue for several months fifteen years ago. Selah!
I am a Primitive Baptist. Occasionally someone asks why Primitive Baptist rebaptize people who come to us from other faiths. This is a valid question that deserves to be answered with a clear explanation. A simple answer is: God's word indicates rebaptism was practiced by the early church. Paul rebaptized the people he met in Ephesus who knew only John's baptism. “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:4-5) Why did Paul rebaptized these people? The answer has to do with two requirements for baptism that relate to the message of the gospel and baptismal authority 1. Proper baptism occurs in response to conviction that is produced in believers when they hear the one true gospel. 2. The ordinance of baptism was given to the Church by Christ; and is administered by men in the church who are ordained by unbroken, successive generations of laying on of hands that began with Christ ordaining his Apostles. (Mark 3:14)
Evidently, the twelve who Paul rebaptized previously submitted to baptism based on an incomplete and thereby erroneous gospel. It also appears they were baptized by one who assumed authority based on John's ministry, rather than the charge to baptize that originated with Christ.
The narrative of the events which culminated with Paul rebaptizing the saints he met in Ephesus begins in Acts 18:24-26 with a description of Apollos' arrival and activity in that city. “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” This passage explains how Jews in Ephesus came to know about John's baptism. They learned about it from Apollos, who taught in the synagogue how John's message and baptism were in keeping with scriptural teachings and prophecies contained in the Old Testament.
Apollos' message, while containing good news, was not the true gospel inasmuch as it was incomplete. This is indicated by the reaction of Aquila and Priscilla when they heard his teaching. They “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines “perfectly” as “greater accuracy, more precision” The phrase “knowing only the baptism of John” suggests Apollos' understanding of scripture was limited to what he knew with respect to John's baptism and, by inference, John's message. If this is so, Apollos' teaching amounted to an incomplete gospel based on interpretations of Old Testament prophecy that were framed by his understanding of the message and activities of John the Baptist; but lacked accurate teachings about the salvation of sinners by the finished work of Christ Jesus.
Certainly, there was nothing wrong with John's ministry, message and baptism. He was God's messenger who said and did what God instructed. (Mark 1:2-8) But his calling and ministry were unique. God's word compares John to the Prophet Isaiah, as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” (Matthew 3:3) The entire focus of John's ministry was to prepare people to be disciples of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:3, Luke 1:17) He did this by announcing the arrival of the Messiah in His kingdom and calling on sinners to repent and be baptized. (Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:1-4)
John 1:36-37 provides a snapshot of the practical purpose of John's ministry. “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:36-37) John identified Jesus as the Christ, pointed his followers toward the Savior, and they became Jesus' disciples.
As God's Isaiah-like New Testament prophet John knew his own ministry would diminish and finally end as Jesus' public ministry began and increased to never end. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30); and “ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
The true significance of the good news of John's message could not be understood apart from the teachings and finished work of Jesus Christ. His message did not and could not, in light of John's death, present a Messiah who had finished the work He came to do. Nor did it even explain how Jesus would save sinners. It announced God's intention to save, but stopped short of pronouncing it accomplished by Christ's finished work.
The conclusion of John's ministry ended his authority to baptize. However the authority to baptize did not end with John. It continued by the authority of Christ when He gave this ordinance to His church. By a continuous succession, as indicated in the ordinations of preachers by laying on of hands, it will continue until the Savior returns.
Apollos knew only John's baptism. From which we infer he lacked details and understanding of the person and finished work of Christ Jesus. This left Apollos with an imprecise and incomplete message concerning God's purpose to save. This was not the same gospel preached in the New Testament Church to which Aquila and Priscilla belonged.
This brings us to Acts 19 and the account of Paul rebaptizing the twelve people at Ephesus. Like Apollos, they knew only about John's baptism. “And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.” (Acts 19:3) The fact these people had never heard of the Holy Ghost strongly suggests they had never heard the one true Gospel. Furthermore, it is likely they were taught John's baptism by someone other than John, since he preached Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 3:11)
Scripture does not state who baptized these individuals; but, it is unlikely they were baptized by John. Ephesus is more than a thousand miles from Jordan River where John baptized. Also, more than 25 years had passed since John's death. It has been suggested Apollos baptized them; but this is not stated in scripture. Regardless of who baptized them, scripture plainly indicates prior to Paul preaching the true gospel to them, they did not know who Jesus is and what he accomplished. “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:4-5)
What is clear is the twelve Ephesians, who knew only John's baptism, were rebaptized by Paul. They were rebaptized because their prior baptism was based on an incomplete and thereby inaccurate explanation of God's redemption of sinners. Also, inasmuch as the message they previously heard was incomplete, it is apparent whoever baptized them lacked New Testament Church authority to baptize, which was passed down from Christ to His church through the Apostles.
Acts Chapter 19 establishes the indisputable fact that rebaptism was practiced by the early church and also provides some insight into its practice. However, a more thorough examination of what the scriptures teach regarding water baptism is needed to better understand why Primitive Baptist churches rebaptize people who come to us from other faiths. God's Word reveals several topics that when considered together form the doctrine of water baptism. They also shed light on why the New Testament Church practices rebaptism. They include: One Baptism, Figure or Symbolism of Baptism, What Baptism Accomplishes, Proper Method of Baptism, Proper Authority to Baptize, Proper Candidates for Baptism
Brother Joe
