When to re-baptize? Need some advice.

[Jim1999]

I conducted classes after conversion experiences and before baptism.

Guess I learned that in the Church of England where I grew up and first ministered.

I think it works.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[dcorbett]

discipleship classes are a must...we have them at our IFB church.
It is where a new believer can ask all the questions and get good
answers from mature Christians.

Our Pastor spends a lot of time convincing members to not doubt their
salvation - not to second guess themselves.


And my Southern Baptist baptism was when I was 13....and it is the
only baptism I will ever want or need, because it is only a picture of what
happened in my heart. As my former Pastor would say....you can drown
in a baptistry and still go to hell. Baptism doesn't save you. :type:

 

[Old Union Brother]

......or as a minister I know quotes...you can go in the water a dry sinner and come out a wet hypocrite.....

 

[glazer1972]

I would not baptize the sister until she joined a local like believing congregation and upon said congregations approval of me performing said ordinance.

I would not baptize the BIL until the above plus his admission that he was not saved when he was administered the ordinance before.

 

[DiamondLady]

..., yet most Baptists I have known who had any age on them were baptized at least twice, me included. The reason was almost always because they doubted their earlier salvation experience after lapsing into sin in their late teens and early twenties.

I may actually win the award...I've been baptized THREE times! I was saved at 9 and followed the Lord in Believer's Baptism. As I grew older I'd hear preacher's say how if you were saved there were "dramatic" changes in your life, and that they knew that they knew, how they were "looking forward to death and going to Heaven". Well, NONE of those applied to me and the doubts began. There were no dramatic changes in MY life...I'd never done anything to dramatically change! I certainly wasn't looking forward to dying and going to Heaven, and I didn't know that I knew. I was a kid...I didn't know much of anything at all!

As a teenager I continued to be faithful in church, and yet those doubts grew. When I began asking questions I was told I wasn't really saved if I had those questions....so once again I asked Jesus into my heart and was baptized, but those doubts never left me...I still didn't have answers to any of those doubts. I still hadn't had any dramatic change (I'd never stolen, murdered, smoked, drank...what could I change from?) etc.

After I had my oldest son I wanted to get it right with the Lord...so yet, once again I walked the aisle, prayed, got saved and was baptized. I still didn't understand the preacher saying he looked forward to death and heaven, still didn't see any dramatic turnabouts and still didn't know how to know that I knew.

Three salvations, Three baptisms...which one???? One day, while reading my Bible I came across...."my sheep hear my voice." WAIT ONE SECOND! I heard his voice all the time! I KNEW THAT I KNEW!

So when was I saved? At 9? At 17? at 25? Which baptism counted? I decided it didn't matter.

Now, I understand when a preacher says he's anxious for Heaven...this world is not my home and I get it completely. I've still never had any "dramatic" changes in my life...but then not everyone is an alcoholic or drug addict..but I do KNOW THAT I KNOW!

Sit your BIL down and find out WHY he thinks he needs to be rebaptized.

 

[Tom Butler]

I suspect Diamond Lady's story happens more than we think.

A similar thing happened to someone very close to me. He began to doubt his conversion as a nine-year-old.

This is a tricky situation. I think it's dangerous to try to convince a doubter that their original experience was real, when, in fact, those doubts may be valid.

So, I told him, "I don't think I can help you with that. What I do want to know is where are you right now?"

"I love the Lord with all my heart," he said. "I trust him for my salvation."

I said, "then, let's don't worry about what happened years ago. If you want to be baptized, that's up to you. Only you can make that decision."

Eventually, he did decide to ask for baptism, and the matter has not come since.

The fact that this situation comes up way too often suggests that we ought to be clearer in our witness to the gospel. It happened to three deacons in our church, which makes me wonder what "plan of salvation" they heard?

 

[pilgrim_99]

Tom (and others),

Do you think that a contributing factor may be folks getting baptized very young (some as young as 4 or 5 today) and sometimes not knowing much more than "I love Jesus and I don't want to go to hell?"

Getting baptized young seems to be a common thread in a lot of these posts.

I suspect Diamond Lady's story happens more than we think.

A similar thing happened to someone very close to me. He began to doubt his conversion as a nine-year-old.

This is a tricky situation. I think it's dangerous to try to convince a doubter that their original experience was real, when, in fact, those doubts may be valid.

So, I told him, "I don't think I can help you with that. What I do want to know is where are you right now?"

"I love the Lord with all my heart," he said. "I trust him for my salvation."

I said, "then, let's don't worry about what happened years ago. If you want to be baptized, that's up to you. Only you can make that decision."

Eventually, he did decide to ask for baptism, and the matter has not come since.

The fact that this situation comes up way too often suggests that we ought to be clearer in our witness to the gospel. It happened to three deacons in our church, which makes me wonder what "plan of salvation" they heard?

 

[DiamondLady]

Tom (and others),

Do you think that a contributing factor may be folks getting baptized very young (some as young as 4 or 5 today) and sometimes not knowing much more than "I love Jesus and I don't want to go to hell?"

Getting baptized young seems to be a common thread in a lot of these posts.

For me, personally, it had nothing to do with being saved and baptized at age 9. It DID have to do with people who were ill-prepared to give me directions and answers for my doubts; to show me how I could know, to reassure me that not everyone has "dramatic" changes but explain how a nine-year-old DOES have changes, and how, because at my young age, it is unlikely I'd be yearning for Heaven, or the hundreds of other doubts people have after salvation.

I've come to understand, over the years, that we don't have doubts because of the age we were saved or because of the church in which we were baptized, it's because that's what Satan does to Christians. If he can get us to doubt our salvation we spend our time and energies on that instead of growing and serving Jesus.

We need stronger Bible teachers, good counselors, and preachers who teach God's Word. We need people who can show people real answers to their doubts and can lead them to know whether they're truly saved or not. I fought through it, I never gave up on God or church, I always knew Jesus was the only way to Heaven but Satan still stole years of peace and joy from me because not one person could answer my questions and guide me to the right answers.