Posted on 10/06/2015 10:35:57 AM PDT by envisio
I have read a little and did some research on baptism and if there is a need to get baptized as an adult after being baptized as a child.
I looked for the Church’s standing on it and I looked for scripture written about it. My research left me with the half-baked conclusion, in the eyes of the Lord, one only needs baptized once.
I was baptized as a small child without any realization of what was happening. In the 40 years to follow there were plenty of times I was lost, sinning, doing the devils deeds with the liquor and the drugs and the whores and on all fours in the parkinglot puking only to repeat it again the next day for years in my 20s. I never got into any real trouble; no felonies or violence, just drunken antics of a stupid 20something year old. Of course, as we get older, we settle down and put away our childish behavior to be adults. In no way will my wild youth define my legacy since then.
Recent events have tested my faith and questioned a merciful God. Ultimately those events brought me closer to God, and it was my wife’s wish that I completely give my life to Christ. She did and I am quite sure she is sitting by His side right now, praying that I do the same.
I am a sinner. I have confessed my sins and asked for forgiveness. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I want to complete it with water. I want to get baptized again, but I don’t want it to be vain. I don’t want to do it for myself as a vain show that’s not necessary just to make me feel better. I want to do it because God wants me to do it.
So, since you folks are far more learned on the teachings of the bible, and FReepdom is unmatched in advice dealing with church and God, my question is… Even if the original baptism was done at a time when I did not know what was happening… Is a second baptism common? Is it vain? Will it make me complete in my transition to being born again? Is it necessary?
There is no reason to not have a 2nd baptism. Baptism is a public affirmation of your following Jesus Christ.
What church?
Different specific religions may teach different things. I’ll keep it simple.
God never left you. You left him. Now your back and he does not love you any less. Welcome home!
If you did understand what you were doing as a child, which is possible, then no need to be rebaptized again.
Could it be that you have grown substantially in your walk with Christ and have a better understanding of what it means to be a Christian as opposed to when you were a child?
That would be a natural progression in the walk and the sign of a maturing Christian. Paul wrote about this in Philippians 3 when he wrote about pressing on toward the upward call.
Hope this helps.
Feel free to freepmail with more questions.
Fairly sure God has the first one on record. The second to me is feel good and ‘on the sleeve’ stuff. Just my opinion.
Baptism is for the believer. Someone who has made a conscious choice to follow Christ and be associated with His church. A child cannot make that determination, so any baptism at that age is nothing more than an ineffective bath.
The answer is to show obedience to the Lord's command
And that can only happen after a conscious understanding of what salvation is ....
So an infant cannot give or deny permission nor can an infant understand anything except it's hungry
I agree.
I be;ieve that baptism is necessary and it should be Baptism for the remission of sins. In order for that to be valid I belive that a person must have reached the age of reason. They must hear the Word, believe, confess belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for the forgivness of our sins and repent of their sins, and then be Baptized. So yes, I believe that you can and should be baptized again if you have heard, believe and are willing to confess and repent.
If you didn’t know what you were doing it wasn’t your choice. You didn’t publicly express and confirm your choice to follow christ. You didn’t repent...a presiquite to baptism. Get baptized.
Baptism is either an act of God with meaning, or an act of man without meaning.
If the first is true, I doubt God wasn’t meaningful in His action. No second baptism is needed.
If the second is true, nothing is gained by repeating it.
Baptism is a meaningful act of obedience to God. It is an outward symbol of the new birth, that you have been born again. If you didn’t know what you were doing when you got baptized the first time, then do it again. If you understood what you were doing and what baptism signifies, then there is no need to do it a second time.
Grew up in a Lutheran but now attend Church of Christ.
If baptism is a work of God, which I believe is that the Bible claims (e.g., I Peter 3:21), a second baptism is unnecessary. OTOH, there is no place in the Bible where a second baptism is stated to be a sin, so my thought would be that the issue is similar to meat-sacrificed-to-idols in I Corinthians 8-10: if doing it would cause someone to sin, then don’t do it, but there is nothing inherently sinful in doing it.
Full disclosure: I am an LCMS elder, and we read the Bible to say that baptism is a sacrament, meaning a work of God and not something we do for God, so that when one is baptized, it is God’s work that occurs.
To ask for a second baptism is to suggest that the first baptism was invalid. That the Trinitarian formula used was non-binding and null and void based solely on the dictates of your situation (or preference). It further suggests a total lack of faith in God and His promise.
You got it pretty close. I was maybe 6. I knew and understood... but I just went threw the motions, just waiting for it to be over so I could get back home and ride my bike.
You are correct, re-baptism is not necessary, even if the individual who baptized you was, say, not a true believer, as long as the baptism was done in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you had been converted from Mormonism, I would say you would need to be re-baptized. All the promises of conversion, which are signified and sealed by baptism, are possessed by faith, and not by the act that signifies them.
I tried becoming an organist for the Church of Christ, but I ended up in the LCMS instead :-)
Baptism doesn’t get you into heaven. There is no trick. Do it only if you want to.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.