Re-Baptism

Introduction

Take my life and let it be consecrate. Take my life and let it be consecrated. Take my hand thy love. Take my will and make it mine.

Take my heart is thy own.

Take my love my Lord I hore, and by being strangers. Take myself, and I will be ever.

None of self in all of thee. We need to be reminded of that, not just on the Lord’s Day, but each day that we live. And tonight’s lesson will be designed to help us further with those thoughts as we talk about totally loving God. Hope you can come back tonight at 5 o’clock. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus. And that was the first song that we’ve sung, and that has a lot to do with my message this morning. Some people grapple with this very important question. Should I be baptized again? There are a number of people, perhaps even worshiping in this assembly this morning, who were baptized at some point in their childhood and then decide later as an adult to be baptized again.

Questions are considered.

1. People Are Baptized Into Christ Only Once

Or people being re-baptized or baptized again. And part of the problem with this is the language or the term itself, because the Bible never talks about re-baptism. That’s not a biblical term. Only baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one was baptized more than once into Christ. And so if you don’t get anything else out of this lesson, if I don’t preach it well, I want you to get just this one thing. People are baptized into Christ only once. There may be more than one baptism in terms of the act that is done. For example, a Catholic might have been immersed or sprinkled as a child. Probably not immersed, you’d drown the child. But you might sprinkle a child, and we call they call that infant baptism, but that’s not baptism into Christ, and so that child, as he grows up and learns the truth, will then be baptized into Christ to be pleasing to him.

That infant baptism is something that’s not taught in the New Testament. So that’s not a rebaptism. That is the baptism once into Christ. We do have an example in the New Testament of people who were immersed and yet needed to be once again immersed, but this time into Christ. The mode was the same in both of the times that they were baptized, but the purpose or their understanding or their faith was different. John baptized many. He did so in a certain place because there was much water there, according to John 3 and verse 23. But John’s baptism, as Paul points out in this text, was a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who was coming after him. That is verse 4. Paul, while Apollos was at Corinth, has come to Ephesus.

And he finds these individuals and asked, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, We don’t know anything about a Holy Spirit. And so that was Paul’s clue that they had not been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And so he asked them what they were baptized into, and they said, John’s baptism. And so when he talks to them about John’s baptism being a baptism of repentance, he says, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now they had been immersed in John’s baptism. But they were only baptized once in the name of the Lord Jesus, or unto a relationship with Jesus Christ as a result of what he did at Calvary. And then Paul, because he was an apostle, laid his hands upon them, and the Holy Spirit, whom they did not know anything about, had come upon them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying, and there were in all about twelve men.

2. Both Mode and Purpose Matter

And now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized. Saul of Tarsus is immersed. Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins. And here we have the purpose, calling on his name. And so here’s the point that I want to make about re-baptism. An individual who might have been immersed once, but for some reason feels like or even needs to be immersed again, that both mode and purpose matter. For baptism to be scriptural or right or approved by God in heaven. And that’s really what we’re about. We’re not about just satisfying some church tenant. Something you have to do to be a member of somebody’s church somewhere. Really, what we’re talking about is pleasing the God of heaven and submitting to him and being recognized by him.

After all, the Lord knows those that are his.

It is this act of submissive obedience to God for the right reasons. That is Saul of Tarsus’ appeal to the name of Jesus for salvation. I’ll show you that in 1 Peter 3 21 in a little bit. So for baptism to effectively wash away my sins, both mode, immersion, and purpose, one’s belief and intentions matter. Nothing is said about the age of all those who were baptized in the New Testament. As we read through the conversions in the book of Acts, nothing is said at any point about anybody’s age. Don’t you find that interesting? But I think it’s an understandable omission. What would happen if we were instructed about the age of the person being baptized? Let’s say somebody was baptized and it says, and he or she was 12 years old.

Many people would conclude from that every child that reached the age of 12 needed to be baptized in order to please God and do what is right. It’s an interesting omission. Some would consider the age of accountability as we talk about to be the age of 12, but yet that person may not be ready to embrace discipleship. Every child is not ready to embrace discipleship at the same age or time in their lives. And I don’t know if this is always the case, but girls are generally far more mature at age 12 than boys. And so you can’t just say a hard and fast age, that’s a time when a person is intellectually ready to embrace all that baptism means and discipleship to Christ.

This is a matter of faith. It is a matter of maturity. And so not every young person will arrive at the age of accountability at the same time. And so when we talk about salvation, we must also understand that immersion is not the only step. Sometimes when children are baptized really young, about all they’re seeing is the role that baptism plays in salvation in terms of this act that is necessary to be saved from the things that we’ve done wrong. But this is not all there is. This one particular thing that we do to become Christians. Salvation is by grace through faith. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. And as I like to say about that verse, grace involves a lot of things that God has done, and a lot of things that God is.

And so faith, our response to his grace that causes us to be saved, involves several things. It is a belief that encourages us to repent. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. That is an example of successful baptism. 3,000 souls. Gladly received the word and were baptized. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those that were being saved, Acts chapter 2 and verse 47. But he didn’t just say, be baptized and get the mode right. Make sure you’re immersed. And that’s, no, he said, repent and be baptized. You don’t have scriptural baptism without repentance. And it is faith that fuels it. Salvation is by grace through faith.

Critical step of faith. Faith prompts a repentance, a change in one’s mind regarding the course one has gone, a life of sin, and is now a turning toward the will of God for their lives. And all of it. That’s what repentance involves. And with the mouth, confession is made into salvation. Romans chapter 10. First, man believes. And with the mouth, confession is made into salvation. So faith prompts a public declaration and stand for Jesus. And faith is essential in baptism as well. You believe that by being immersed that God is going to cleanse you from your sins, and that you are going to rise to walk in newness of life. Baptism then is the culminating or concluding step of faith that causes us to be placed in Christ.

Galatians 3, 26 and 27. We’re the children of God by faith. And then in verse 27 it says, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. But it’s not just the act of baptism. It is the faith that has led us to repent and to confess and to be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. And that being done again for the right purpose. That is, in the name of Jesus, to satisfy the requirements that he has laid down and the fact that we acknowledge that he is now King of kings and Lord of Lords. And thus we listen to him. So baptism’s effectiveness has not to do just with the mode, but the purpose or a person’s understanding.

In the case of someone who is being immersed for a second time, should we call it rebaptism? Does a person need two baptisms in order to be saved? Here’s the important point here.

3. Arriving at the Age of Accountability

When someone considers another baptism to be of any effect at all, to be a scriptural baptism, one that we read about in the New Testament, baptism is not for saved people. The one who contemplates submitting to God in this act is not doing so because they are already saved. They do so because they are lost. It is always one who is outside of Christ and in need of salvation, and baptism changes that person’s relationship with God. So as we talk about baptism and its role in God’s salvation by grace through faith, I want to make a few points in relation to when a person is ready to be baptized. I want to talk for a moment this morning about arriving at the age of accountability. How can we prevent?

Should we prevent? What kind of role should a parent play or some older member in the body of Christ, perhaps a grandparent? What kind of role should we play in the instruction of our children regarding when they need to be baptized? I think we probably need to do a better job of teaching our children not just the role baptism plays in salvation, but what it means in our lives. We need to understand the nature of the conscience and its training. And when a child becomes accountable is not easy to determine. Oh, so what are we going to do? Since we can’t say it’s at 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15. How are we going to handle that as parents? Every parent who’s gone through this knows the trauma associated with this.

First recommendation. Pray for your kids. Pray that they will respond at the right appropriate time to the message of the gospel. Let me talk to you about six-year-olds. Six year olds can put two and two together. They can understand that baptism is necessary for salvation. I think I knew it at age six. I’d been taught it in Bible class more than once, and I’ve heard the preacher at the end of every sermon talk about baptism. He can understand, she can understand that baptism is necessary for salvation. A six-year-old can also know that they’ve done some things that are wrong. In fact, you don’t have to be six. You can be a toddler, two or three, and show remorse when your parent has scolded you, and that child knew when they touched that thing they weren’t supposed to touch, that they had violated their parents’ commands and they got in trouble and they can experience remorse over what they’ve done.

Has that made them a sinner? Children are natural mimics. Did you do this as a little kid? I did. I mean, I was fascinated by baptism, and we would go to the swimming pool and then we would take turns baptizing each other. Was that scriptural baptism? We had the mode right. We didn’t sprinkle or pour.

I mean, what child can say, I’ve never lied? A child maybe 10 or 11 has said something that is not true. Perhaps to cover up something that they did. So when do they reach the age of accountability? There’s a passage in Isaiah that I believe talks about that idea in Isaiah 7. When Ahaz is told to ask for a sign, and then he says, Oh no, I don’t want to test the Lord, I don’t want to try the Lord. Look, when God says to ask for a sign, ask for a sign. Ahaz was a wicked king. Always doing foolishly. So he says, I’m not going to ask for a sign. God says, I’m going to give you a sign. And it was the sign of the virgin who would give birth to a son, Isaiah 7 14.

A reference to that in Matthew chapter 1. And so Isaiah 7 and verse 14, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. A virgin will be with child and bear a son, and he shall be called, his name shall be called Emmanuel, a reference to Jesus, God with us. This text seems to have had an application in Isaiah’s day, when he goes on to say, He will eat curds and honey, this child. He will eat curds and honey at the time he knows enough, at the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good. I think he’s talking about the age of accountability. When a child reaches the point where they can consciously determine this is evil, this is good, I’m going to choose good.

Before the boy reaches that stage, he says, the two kings whom you dread will be forsaken. All he’s doing is establishing a time period there. As to when the kings of Israel and Assyria are going to be judged. But I think that’s the idea. When this child grows and develops and matures to the point that they can refuse evil and chew and choose good. And so we need to ask Has the child matured enough, does the child know enough to refuse evil and choose good?

Every parent wants his or her child to obey the gospel if they understand the importance of God’s will and going to heaven. And so some parents, in their exuberance over the child’s interest in this matter, say, by all means, yes, right now. Let’s go. But we need to ask the question. Does the child understand what sin is? What the impact of sin is and the cost of sin to God? Do they understand what it means to repent? Remember that’s a part of the process. Do they understand what it means to repent and to really live for Jesus? Is this child ready to set their affections on things above and not on things of this earth? Or just simply this? Is this child just a kid? Does the child know the kind of changes that should accompany baptism in Christ?

Do they understand what it means to confess Christ both before and after one is baptized? What does baptism mean in your life afterwards? These are questions we need to ask the child. Are you ready to start pursuing the beatitudes? Well, what are the beatitudes? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 3, and all that follows there. Does the child even know what the Beatitudes mean in everyday living? Do they know what the Christian life means? Do they understand dying to sin and living to righteousness? 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 24. Maybe we should ask them this. Why did Jesus die on the cross? Mark Roberts, I mentioned the Westside Church in Irving where Trevor grew up. And he heard that sermon, by the way, when he was 14, and I’m really disappointed he doesn’t remember it.

Because Mark Rogers, one of the members that, well, he was young, 14. But it was 12 years ago. Mark Roberts, who preaches for the Westside Church in Irving and has for many years, and I have actually a great respect for Trevor. You’ve listened to many Mark Roberts sermons. And Mark’s a good friend of mine. But Mark has some great material called Am I Ready? That he wrote just for what I’m talking about this morning about young people and when they need to obey the gospel. I’m going to order some of that this week because I know some of you parents, I want a copy of that. When the child says, I want to be baptized. Obviously, we don’t want to discourage this interest that the child has shown.

And so how can we determine if he or she is ready to obey the gospel? And so when the child says, I want to be baptized, your first response is, no. No. Your first response is, that’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. But are you sure you understand what this step means? You need to understand. And then you can take material that Mark has written and say, let’s work through this together. You have several lessons, four or five lessons. You do the first lesson, we’ll sit down and talk about your responses. And a lot of times the child will never follow through if he or she is too young and not ready. They won’t investigate further. They may work a little bit on the first lesson, but it never gets to the point where you’re going through this lesson after lesson after lesson.

That might be an indicator if the child is ready. And perhaps you need to be a little bit persistent as a parent. You know, well, have you looked at lesson one? Do we need to look over this together and look at your answers and see if they’re going to stay on task with this or not? You see, we’re not just concerned about baptizing people the right mode. Our concern about these young people and every young person, and every person is their conversion to the Lord. We don’t want to just do a religious act or to help them to become religious. Baptism is unto Christ. It is unto a relationship, it is a conversion to the Lord, in order that, repent and be converted, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, Paul says.

It is a unto living a new life, according to Romans chapter 6, verses 3 through 6. Sometimes I think we get the cart before the horse. As I mentioned to you in 1 Peter 3 and verse 21, baptism doth also now save us, not the removal of filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience. Or the appeal to God for a clean conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One is baptized and in that act is making an appeal to God, calling on his name. Is making an appeal to God to cleanse the conscience which is convicting me of sin. And then I’m going to be determined to pursue a course of righteousness and pleasing him and serving him. And so we need to understand that it’s conversion to the Lord, and then from there we must grow into spiritual maturity.

4. How Much Do I Need to Know?

Baptism isn’t the end of the thing, it’s just the beginning. We are rising to walk, as I said, in newness of life. But that raises the question how much do I need to know? How much do I need to know to be baptized? And sometimes we look back on our baptism and we say, you know, maybe I need to be baptized because I don’t know. I didn’t know then what I know now. Let me just say that response is true, whether you’re 12 or 25 or 45. That you’re going to learn and grow from the point of your baptism to know much more than you do now. I remember when I was baptized into Christ and my understanding of things, it’s not nearly. What my understanding of living the Christian life is now.

And that understanding continues to grow. All Christians are admonished to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3 18. As newborn babes, we are to long for the pure milk of the word and grow in respect to salvation. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. That’s not just a passage for new converts. That’s a passage for all of us. We’re all to be like babes who long to be fed when they cry, please feed me. I’m hungry. I want some milk. That’s the way we’re to be as Christians, not just as infants in Christ, but our whole lives long. We want to be fed. We want to be filled with the will of God and our understanding of it.

1 Peter chapter 2 is not just a passage for new converts, it’s a passage for all of us. We are to grow up in all aspects unto him who is the head even Christ, and not be children tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. Have we yet grown up in all respects? In the likeness of Christ, we’re still learning that. We’re still working toward that end and the measure of maturity that Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 4. And obviously at the time that we’re baptized into Christ, we are not into full grown maturity, because the young believer is not qualified to be an elder, not a novice. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 6, lest conceit might become a problem, and the devil used that, Paul says in that text.

And so we’re talking about a full grown believer or a mature believer, one who is qualified to serve as a shepherd of the local congregation. And then as Paul writes to the Hebrews, or the Hebrew writer writes of the Hebrews, rather, whoever he was, it’s so easy to say Paul. He talks about how that they ought to be more mature than they are. He says that by this time you ought to be teachers, but you have need that someone teach you again the elementary principles. And then he talks about solid food being for the mature in verse 14, who because of practice have their senses strained to discern good and evil. You know, it starts there. Someone who is able to refuse the evil and choose the good and to embrace the will of Christ, to pursue the beatitudes, to pursue what Paul has instructed believers to do in the epistles.

That’s what it means to walk in newness of life. But this process takes time of being able to discern in most, if not all instances, what is good versus what is evil. These particular believers that the Hebrew writer writes to have become somewhat stagnant in their growth and are not able to discern like they should.

But you must grow unto spiritual maturity, and there needs to be an understanding of that. But I would say this about your baptism whenever it was.

5. There's Only One Baptism Into Christ

Remember, there’s only one baptism into Christ. We need to resolve that issue and leave questions of doubt behind. We need to be able to say with Paul, I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Because you know, when you were baptized into Christ, you made that same commitment. And you need to be able to say, I know whom I have believed. This life of faith. Yes, even our initial conversion to the Lord is all about faith. It’s all about trust. And we must continue to respond in trust. Trust and obey.

Salvation is by grace through faith. I like substituting the word trust. Because I think sometimes we just sort of skip over the faith idea. It’s trust that leads to repentance. I trust God to direct my life. The way I’ve been going is foolish and empty and vain. I trust Him. I will confess Him because I trust Him. Even if that means I’m going to be put to death for my loyalty to him. I trust him. His way is right. His way leads to eternal life. I trust him. I’m going to be baptized. Some people might think it’s just water. But I trust him that this is going to cleanse me, it’s going to place me in Christ, and I can begin my walk as a devoted believer and one who trusts in him.

Trust in him. There’s no other way. We need trust after conversion. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. You know, the child who’s considering baptism needs to understand that thought. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him. Maybe we can take our kids to that text. Say, what does this mean? What is baptism going to mean? In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your steps. So, what is all this about this morning? It’s about trusting in the Lord. We know that by our faithful devotion to him, not just in what we do collectively, but in our individual lives day by day, that this trust is going to eventuate in something far beyond our wildest dreams in that day.

That which I’ve committed to him against that day. Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 12. If we are questioning a prior baptism, then either it’s because of a trust problem, or we’re experiencing a trust problem now. And that has to be resolved. But I know this. If another baptism is being considered, we need to forget the wreath. Just forget that. There’s one baptism into Christ. It is for lost people who need to be saved. This is the point at which past sins are forgiven. Baptism into Christ is the beginning point of my new relationship and new walk with God. And so if there’s any concerns about that, you simply need to ask this question. Do you need to be baptized into Christ? Because that’s what it is when it’s done for the right reasons.

6. Days of Neglect: Repent and Pray

We need to be resolved no longer to linger charmed by the world’s delight, things that are higher, things that are nobler. These have allured my sight. Does that need to be your resolve this morning? Do you need to be baptized into Christ? Well, perhaps you’ve done that, and life has been a rocky road at times since. Anyone who’s been a believer for any period of time will experience ups and downs, days of faith and days of neglect. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands. Because if I did, every one of us would say, there have been days of neglect, and sometimes when we have felt as we should have, very far from God.

And so we say, well, maybe my baptism wasn’t right.

Wasn’t affected. Maybe I need to be baptized again. It did not take Simon the sorcerer long. From the time that he was baptized into Christ in the name of Jesus, it did not take him long before he was where? In the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity. He wanted what he had no right to have, and that is this ability to lay on of hands as the apostles could. And so Peter says, You have neither part nor lot in this matter. You are in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity, and you need to be baptized again. No, that’s not what he said, it was it. You’re going like this. No. He said, you need to repent and pray that the thought of your heart might be forgiven you.

And that’s all that we have in regard to that story, a request for Peter to pray, but that’s it. That’s what he needed to do. How far are you from God? Do you need something to be fixed in your spiritual life? If you’ve already been baptized into Christ, the way to fix that is you’ve got to change your mind about where you are. And say, where I am is not where I need to be. I’m not trusting right now. I need to start trusting again. Every one of us will find ourselves at times in our lives where we will have to say, I’ve got to start trusting again. I am choosing my own way and not his.

Conclusion

And pray that the thoughts of your heart and the actions of your life might be forgiven you. It doesn’t mean your baptism was invalid. It means that in the present you’re in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity. So if there’s anybody in our audience tonight who needs today who needs to be baptized into Christ or who needs to acknowledge some perhaps some public behavior that’s sinful, perhaps just needing us to pray for you and with you. This is an opportunity. Won’t you come while we stand and see?

Thou art the I am.

Have thine own way, search me and try me Master today whiter than snow voice me just as in thy presence only I know way as such fill with thy spirit till thou shall see Christ only in thee.