Should I be Re-baptized? Some Pastoral Advice on a Fairly Common Question By Chris White

Fred had moved to our area with the intention of making a fresh start in life and shortly after that joined our congregation.  He had grown up in a nominally Mormon home but as an eight year old had been water baptized.  Cecilia was a lapsed Catholic before becoming a confirmed agnostic during her university years.  A girlfriend had invited her to a ladies Bible study group at our church and over time she had found her faith re-invigorated.  Al had grown up in the Christian Reformed Church out in the Midwest before work and a marriage prospect brought him to the Northwest.  He hated the formality and “God’s frozen chosen” mentality of his past church and was genuinely excited about the openness and freedom he was finding outside of a denominational church setting.  As diverse as these people and situations are, they all share something in common.  They came to me asking if they could or should be re-baptized.

The short answer is that if you have been born-again and duly baptized by an appointed minister of the church then no, you need not be re-baptized.  I say this because what happened at your baptism, both spiritually and physically, was very real and an unrepeatable experience.  It’s like your birthday. You may want mark the day and thank your parents, but you cannot repeat it (and no doubt your mother wouldn’t want to anyway)!  With that general answer, let’s explore some possible exceptions that might make re-baptism a good idea:

1. If you were baptized in a church that was non-Trinitarian.  Christ commands His church to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19).  This isn’t just a verbal formula or liturgy; this is the reality of the One True God.  If you were baptized outside of or in opposition to this reality, the external act may have resembled Christian baptism, but it was not.  In this circumstance, re-baptism is very necessary because the first one was not based on truth.

2. If you were baptized as an infant but desire baptism as an adult.  The New Testament teaches “believer’s baptism” which suggests being old enough to be aware of your sin and need of salvation before you are baptized.  My experience was that my parents had me baptized as an infant as a pledge to the Lord that I would be raised as a Christian.  Later on I made a decision to trust Christ as Savior.  I was already baptized but sensed the Lord wanted me to do this apart from the will of my parents.  In my case, the physical act of baptism was repeated, but the spiritual aspects of it clearly happened only once.  I believe a person can be born-again and be perfectly satisfied with the knowledge they were baptized as infants and hold that baptism in good conscience.  If that is where you stand and the Holy Spirit bears witness in your soul, then let that be your resting place.  If the Spirit leads you to a second baptism, then you should promptly obey Him in this matter.

3. If you are on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  Jesus neither commands nor commends Christian pilgrimage, but since the earliest days of the Church, Christians have been drawn to the stage where the Lord lived, taught, was crucified, and resurrected.  For some Christians it is extremely meaningful to enter the same river (the Jordan) that Jesus was baptized and be baptized for the first time or a second time strictly as an act of praise and thanksgiving.  From my perspective this is like a renewal of wedding vows.  It is not a new marriage but a reaffirmation and appreciation of a prior decision and act.

I’d also like to mention a few situations where Christians have strongly felt the need for re-baptism, but it would be exactly the wrong thing to do.  The first is where the Christian has fallen out of fellowship and/or committed a grievous sin (or series of sins).  To be re-baptized in this situation is to treat baptism like a “grace bath” where we wash the filth of our sin out of our lives.  The fact is you are washed and made clean by Christ’s blood alone apart from anything you can do (1 Pet. 3:21).  In this case, heartfelt repentance is more desirable than re-baptism.

Another common scenario is when a person transfers to another church and they want to be re-baptized by their new pastor.  The truth is a person is baptized into Christ and his body the church.  This stands apart from any particular church or congregation.  If you were baptized into Christ in your last church, nothing’s changed.  You still have the same Lord no matter where you choose to worship.  Instead of re-baptism, join a small group or becoming involved in ministry there.

Finally, there are some who have gone through the grief of losing their pastor due to sin or apostasy.  I have known many people who have come to my congregation for a time of rest and healing after this experience in another church.  Some have wondered if they should be re-baptized because of the spiritual failure of their former pastor.  Once again, situations like these generate much grief and disappointment, but the validity of your baptism remains even you feel your faith has been shaken.  At your baptism, it was your faith in Christ and your obedience to Christ that made it valid, not the faith of the one who administered it.

Obviously, not every personal situation can be addressed in a short article but I hope if this is something you are pondering that you have found some direction in the matter.  If you are a Christian and have avoided baptism altogether I hope you’ll rethink your position.  The New Testament does not teach that people must be baptized to be saved, but it knows of no saved person who isn’t baptized.  If the Lord has said “follow me” to you, his path was through baptism.  Obedience to Him would do nothing less.  If you have any further questions about this matter write them in the comments section and I will get back with you quickly.