Dear Brother Faull,

Is there ever reason for a person to be re-baptized?

Some religious groups make the following mistakes regarding baptism:

1.                  They baptize the wrong person.  They sprinkle innocent babies, who can neither believe in Christ, nor repent of sin [as they have none.]  The command is for sinners to believe, to repent, and to be baptized.  Most churches criticize Mormons for “baptizing for the dead.”  However, baptism by proxy is no more unscriptural than faith and repentance by proxy.  Salvation is personal and cannot be done for you.

2.                  They baptize with the wrong mode.  They substitute sprinkling and pouring for immersion.  The command is to immerse the individual in the water.  The one doing the baptizing is to handle the one being immersed, not the water.  When one is baptized, he goes down under the water and comes up out of the water.

Acts 8:35-38, “35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.  36 And as they went on [their] way, they came unto a certain water:  and the eunuch said , See, [here is ] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still:  and they went down both into the water both Philip and eunuch; and he [Philip] baptized him.”

It is also a burial and a resurrection.

Romans 6:1-4, “1 What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  2 God forbid.  How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Only immersion fulfills the analogy called for in these figures.

3.                  They baptize with the wrong motive. Baptism is not to get you into a congregation. It is not an invitation into some church. It is not just an outward sign of an inward act. It is being baptized into Christ for the remission of sins.”

Acts 2:38, “38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Acts 22:16, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

4.                  They baptize with the wrong authority.  It is not because the local congregation insists on it.  It is not because you have to do it to get into their church.  It is not because people voted on you and accepted you as a legitimate candidate for baptism.  One is baptized because the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit commanded it to be done.

Matthew 28:18-20, “18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  20 Teaching them to observe all thing whatsoever I have commanded you:  and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world.  Amen."

Those who were baptized in the Name of (authority of) John the Baptist, were re-baptized by the authority of Christ.  This is a  good example for re-immersion by the right authority.

Acts 19:1-5, “1 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, 2 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.  3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?  And they said, Unto John’s baptism.  4 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.  5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

5.                  They baptize for the wrong reason.It is not like those who preach that salvation precedes baptism. That is: "He that believeth and is saved, should be baptized. That is not what Jesus said. Nor is it like others who baptize infants. They teach, “He that is baptized and saved, shall believe. That is not right. 

Is it like others who say, “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be saved also?”  No!

Then what did Jesus say?

Mark 16:16,  “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

These are quite different, aren’t they? 

Peter says that baptism is the (Greek says, “demand or appeal”) of a good conscience before God.

I Peter 3:21, “The like figure whereunto [eve] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you were not immersed into Christ for the remission of your sins, because of our personal faith in Christ, and the repentance of your sins, I personally fail to see how you can have a good conscience before God.

Baptism into a man-made religion, by a substitute mode, for an illegitimate reason should not satisfy one who wants to stand before God in all good conscience.

I hope this straightforward, honest answer helps you decide what to do.