BAPTISM QUESTION 22:

QUESTION:23 Is it scriptural to be baptized twice.?

ANSWER: This would depended on the circumstances. If a person was baptized, but not saved, then their baptism means nothing. For an example, babies that have been baptized could not be believers in Christ, so their baptism means nothing to them or to God. If they get saved they should be baptised again.

The only baptism in the Bible is believer’s baptism. Many verses point this out one portion is sufficient; Acts 8:36-38 “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? 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. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”

Notice several things here. The eunuch had to believe, that is, he had to trust Jesus Christ as the Son of God with all his heart. This means he was not trusting anything else. This agrees with many other scriptures; Acts 18:8, “ . . . and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.”(Rom 10:9; Acts 16:31)

Then he was baptized. This is believer’s baptism. It was in, not with, water. They both went down into the water. He was immersed in the water and then came up again. This means that he, as a believer, is now seen by God as having died with Christ to the old life, buried and risen again to newness of life. (Romans 6:3-5.) It is a symbolic act of identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. That is the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3,4)

To answer the question we can read in Acts 19: 1-6 how twelve men who had been baptism, maybe by Apollos, to John’s baptism, and they were re-baptized. They did not yet know about Christ and their baptism meant nothing to them or God.

There are literally millions that have been baptized in order to wash their sins away, and were told that they now have a place in heaven, but they are thoroughly deceived. Heb 9:22, “. . .without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Water cannot cleanse us from our sins. It took the God of heaven to send His Son into the world to died a despicable death on a Roman cross between two thieves to save us from our sins. To believe baptism can take away sins is despising the precious blood of Christ. What are you trusting in? What is your hope? What or wherever it is, take it out and put it all in Christ and you will be saved instantly. Acts 16:31, And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

All comments and questions to: Harold Smith

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Updated July 2009, by Shelly Allen