To enter into God’s kingdom one must be born again. Bible tells us to be born again one need to hear the gospel first, God brings the conviction of sin in that person’s heart, then he needs to repent from sin and turn to God. After this only the person is ready for water baptism and he can receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:4, Mark 16:16, I Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16).
So it is clear from the scripture that a person needs to believe the gospel and he needs to repent from his sins in order to be baptized in water. Also water baptism should be in full immersion. The New Testament scripture does not allow a person to be water baptized without repentance or without full immersion in water.
Some people are accused of undergoing a second baptism or rebaptism. There are two main reasons people get re-baptized.
- They were baptized previously without repentance.
- They were water baptized previously without full immersion.
If someone is not properly baptized then he needs to get baptized again.
But bible tells us about one baptism..,
yes you are right but you need to understand it in the context.
Ephesians 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
This scripture is talking about the right kind of baptism. You need to be baptized in water only once but that need to be the right kind of water baptism.
Do we find any example of re baptism from the scripture?
Yes there is an example in Acts 19:1-7. When Paul was in Ephesus he met some believers who were not baptized into Jesus Christ. They were previously baptized in john’s baptism. So Paul again baptized them in Jesus and in Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:3-7 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
Baptism is one. You do not need to go through multiple baptisms, but you need to have the right kind of baptism. It should be in right order- Believe- Repentance- Baptism. Also it should be in full immersion. Any Baptism, which does not follow this scriptural order, originates due to the tradition of men.
Conclusion: So if you were not baptized as an infant or you are baptized in water in adult age but without repentance then you should be baptized again in the right way. If you were baptized previously by sprinkle baptism then you should be baptized again in full immersion. For becoming a born again it is very important step of faith.
2 thoughts on “What about Rebaptism ? When should one be rebaptised?”
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