Question: When I became a Christian, I repented of my sins, surrendered my will to God and was baptized. I believed at the time that I was not saved and cleansed from my sin until after baptism, which is what the Church of Christ teaches. Since then, I have attended another church and have come to believe that a person is saved before baptism by the grace of God and the death of his son on the cross, and then comes baptism as an outward sign of my belief. My question is, should I be baptized again, now that I know that I was saved before baptism?

Thank you!

Jo

Answer: Dear Jo,

It would seem that your present belief and understanding of salvation and baptism is much closer to biblical truth and revelation. Re-baptism in cases like your own is really a matter of personal preference. You do not need to be re-baptized because you had a shallow or inadequate understanding at the time you were first baptized.

Some people, and some churches, teach that re-baptism is necessary when you join their particular church, for all other baptism was invalid – but that’s the understanding you say you have left behind. If you feel that you would simply like to make a public commitment of your re-dedication, there is nothing to say that a re-baptism would be wrong. But as you know, it will not "do" anything, it will not confer some spiritual status that God has not already given you, etc. etc.

Some pastors do not like to re-baptize because they feel that congregates may be doing so for the wrong reason, and they don’t want to promote the idea that a ceremony is salvific. Hope this background is of some help to you. May God bless and be with you!

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht