Question:
Dear Greg,
My
niece believes that if you are not baptized in “Jesus’ name” you will not
go to heaven. My pastor baptized us
in “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and I believe I will go to
heaven. My niece was recently
re-baptized so she could be baptized in “Jesus’ name”.
Is she right?
Darlena
Answer: Dear Darlena,
Baptism
does not confer God’s kingdom of heaven. There
is no “right” way or “right” church in which someone must be baptized
(therefore no need to be re-baptized if the idea is that the church that
originally baptized us did not perform it properly, using the right words,
formula, etc.). There is no specific
amount of water, and no correct age-- as opposed to an incorrect age.
We are saved by God’s grace. Period.
Once we have been saved, we are commanded to be baptized.
However, baptism does not save us any more than any other thing we might
do. God’s grace, his
amazing-beyond-belief grace saves us.
In
Christ,