Should I Be Re-Baptized? (Maybe)

Have you ever wondered if you need to be re-baptized?

Is that even biblical? What purpose would it accomplish, if so? Let's checkout a story from the New Testament in he book of Acts that shares an account where a group of people needed to be baptized again because of their lack of knowledge.

Acts 19:1-7 "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 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.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all."

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Let's breakdown what biblical principles this account tells us about being baptized again and how it applies to us today:

1. Even the most honest person can be wrong because of following skilled and sincere teachers.

2. Salvation cannot be accepted apart from Christ. When the apostles showed the believers that they're baptism was no longer valid, they chose to obey the Gospel by being baptized into Christ immediately.

3. Baptism alone cannot save us. Only Jesus saves us but He uses baptism to be buried in a death and resurrected to a new life like Him as He spiritually washes us with His blood.

4. There is one standard way of obtaining salvation by having the correct knowledge, reason, and method. Once the believers learned why they needed to be baptized into Christ, they were obedient.

5. One cannot be taught wrong and still be right. Even with the most sincere heart, these believers were lost and needed to be washed in the blood of Christ.

6. A person can be a believer/disciple and still not be saved. This account shows us that a person can be baptized but need to be again (really for the first true time) for the right reasons.

7. John's baptism was authorized once for a particular time and purpose but is now no longer in effect. A person who wants be to become a Christian today should follow the same exact plan of salvation that every believer obeyed in the New Testament.

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Every person became a Christian the

exact same way in scripture.