Is Renewing Baptism Biblical?
Q: Is there such a thing as renewing baptism?
Today at my church they did a renewal of baptism which involved approaching a stand with water and rocks in it, took a rock and touched the water on their forehead, some made the sign of the cross on their forehead. And that apparently renewed their baptism. BUT WHY, I ask?
I did not do it. To me, that’s wrong – to think one must renew their baptism. Christ died for all once and for all. He is resurrected and in Heaven now at His Father’s side.
I was baptized as a baby in an Orthodox Church. When I was a teenager, I left that and pursued Christ. I was baptized when I was 30 years old and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.
Thoughts please. I want to worship in Spirit and Truth. God’s truth.
A: There is a whole other aspect to your question that I am not going to deal with — the aspect of, “is this the right church for me?” That’s a good question, and maybe this congregation isn’t right for you, but that is a separate question. Let’s deal with the baptism aspect: is there such a thing as renewing baptism?
First, Christians who have been legitimately baptized as believers have no requirement or obligation to renew their baptism.
Here, many people would quote Ephesians 4:4-6, but I actually don’t think those verses speak to this specific issue. Ephesians 4:4-6 is a description of unity in the church, not a description of “how many” baptisms there may be in the individual Christian life.
Ephesians 4:4-6: The description of the unity of the Church.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
- [4] There is one body and one Spirit: We have unity because of what we share in common. In Jesus we share one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one Father. Each of these common areas is greater than any potential difference.
- [5] One baptism: Some think that because Paul says there is one baptism that this restricts the “number” of baptisms. Yet we see that there are several applications of the idea of baptism in the New Testament:
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Mark 1:8, Acts 1:5 and 11:16
- Baptism of fire: Matthew 3:11
- Baptism of suffering: Matthew 20:22-23, Luke 12:50
But Paul only spoke here of the baptism by water, which is the visible token of God’s common work in every believer, and thus a basis of unity. There aren’t separate baptisms for Jew and Gentile, or for slave and free. It’s the same idea as Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 12:13:
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
So, while I don’t think that Ephesians 4:4-6 prohibits a believer being baptized again, it certainly is consistent with the idea that it isn’t necessary to renew baptism.
Second, if a believer wants to be baptized again, I don’t see any inherent harm in it — as long as it isn’t a denial or renouncing of their previous baptism.
There are those who wish to be baptized again when they go to Israel. Others want to be rebaptized if they renew their faith in Jesus, if they return after a season of backsliding. I don’t think baptism is required in either situation, but neither do I think it should be prohibited.
It’s like the renewal of wedding vows. If a couple wants to renew their wedding vows, they might be motivated by a landmark (like a 25th anniversary) or because they have come through a rough period in their relationship. In either situation, they aren’t saying “Our original wedding vows were invalid and unimportant.” They are saying, “Our original wedding vows were true, binding, and beautiful — let’s honor them by renewing them.”
Of course, there is something wrong with a couple that renews their wedding vows every month — just like there would be something wrong with a person who wanted to get baptized again every month. But as a way to honor a landmark or to mark a return to faithfulness, a rebaptism can be meaningful.
Third, there is some overlap among John’s baptism/Jewish ceremonial washings/Christian baptism… in those first two, there would not be any objection to someone who was baptized more than once.
Finally, the guys who get the most up in arms about this are paedobaptists, and let them be mad about it.
One reason paedobaptists want to enforce the idea that a person should only be baptized once is because they want to preserve their practice of infant baptism, and they want to deny the importance of believer’s baptism.
I’ll say it straightforwardly — if you have been baptized as a baby, I don’t think that is a valid baptism. You should be baptized as a believer if you never have been, even if you were baptized as a baby.
Of course, those who believe in infant baptism also believe in believer’s baptism — they think that those who were not baptized as babies and come to faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized. But in practice, they have two separate baptisms. One for babies, based only on family connection, and another for believers, who put their faith in Jesus Christ later in life.
Baptism isn’t valid without faith. This is something that most paedobaptists say they believe in:
Luther’s Small Catechism, The Sacrament of Baptism, third question:
“How can water [of baptism] do such great things?
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.”
Our paedobaptist friends might say, “the faith is there in the baby, they just can’t declare it.” Or they might say, “the faith is there in parents or godparents, they have the faith on behalf of the baby.” I don’t think either of those options have a Biblical foundation.
So, to summarize:
– Christians who have been legitimately baptized as believers have no requirement or obligation to renew a baptism.
– It is OK for them to do it, as long as it isn’t a denial or renouncing of their previous baptism.