God's Church: Rebaptism
Once is Good?
Twice is Better?
How about Three?
(don’t laugh, it happens)
Rebaptism, How bout it?
There is only one clear example of people being baptized twice…
Acts 19:1-5 NASB It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. (2) He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." (3) And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." (4) Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." (5) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
These twelve men. who had been baptized by John the Baptist, were rebaptized by Paul after they believed the Christian message. This furnishes an example for counseling those who today were baptized either as unbelieving infants, adolescents, or adults and who then came to faith in Christ. It also serves as an argument against infant baptism, for why baptize an infant if later, after he personally receives Christ, he must be baptized again?
Okay, what about the time, mode, of baptism?
Time of Baptism
The examples in the New Testament indicate that believers were baptized right after they believed. No probationary period is indicated, though such might be justified in order to attest to the genuineness of the faith.
The Mode of Baptism
The case for sprinkling…
Certain Old Testament rituals of cleansing involved sprinkling (Ex. 24:6-7; Lev. 14:7; Num. 19:4, 8), and these are classified as "baptisms" in Heb. 9:10). Sprinkling best pictures the cleansing of the Spirit as in Ezekiel 36:25.
Also, the word baptize (Baptizo) may have a secondary meaning of "bringing under the influence," and sprinkling can readily picture this.
Immersion was improbable or impossible in certain instances (Acts 2:41, too many people; 8:38, too little water in a desert place; 16:33, too little water in a house). The greater majority of the visible church practices nonimmersion.
The case for pouring…
Pouring best pictures the ministry of the Spirit coming on and into the life of a believer (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). The phrases "into the water" and "out of the water" may equally well be translated "to the water" and "away from the water." In other words, the one to be baptized went to the water, perhaps even into the water, but not under the water. Drawings in the catacombs show the candidate for baptism standing about waist deep in water while the one doing the baptizing pours water over his head from a vessel he holds.
The case for immersion…
Immersion is unquestionably the primary meaning of Baptizo. The Greek language has words for sprinkle and pour which are never used of baptism. Immersion best pictures the significance of baptism which is death to the old life and resurrection to the new …
Romans 6:1-4 NASB What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (2) May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (3) Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (4) Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Immersion could have been done in every case. Sufficient pools existed in Jerusalem to permit the immersion of 3,000 converts on the Day of Pentecost. The road to Gaza was deserted, but not waterless. Houses often had pools outdoors where, for example, the Philippian jailer's family could have been immersed.
Proselyte baptism was performed by self-immersion in a tank of water. This mode would naturally carry over to the Christian church. Pouring, not sprinkling, was the first exception to immersion and was allowed in cases of sickness. This was called "clinical baptism." Cyprian (ca. A.D. 248-258) was the first to approve of sprinkling. Even nonimmersionists acknowledge that immersion was the universal practice of the apostolic church (see Calvin, Institutes, 4:15:19).
An observation by Dr Charles Ryrie:
It seems to me (Dr Ryrie) that those who wish to justify sprinkling proceed this way in their thinking. If you can show that any form of nonimmersion (like pouring) was practiced early then you can legitimately practice sprinkling, even though it evidently was not practiced in the apostolic church. In other words, if pouring can be a hole in the dike of universal immersion, then sprinkling can flood in also. However, if anything, the evidence only says that pouring (if it was practiced) was considered the same as immersion, but sprinkling was not considered valid as baptism.
Three times; Trine Immersion
Trine immersion is the immersion of the candidate three times (usually forward) to symbolize the association with the Trine God. The Didache ( Teaching of Twelve Apostles) states that if immersion is not possible then water was to be poured three times on the head. Notice that this early work does not say to immerse three times, only pour three times. Proponents of trine immersion point out that some lexicons say that baptizo means to dip repeatedly (but some do not). The evidence for this view is not strong.
Lest we forget, it is not how many times, nor the manner baptism. Baptism will not save anyone. Only grace through faith in Christ alone will suffice for salvation. And, then get baptized.
Anyone desiring baptism? Call me or let me know at service.
Love to all, Pastor Mike
(602) 510-5563 Next week- The Lord's supper.
