BAPTISM
The act of baptism is a very important and necessary part of our
repentance for salvation, through baptism we open up our human spirit to the
reception of God's spirit into our life to begin working within us. But the act of baptism itself is of no
effect in our life until we are in a true repentant frame of mind, both
believing and accepting the word of God,
completely.
Baptism is the full immersion of oneself in
water, it is the symbolic death and burial of sin in our life, and the rebirth
of a new life committed to removing sin from our life.
As soon as you come to believe and repent, willing to live according to Gods ways, you should be baptized.
MATT 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water for remorse, but he that comes after me has more power than I do, and whose shoes I am not worthy to wear. He will baptize you with the holy ghost, or with fire.
MATT 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, and came up out of the water, the sky opened up to him, and we saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and landing upon him.
MATT 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:MARK 1:4 John baptized in the wilderness, and preached baptism for the remorse of sins.
MARK 16:16 He that believes and is baptized will be saved, and he that believes not will be damned.
LUKE 3:3 And he went into all the country side round about Jordan, preaching baptism for the remorse of sins;
LUKE 3:16 John answered, saying to them all, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I will come, whose sandals I am not fit to unloose. And he will baptize you with the holy ghost or with fire.
JOHN 1:25-33 And they asked him, Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, or Elijah the prophet? And John answered them, I baptize with water, but there in Bethabara which is beyond is one coming that you do not know, whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose. And this was Jordan, that John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, this is he whom I have spoken, I knew him not but that he would be made manifest to Israel, and that is why I have come to baptize with water. And John bare record saying, I saw a spirit descend from the sky like a dove, and it landed upon him. I knew him not, yet he that has sent me to baptize with water, the same did say to me, Upon he that you see a spirit descend, and land upon, the same is he which will baptize with the holy ghost. I saw and bare record that this was the son of God (even Christ received baptism).
If baptism were not necessary, why then would Jesus set us such an example to follow?
JOHN 3:5 Jesus answered, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
JOHN 3:22 Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea spending time baptizing.
ACTS 2:38 Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the holy ghost.
ACTS 8:36-38 And as they went on their way, they came upon water, and the eunuch asked, Here is water, can I be baptized? And Philip answered, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. So he commanded that the chariot stop. So they went down to the water, and the eunuch was baptized.
ROM 6:3-4 Know that being baptized into Jesus is to be baptized unto his death, therefore baptized to death and as Christ raised from the dead.
COL 2:12-13 Buried with him in baptism, wherein you are risen with him through the faith of God, who has raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he enlivened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.
1 PET 3:21 Baptism saves us not by cleaning the dirt from our bodies, but by changing our attitude towards God
RE-BAPTISM
What about those who have been baptized before or as infants, would it be appropriate to be re-baptized? Acts 19:1-7 answers this question
"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should 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 his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve."
Paul re-baptized them in the name of Christ, clearly he did not feel that doing so was wrong, and the Lord validated it with the gift of the holy spirit. Had the men rejected Paul's teaching of Christ, there is no doubt that Paul would have withheld re-baptizing them.
The baptism of an infant would be wrong on the basis that they would in most cases not truly understand the responsibility and importance of the the act. Someone baptized as an infant most likely should be re-baptized as an adult.
Sincere people who are qualified for baptism need not fear rebaptism.
