Learn why some think it is a sin to be baptized twice

Is it a sin to be baptized twice? This is probably a common doubt in many people, today in this article we will clarify whether or not it is a sin to be baptized twice.

Why do some think it is a sin to be baptized twice?

Baptism is the Christian sacrament that consists of pouring water on the head or immersing the person in water, depending on the religious tendency that is followed, this sacrament is performed in newborn children in the Catholic religion or in young people or adults who they accept their sins and are baptized to accept a new life in Christ in the Christian religion. In both situations, baptism is a symbol of purification, of birth to a new life.

Although the moment in which the baptism is performed and the way in which it is received and even the reason for the baptism, is totally different in the two religions that have the largest number of parishioners in the world, it is a sacrament of acceptance and purification. in both.

In the Catholic religion, baptism is performed on newborn children to erase original sin, that is the foundation of the sacrament of baptism in said doctrine, while in the Christian church, baptism is performed in the awareness of accepting life in Christ and leave behind the life of sin.

As the human being is so changeable, so unstable is one of his natural conditions, it is very possible that as a child he was baptized in the Catholic doctrine because his parents were Catholic and then as an adult he accepts his sins and decides to be baptized and follow the word of God. God from the Christian doctrine, can this be considered a second baptism and therefore, the question arises, is it a sin to be baptized twice?

It is a topic that can be developed in principle based on the Bible itself, since we cannot take the word of God lightly, however, there will be cases with weighty foundations that allow baptism to be performed a “second time”. Is it a sin to be baptized twice? It should not be considered a sin if we were baptized in one religious doctrine and then baptized in another.

In the case raised above, this young man who is now aware of wanting to live his life under a Christian doctrine, would be really being baptized for the first time, since the first time he was baptized by his parents while still an infant, he was not in capacity to accept the gospel and much less to accept his sins and neither to accept to live his life in Christ.

When a person decides to give his life to the Lord, the first thing he should do is be baptized in waters, however, in this human condition of weakness, sometimes there are brothers who relapse into sin and after being baptized they return to live with habits who are far from the way of the Lord.

In these cases where there was really no honest repentance of their sins and their faith and love for being in the life of God was not strengthened, can this person be baptized in water again, if they repent? We must make a deep analysis of this case:

The word of God says that there is only one baptism in water, which means that the person who is baptized is totally convinced of abandoning the earthly life of sin, and will remain in life with Jesus Christ until his death.

We must be aware that in 1 Corinthians 10:13, the word of God tells us “No temptation has taken you except what is common to men, but God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what they can bear, but along with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that they can bear it.”

It is therefore very clear in the word written by the apostle Saint Paul that God will put us to the test and we will have temptation before us, but he will also give us the way out, therefore, you must repent with all your heart and surrender everything without looking back at the past.

Being baptized again weakens the mandate of God, one must be very careful about it, because then hundreds and thousands of parishioners would be baptized repeatedly for falling into sin and this would be a great mistake, since it weakens the divine mandate. Do you know  who founded the Ephesus Church?

We can then say that being baptized twice is a sin? Actually, we were never baptized twice, if we come from a baptism of which we were not aware of our dedication to the gospel, we have no responsibility for it, it will be difficult for us to say that we were truly baptized. , so by being baptized in a conscious and accepted way, it will be our first time.

If we get baptized aware of being sorry for our sins and wanting to take the life of Christ as our own, it is our first baptism and we should not be baptized again, but stay on the right path. There are opinions that indicate that there may be exceptional cases in which people must be baptized again, I personally disagree with this and I will give my reasons.

We are not baptized if some essential element of baptism is missing, therefore, we simply have not received the sacrament, when explaining reasons or giving explanations based on the Bible, such as when Paul baptized the 12 men again, these men simply were not baptized in the correct way. Therefore, by doing the baptism in compliance with all the essential elements, that is, in the correct way, it is your first time.

For example, if the person was baptized and was not fully sure or aware of their faith in Christ as Savior, unfortunately this person was not really baptized since an essential element was missing for baptism to be considered valid.

It is important to be respectful of the doctrines and not to give ours as the only one, if a son of God who received the sacrament of baptism in another Christian church arrives at our church and asks us to be baptized again, under the doctrine of our church, We must clarify based on the word of God, that it is not necessary, in that case it could be interpreted as a sin, because we are ignoring the baptism of an evangelizing brother.

Perhaps now the concern arises as to whether the person who guides that other church is really an evangelizer or an impostor and therefore, this brother came seeking refuge in our church, because this must be verified, and if it is true that whoever baptized him is an impostor, so this brother is not really baptized.

just a baptism

Being respectful of the word of God we cannot fall into interpretations that make it deviate, the Bible is clear in Ephesian 4:5 “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”. To be attached then to the fulfillment of the word I must be fully sure of my Christian faith, meet the prerequisites and comply with all the essential elements for baptism.

We cannot forget the objective of the church, if we move away from it we are lost, if it is true that the objective is to multiply believers, but not so that the Pastors become more recognized, because then we fall into the sin of “I”, when It must be Jesus. A person who is not really converted to the faith, who is not aware of being sorry for his sins, cannot be baptized.

Not having full awareness of what baptism means is already an essential factor or element that is missing. The ministry is obliged to teach, review, observe and verify that this person can really be baptized. It is very important to understand that baptism is not to save me, baptism is deserved because I am saved, because I was born again in the life of Christ.

Whoever baptizes is anointed by the Holy Spirit, he had the call of God, he is authorized to baptize, therefore, one must be very careful of fraudsters. We will never be baptized in the name of someone other than Jesus, that is why Paul baptized the 12 men again, they had been baptized to prepare them for the arrival of the Messiah, but Paul baptized them to be part of the church, of his ministry .

According to the Bible

Below we will indicate the essential elements for you to recognize if you were baptized in the correct way, complying with each of the biblical elements. For Christian doctrine, people should preferably be adults with full awareness of wanting to follow the life of God, they should be baptized, however, there are ministries that baptize children because their parents are Christians and have demonstrated their faith and teaching of the word.

Christians must be baptized by immersion, not sprinkling, that is, the Christian must be immersed in water. This statement is found in Romans 6:3:4 O are you ignorant that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through our baptism into his death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, so we too walk in newness of life.

Also in Colossians 2:12 he makes reference when he tells us “because you were buried with him at his baptism”. Based on this, we can point out that the correct way to be baptized is by immersion.

We must be baptized in the name of Christ, if we have been baptized in the name of any other person, we have not been baptized under the correct authority. In Acts 19:5, this statement is supported “When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”

There must also be an awareness of a correct purpose, the only purpose is the Forgiveness of Sins, we cannot make the mistake of thinking that we are baptized to save ourselves, as we discussed earlier, we are baptized because we are saved. (See also: Who were the Pharisees according to the Bible ).

We find this assertion of the purpose of baptism referred to in Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit” and is ratified in Acts 22 :16.

A repentant subject is baptized, if we were baptized and we are not really repentant, we were baptized because we were coerced, then there is no faith, no repentance of heart, therefore, you must be honest with yourself and recognize that you have not been baptized . Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

By being baptized complying with all the biblical elements we will never need to be baptized again, we only really get baptized once, that is why it is not a sin to be baptized twice, since it will not happen, by complying with the elements we are fully convinced.

I invite you to read Acts in its entirety and you will be convinced, as the scriptures in Acts outline newly converted people who are baptized. Therefore, when a person is considered to be rebaptized, it is because it is considered that the ordinances of the Lord were not fulfilled, so he was not truly baptized.

What to do before getting baptized?

As we have already mentioned before being baptized you must be aware of being repentant, but if you are really repentant it is because you have knowledge of the will of God. It is very important that you are a consistent reader of the bible, the bible is very extensive and every day we learn something new from it.

However, at least before you are baptized, you must know and clearly understand the words of Hebrew 5:12, “For actually, although they should be teachers in view of the time, yet again they need someone to teach them things from the beginning. elemental, of the sacred formal declarations of God; and they have come to act like those who needed milk, not solid food.”

That is to say, they must study and look among their brothers for someone to help them grow in faith and in the sacred scriptures. Without faith it is impossible to be pleasing to God, this is clearly stated in Hebrews 11:6. By studying the word of God your faith will become stronger and of course your actions and your life will grow in God.

Never stop talking about everything you have learned, your children are your first students, your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers, all are recipients of the word of God. The correct thing is that the elders and the pastor of your church verify that you have learned and understand the word, they will evaluate and tell you if you are ready to be baptized.

You must be truly sorry before you are baptized (Acts 3:19). We must be clear that his repentance is not by word, but by heart and vocation. You will feel the need to serve the Lord and you will not be afraid of disappointing him, you will naturally keep your promise and do his will without any regret, because love for God will make our way easy. You will be ready to be baptized.

By performing the baptism in the correct way and complying with all the essential elements, you will only be baptized once, since you will be a repentant, God-loving man. The only way to be baptized again is because the elements of biblical baptism were not fully met, therefore you must be baptized again.