If someone is baptized by immersion at the age of accountability, and they do it for the right reasons, but it's in a denominational church, do they need to be re-baptized when they join a faithful congregation?

 

Sincerely,
H2Oh, No!

Dear H2Oh, No,

If someone is baptized for the right reasons, they are baptized for the right reasons.  God tells us that we must be baptized for salvation and forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  The baptism must be a full immersion (the very word ‘baptism’ means ‘immersion’) because baptism is a burial with Christ (Rom 6:4).  If someone is baptized for those reasons, there is no need for a “re-baptism”.

However, we would point out that very few of the denominations properly administer baptism.  In our experience, it is very common for someone to come from the denominational world, and after being taught about baptism, they revise the history of why they were baptized in their previous church.

Baptism is not something to leave to chance.  If there is any doubt whatsoever over why you were baptized, we recommend asking the church that baptized you what they believe the purpose of baptism is.  After asking them, you will know for certain the circumstances and logic surrounding that baptism.  Furthermore, if there is any doubt over why you were baptized, that tends to be a good sign that you didn’t fully know why you were doing it.

After all is said and done, everyone must work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Php 2:12)… and part of that is making sure that you were baptized properly.

I was talking to my brother who told me that the Bible we use now was constructed by the Catholics, and they left out numerous books and stories. When I said that it was probably stories that the other prophets covered, he said that they left one out about Jesus killing sparrows and a boy and then bringing them back to life in "Thomas' Gospel of Infancy":

"Later he was going through the village again when a boy ran and bumped him on the shoulder. Jesus got angry and said to him, "You won't continue your journey." And all of a sudden, he fell down and died."

I'm trying to make sense of this because I know the Bible is true, but was it constructed by false christians? And if so, is it still pure, true, and the whole Word of God? Please help me.

Sincerely, Truth Only Please

Dear Truth Only Please,

The books that your brother referred to are called ‘apocryphal’ books. An apocryphal book (apocrypha means hidden) is a book that was rejected from the Bible because it was considered inauthentic. These books are not written by God and never were accepted by God’s people as divinely inspired. The Bible was not constructed by Catholics, but that is a common misconception. The most famous historical document that includes the entire list of all the New Testament books was written at the Nicene Council in 325 AD. The Nicene Council is considered to be one of the defining moments that led to the formation of the Catholic church, and therefore people say that Catholics constructed the New Testament. It just isn’t true though.

The Nicene Council did write down a list of the New Testament books, but they didn’t create that list – they just reiterated what people had already known and accepted for a couple hundred years. Most of the New Testament books were written as letters to different congregations that personally knew the apostles and prophets that wrote the letters. Paul would even mention his penmanship as being distinctive (Gal 6:11). Those churches were able to tell the difference between a letter that was actually written by an apostle and one that was a forgery. The church of the first century collected, copied, and distributed these letters just as God intended (Col 4:16, 1 Thess. 5:27). Well before Catholicism showed up on the scene, the books of the Bible were uniformly accepted, and the apocryphal books had been rejected. God made sure that His Word was properly preserved and established.

Is it true that there is more than one human creator? The god of the Chinese, god of the Africans, god of the Jews…

Sincerely, National Beginnings

Dear National Beginnings,

There is only one God, and He created all of mankind. On the sixth day of creation, God made Adam & Eve (Gen 1:26). Eve is the mother of all humans (Gen 3:20). Throughout history, there have been many claims of different gods. From every nation and culture, there has arisen false gods and false creation stories. However, as Paul tells the Athenians, all such myths are from ignorance (Acts 17:30). The truth is that there is only one God, and He is Father of us all (Eph 4:6).

Was there ever a time that the churches of Christ taught that artificial birth control was always sinful?  Can you tell me the earliest teaching you can identify within the churches of Christ that teaches that artificial birth control is permissible?

Sincerely, History Lessons

Dear History Lessons,

Your question assumes that the title ‘church of Christ’ is the name of a denomination with a unified creed and leadership - it isn’t. The name ‘church of Christ’ is taken directly from the Bible (2 Thess 1:1). The church belongs to Christ because He purchased it with His blood (Acts 20:28). Though some groups that use the title ‘church of Christ’ are denominations, our congregation professes to only stand by the Bible and nothing else, just like the churches of the first century. Each congregation was independently led by elders and commended to the Lord’s guidance (Acts 14:23). Many people have attempted to classify these kinds of churches as another denomination (a quick Google or Wikipedia search shows the ways people have tried to define these congregations), but ultimately they are simply groups that have all independently asserted to use the Bible (and the Bible only) as their standard of measure.

The New Testament’s teachings on birth control (see this post for more on that topic) are the only place I can direct you to regarding the church of Christ’s teachings on the topic. Each individual person and congregation must study the Scriptures and rightly divide the Word concerning the subject of birth control (2 Tim 2:15)… as we seek to on any topic. There is no board of directors, theological center, or creed book that decides for us. God’s people should be beholden to His Word and His Word only. A faithful congregation turns to the Scriptures and imitates the first century church seen in the Bible. May Christ alone be our head and guide (Eph 5:23).

I was baptized at age twelve (Baptist Church), but my husband was sprinkled in his Methodist Church when he was a baby.  He is wondering, should he be baptized as an adult?

Sincerely, Sprinkled, Poured or Plunged

Dear Sprinkled, Poured or Plunged,

There are two important elements to baptism:

1. Why you are baptized
2. How you are baptized

God requires that we be baptized for the right reasons. Baptism should be for salvation (Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21). When we are baptized, we must be baptized under Jesus’ authority and for His reasons. Being baptized for membership into a church, as “an outward sign of an inward grace”, for public recognition, as an infant, etc. are not Biblical baptisms. An easy way to find out why you were baptized is to ask your preacher why your congregation baptizes people. Even Paul re-baptized people who hadn’t been baptized under Christ’s authority (Acts 19:3-5). The great preacher Apollos was also re-baptized when he found out he hadn’t been baptized for salvation (Acts 18:24-26). We must be baptized for the right reasons, or we are just getting wet.

We must also be baptized in the right way. This wasn’t much of a problem for the first century christians because they understood what the word ‘baptize’ meant. The only reason we have trouble today is because many religious groups have twisted and altered the Scriptures. ‘Baptize’ comes from a Greek word that means ‘to immerse’; it is the same word that the Greeks used for a ship when it had sunk. Baptism has nothing to do with sprinkling or pouring water on someone. Baptism is a full immersion under water; that is why John baptized where there was “much water” (Jhn 3:23). The whole symbolism of baptism as a burial would make no sense if baptism were sprinkling (Rom 6:4). Biblical baptism is full immersion in water for the remission of sins.