Among the many practices in the Christian church, one of the most troubling is the act of rebaptizing someone.
If you believe as Methodists do, that baptism initiates you into God’s kingdom, it only needs to be done once. If you believe that baptism is something that you do when you need to turn from sin and confess your faith, then you better be ready to be baptized 100 times in your life. I know of a 26 year old man who has been baptized five times! At some point, it is insulting to God. At some point we have to start understanding that the power in baptism is not our decision, but the grace of God that descends upon the person being baptized.
In the scriptures, there is evidence of adults being baptized. There is also evidence that children were baptized. The Philippian jailer and his house were baptized. There is no scriptural evidence that children were excluded. There is no evidence of children waiting and being baptized later in life. There is no scriptural evidence of rebaptism.
Baptism is the sign of God’s promise to us. Received as an adult or as a child, it need only be done once. You may not remember your baptism, or the memory of it may have faded, but I promise you that God has not forgotten.
It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.
No comments:
Post a Comment