Baptized Again
Does anyone ever need to be baptized again? On the occasion of Acts chapter 19, there were some who were baptized again. The following is the account of what happened: “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” (Acts 19:1-5).
According to the text, Paul met people in the city of Ephesus who had been baptized with the baptism of John the Baptist (verse 3), and those people were baptized “again” (verse 5). Bear in mind that John, who served as a forerunner of Christ, immersed people in water for the remission of sins (cf. Matthew 3:1-6; Mark 1:4). Why, then, would these disciples in Ephesus need to be baptized again? They had already been immersed in water. Why was that not sufficient?
The answer is that John’s baptism was no longer a valid baptism. It had become obsolete. Those who received John’s baptism were taught to believe on Christ who was to come. However, the disciples of Acts chapter 19 received John’s baptism “after” Christ had come. They had been taught to believe on Christ “who was to come,” but they should have been taught to believe on Christ who “had come” already. In fact, He had died, been buried, and raised again. When the disciples of Ephesus heard this, “they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (verse 5). They knew their knowledge had not been complete, and they were baptized again.
What if an adult learns that, when he was a child, water was sprinkled on him as a “form” of baptism? Now the adult understands that sprinkling, as a form of baptism, is an unscriptural practice? Should he be baptized again? What if a person was baptized to join a denomination, and later that person learns that no person of the Bible was ever baptized to join a denomination? Should he be baptized again? What if a person was baptized, believing that he was saved before being baptized? Later, he learns that Bible baptism is “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Should he be baptized again?
There was a time when John’s baptism “was” valid. Nevertheless, the disciples of Acts chapter 19 who had experienced that baptism were baptized again? In contrast, the practices just mentioned have “never been valid” or scriptural. Does it not seem reasonable that a person who has received an invalid or unscriptural baptism should be baptized again? Please be sure that you have been baptized scripturally!
