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| Q: | I know that we are not saved through water baptism, it is just an outward sign to God of our faith. I saw sometime ago in the Bible that it said that we are only to be baptized but once. If we fall from grace we are to use our original Baptism to redeem us, as well as our communion. But I did not write the verse number down. Can you give me the verse that relates to this topic of water Baptism and how often we can do it. I say only once, but friends at my church say whenever. Your help with this issue would be greatly appreciated. | ||||||
| A: | You are mistaken in your understanding of baptism. Baptism is not an outward sign to God of our faith, but rather a gracious means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to create or strengthen faith in our hearts. The Holy Spirit brings us salvation through water baptism because of the Word and promise of God attached to the water in baptism (see 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38-39, Titus 3:4-7, Acts 22:16). We do not repeat baptism because in baptism God enters into a covenant relationship with us. He always remains faithful to that covenant because he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13). The New Testament writers often remind their readers that they have been baptized (e.g. Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 3:26-27, etc.) but they never encourage those who have received legitimate baptism to be baptized again. The people who were rebaptized by Paul (Acts 19:1-5) evidently had incomplete knowldge of the Trinity and incomplete knowldge of the saving work that had been accomplished by Jesus. There seems to have been doubt as to whether they had received true baptism or had merely participated in a ceremny of washing perforrmed by those who did not fully understand John's message. | ||||||
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