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| Two little sisters enjoying feeding the Japanese carp in the pond. |
Jun
13, 2007, 8:32 AM
Concerning rebaptism
Dear Brother Ehsan,
My
sincere apology for not responding earlier.
Thanks
for sharing with me your situation with the Bible Baptist Church.
I do commend you and your dear wife for the sincere desire to practice biblical churchmanship. I am sad that such a desire has been rebuffed by the BBC. May the Lord bless you both for wanting to do right even though others have unwisely put obstacles in your path. Being part of a God-fearing and Christ-honoring local church is essential to our well-being (NOT 'being') as God's children making our journey through this wilderness world to our eternal home and glory.
Concerning the demand to be baptized again before admission into church membership, this is not unusual with some churches, each having their various and weird reasons. Many of these reasons are whimsical and unscriptural. The Scriptures do speak of the need for 're-baptism' when the previous baptism, for various reasons, did not constitute a valid or scriptural baptism - see Acts 19.
So, the parties involved need to come to an agreement of what constitutes a biblical baptism, and what constitutes an alien invalid baptism. The Scriptures speak of the ONE Lord and ONE baptism. What constitutes the ONE baptism commanded, and accepted by the Lord Jesus Christ? Different people will give various number of reasons... all claiming to be biblical. It is one thing for a church to claim biblical authority to her practice, it is another to prove it from the plain statements of Scripture. Scripture is, and must be the ONLY authority for our faith and practice.
From the Scriptures, we can discern without doubt that the ONE baptism spoken of is the baptism of (a) the proper subject: a believer (b) with proper mode: immersion (c) by a proper administrator: ordained pastor of a church of Jesus Christ (d) for the proper reason: the answer of a good conscience toward God.
(a) A Proper Subject: only a believer in Jesus Christ is a valid candidate for baptism. But a believer in/of what? Various churches insist that unless a person believes this or that doctrine of their churches, e.g. Pre-millennialism, Dispensationalism, Calvinism, church-ism (we are the true church), or this 'ism' and that 'ism', etc, etc. All these have gone beyond the Scriptures. They are adding to the Scriptures. Believing in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour is all that the Scripture requires of a person to be a fit candidate for water immersion - that is all the requirement of the Scriptures upon a repentant sinner. These believers may only have minimal knowledge of the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ - they may be ignorant of the deep doctrines of the person of Christ - that's what we see in the Scriptures again and again. They heard the gospel, believed and were baptized. Teaching and instructing and grounding them in sound doctrines and training them in practical godliness FOLLOW AFTER their baptism. It is "Come and learn"; it is not "Learn, then come." All the epistles were written to churches to establish them in the sound doctrines and practical godliness, to reprove and to correct them of their errors and practices. If these people had known and agreed with all the doctrines before they were baptized, there would be no more need for these apostolic epistles to them!!!
'Believing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ' qualifies a sinner as a biblical candidate for baptism, and makes his baptism a biblical baptism.
(b) With a Proper Mode: Immersion is the only mode specified by Christ, and from every consideration the only mode that adequately expresses and portrays a person's union with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have never seen a dead person buried with a handful of soil sprinkled over him. Such is no burial at all! In such a case, it is imperative that another burial, a proper one is performed. No immersion, no baptism, no matter what. No one will dispute that sprinkling a handful of dirt on a dead person constitutes NO burial!
(c) By a Proper Administrator: is an officer of Christ representing a local
NT church. He is delegated by Christ to administer the authority
which Christ Himself has invested in the church; it is not invested
in the administrator! (Some pastors claim that the power is invested
in them, and become tyrannical and lording over the Lord's heritage.) The administrator performs baptism in the
name of Christ, baptizing
in the name of the Trinity, by the authority of Christ vested
in the local church, and the baptized are added to the membership
of the church.
(One who is baptized in the authority of Christ is brought under the same authority vested in a local church. A baptism that does not bring the baptized under the authority of Christ vested in a local church is a farce and a monstrosity unknown in the Scriptures.)
(d) For a Proper Reason: 1Pe
3:21 "The
like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
- Water baptism does not put away sin, the filth of the flesh; it's only a picture of how our sins were put
away by Christ’s death and resurrection. Submitting to water baptism is simply an answer and
testimony to God for what He has done in Jesus Christ to save us by Himself. It is the answer of a conscience, made good by the blood of Christ, towards God.
So a believer in Jesus Christ who is immersed by a biblical officer of an NT church in the blessed name of the Triune God for the right reason is biblically baptized. Such baptism should be recognized and received by all churches that honour Christ as the Head of the Church. One who has not undergone biblical baptism should be properly baptized - let the old man be properly buried by immersion by a lawful administrator.
Biblical baptism is in the name of Christ; it is not in the name of a church or a denomination. Some churches believe that only baptisms administered by their churches and in the name of their churches are valid. This is presumptuous at best, and self-conceited at worst.
They elevate themselves above Christ. I fear that the BBC in XYZ town which requires you to be baptized in order to be admitted into its membership belongs to this category.
To reject and despise a biblical baptism that Christ has received and approved is no small offence. I think repudiating what Christ Jesus, the sole Head of the Church, has received and approved is a serious matter. It is putting themselves at odds against Jesus Christ, arbitrarily setting up human standards in the house of God, the church of Christ. But many only give lip service to Christ Headship and Lordship. In reality, they usurp Christ's authority by legislating and imposing their own whims and fancies upon His redeemed people. It is adding to the Scriptures and despises Christ's authority as the ALONE head of His church.
For a believer, who has been baptized biblical, to submit to another baptism is not a small offence either. Such an act is an affront and insult to Christ. It is to despise the valid baptism one already received. It is likened to having your old man that had been properly buried dug up so that another burial may be performed upon it! That's what demand for the re-baptism of a properly baptized child of God amounts to! It is a great offence to the dead that had been properly buried to be dug up and be buried again. Do people ever consider what their demand amounts too?
In light of these follies, it is a matter of comfort and assurance to know that our place in eternal glory in the presence of God is all by the mercies and grace of God... "For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Going to heaven DOES NOT depend in any way on anything we do or fail to do. It is all by the grace of God... no one contributes or assists God in any way in the work of predestinating (predetermining his eternal destiny) him to eternal glory... no one assists God in calling him out of death and sin and condemnation to eternal life and righteousness and forgiveness.
Take careful note of all the sovereign and unilateral acts of God - our eternal salvation is guaranteed by the free and sovereign acts of God... even though the foolishness of some churches may deprive us of the temporal blessings! Churches of Jesus Christ on earth are EMBASSIES of HEAVEN on earth... and they are here to minister to the needs of ALL Christ's people, NOT just some class of Christ's people.
I don't think Christ would be pleased with churches that turn away His people for whimsical reasons.
Brother, I have rambled... Please know that you will find a home among the Lord's humble saints in Sungai Dua Church here in Penang.
We love you in the Lord. His people are precious in our sight, whatever defects they might presently have.
your brother and servant of Christ,
sing
