Rebaptism

I was raised Presbyterian, and was baptized by my late grandfather (a minister) as an infant. Do I need to be "re-baptized"? I want to do what is right, but hesitate to be re-baptized as my grandfather passed away a few years ago and it means a lot to me that he performed the baptism (and know this would hurt my dad's feelings).

The first thing to consider is Jesus Christ is to be first in your life.  In Matthew 10:37 Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." Jesus is teaching in this verse that He is to come before our family.  While I recognize that this can be very hard at times, we cannot afford to allow our families to keep us from obeying Jesus.

The second thing to consider is that there is one baptism today (Ephesians 4:4-6, "4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."  In order for this baptism to be valid, one must believe and repent before the baptism (see also Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).  Infants cannot believe or repent.  In fact, they have nothing to repent of.

 When one learns of the necessity of believing, repenting, and being baptized, it becomes a question of whether one obeys Jesus Christ or not. Please consider what the Hebrew writer said in Hebrews 5:9 "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him," NKJV. 

If we can be of any assistance in helping you in your studies or rendering obedience to Christ, please feel free to ask our help.

 Stanton See

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