Do We Need To Take Immersion Baptism in Adulthood, If We Have Already Taken A Baptism In Our Infanthood?
Question: Is it important to take dip and immerse baptism in adulthood even if the person has already been baptised in his/her infanthood?
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
How did Jesus get Baptised? What did Jesus say about taking Baptism? Both these questions should be considered fully before looking in to the answer for your question?
Here is what the Scripture reveals regarding the question, "How did Jesus get Baptised?'
Matthew 3:13-17 reveals, "13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”" Here in the above verse we see a key thing, Jesus was a adult around 30 years of age at the time of His baptism. Jesus is the role model for all believers. Even in taking baptism, I do not say that we have to wait till 30 years of age, like Jesus, because the age of getting in to priesthood to do temple ministry was around 30 (Num 4:3). Jesus waited, but old and young partook in the Baptism of John repenting of their sins (Matt 3:5-6, 8; Luke 3:3, 7-9), which shows that when someone comes to realize that they are sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, that is the time they must be allowed to take Baptism.
So infant Baptism is a false doctrine that has come inside the Church to make people believe that by being born in the Church, they have the right to enter heaven. What did Jesus say? No one whether born inside the Church premises or brought up within it can "see the Kingdom of God... unless one is born again" (John 3:3). Just like a person born in a garage cannot make him a automobile, born physically in a Christian family or in a Church atmosphere of a place cannot make that person a Christian. God has no grand children but only children, irrespective of the age of a person whether a small child or a adult or a old person (John 1:12).
A infant cannot understand that she or he is a sinner, and that is why we see when God was judging a generation for its sin and prevented them from entering Canaans land, he was telling that message of judgment for sin only to those within the age of accountability, that is, from twenty years old and above in their generation (Num 14:29-30), others were actually called by God as little ones who had no knowledge of good and evil, they were allowed to go and enter Canaan along with Joshua and Caleb who walked in faith (Deut 1:36, 38-39). This shows that only when a person comes to a place where they become accountable for what they do or don't do, then they have the ability to realize their mistake and seek God for forgiveness of their sins and be saved eternally.
So three and half or four years and above can be the right age for the children to learn about the God of the Bible, and the precepts of faith and salvation from sin in their Sunday schools and homes, just like we take the children to join in Lower Kinder Garten to educate them in their secular ways of this world after the age of three and half or four years of age. But Baptism should not be denied to children above the age of four, when they come to realize that they are sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, as Christ Himself has said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matt 19:14, NIV). In other words, Jesus is telling the adults who think that little ones are of little value when it comes to spiritual things and their decisions to follow Christ, that they should reconsider their thinking, because Jesus says that the children's have the ability to easily believe their faults and sins, and also have the ability to repent and cling on to the words of Jesus Christ and become the children of God. So it is easy for the children to enter the Kingdom of God as it already belongs to them as they have the tendency to believe God easily and follow Him unlike the adults who struggle to believe the truth of Jesus Christ. So Children can be given baptism if they show a voluntary willingness to profess Christ and take responsibility of their faith to live by it through a public confession before the gathering of saints in the Church. In fact it is wrong to deny them Baptism, if they really have faith within them.
The KEY WORD in the Baptism of Jesus is, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him" (Matt 3:16), we see a Baptism in the river Jordan in which Jesus was immersed in the water and came up from the water, once he was done up taking baptism in the right way, God recognized it and opened up the heavens to Him. So the right Biblical way to take water Baptism is not sprinkling water before God and men, but rather be immersed in water to declare our faith that the Old nature has died when we have gone in to water and the New nature of Christ has come up out of us to rule us in our new way of living by faith when we come out of water (Rom 6:3-14). God recognizes the faith behind the immersion water baptism more important, and also sees that we follow the pattern that Jesus has set before us.
To the second question, 'What did Jesus say about taking Baptism?', we see in Matt 28:18-20, "18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.". In other words, Jesus gave authority to all mature believers to take authority in His name, and go in to all the nations or people groups to make disciples, then give baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them all to observe all things that they as believers are commanded to keep by Jesus, as Jesus Himself is with them all in His Presence even to the end of the age.
Children can safely be given immersion Baptism as like a adult is given when they are given a raised platform to stand on. Then they should be continually be taught the teaching of Jesus to keep them and live them practically in their lives through various methods like Home Family Prayer and Devotional Time, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Children camps and other way of educating them in faith to guide them more and more in the way of the Lord.
So my clear message is that there should not be any baptism given on infanthood (i.e.) Infant (1-12 monts) and Toddlers (1-3 years), if in case a child around the age of four as a Preschooler (3-5 years) or School-Age (6-12 years) or Adolescent Teenagers (13 teen and above) have come to voluntary profess and accept the faith from their heart, they should be given a change to get Baptised if they voluntarily come forward to confess it before the assembly of saints which is the Church of Jesus Christ.
So, is it important to take dip and immersion baptism in adulthood even if the person has already been baptized in his/her childhood (4-12+ years)? No, if a child has confessed the faith from his/her heart the first time it has done it, God has recorded it in heaven and therefore he seals them with His heavenly seal of the Holy Spirit and also the gift of the Holy Spirit at other instances, and they become God's children forever and ever (John 1:12; Eph 1:13-14; Acts 2:38-39; 10:47; 19:5-6), so there is no need to insist to take the Baptism again if the first one is taken with faith before the assembly of saints or even privately.
If the first Baptism has been sprinkled or done without a personal faith on the part of those who have taken it, it would be better to get immersed and baptized again in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Baptism in water is a declaration to the world that a believer has died with Christ and they have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
Thus we should understand that Baptism in itself is of no spiritual value if faith is not present in the Lord Jesus, where He must be believed in the heart and confessed with the mouth in order for them to get saved and be aligned on to the way of obedience to the words of Jesus Christ which leads to the heavenly Kingdom of God (Rom 10:9-10, 13). Thus Baptism in water is not to get saved but it is for those who know that they are saved by faith. Thus taking water baptism is a obedience to the command of Jesus to become a disciple if we already are a believer. There are tremendous spiritual blessings of deliverance and victorious living that gets released in us when we come to take baptism by faith in Christ Jesus.
Much Blessings...
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
How did Jesus get Baptised? What did Jesus say about taking Baptism? Both these questions should be considered fully before looking in to the answer for your question?
Here is what the Scripture reveals regarding the question, "How did Jesus get Baptised?'
Matthew 3:13-17 reveals, "13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”" Here in the above verse we see a key thing, Jesus was a adult around 30 years of age at the time of His baptism. Jesus is the role model for all believers. Even in taking baptism, I do not say that we have to wait till 30 years of age, like Jesus, because the age of getting in to priesthood to do temple ministry was around 30 (Num 4:3). Jesus waited, but old and young partook in the Baptism of John repenting of their sins (Matt 3:5-6, 8; Luke 3:3, 7-9), which shows that when someone comes to realize that they are sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, that is the time they must be allowed to take Baptism.
A infant cannot understand that she or he is a sinner, and that is why we see when God was judging a generation for its sin and prevented them from entering Canaans land, he was telling that message of judgment for sin only to those within the age of accountability, that is, from twenty years old and above in their generation (Num 14:29-30), others were actually called by God as little ones who had no knowledge of good and evil, they were allowed to go and enter Canaan along with Joshua and Caleb who walked in faith (Deut 1:36, 38-39). This shows that only when a person comes to a place where they become accountable for what they do or don't do, then they have the ability to realize their mistake and seek God for forgiveness of their sins and be saved eternally.
So three and half or four years and above can be the right age for the children to learn about the God of the Bible, and the precepts of faith and salvation from sin in their Sunday schools and homes, just like we take the children to join in Lower Kinder Garten to educate them in their secular ways of this world after the age of three and half or four years of age. But Baptism should not be denied to children above the age of four, when they come to realize that they are sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, as Christ Himself has said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matt 19:14, NIV). In other words, Jesus is telling the adults who think that little ones are of little value when it comes to spiritual things and their decisions to follow Christ, that they should reconsider their thinking, because Jesus says that the children's have the ability to easily believe their faults and sins, and also have the ability to repent and cling on to the words of Jesus Christ and become the children of God. So it is easy for the children to enter the Kingdom of God as it already belongs to them as they have the tendency to believe God easily and follow Him unlike the adults who struggle to believe the truth of Jesus Christ. So Children can be given baptism if they show a voluntary willingness to profess Christ and take responsibility of their faith to live by it through a public confession before the gathering of saints in the Church. In fact it is wrong to deny them Baptism, if they really have faith within them.
The KEY WORD in the Baptism of Jesus is, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him" (Matt 3:16), we see a Baptism in the river Jordan in which Jesus was immersed in the water and came up from the water, once he was done up taking baptism in the right way, God recognized it and opened up the heavens to Him. So the right Biblical way to take water Baptism is not sprinkling water before God and men, but rather be immersed in water to declare our faith that the Old nature has died when we have gone in to water and the New nature of Christ has come up out of us to rule us in our new way of living by faith when we come out of water (Rom 6:3-14). God recognizes the faith behind the immersion water baptism more important, and also sees that we follow the pattern that Jesus has set before us.
To the second question, 'What did Jesus say about taking Baptism?', we see in Matt 28:18-20, "18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.". In other words, Jesus gave authority to all mature believers to take authority in His name, and go in to all the nations or people groups to make disciples, then give baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them all to observe all things that they as believers are commanded to keep by Jesus, as Jesus Himself is with them all in His Presence even to the end of the age.
Children can safely be given immersion Baptism as like a adult is given when they are given a raised platform to stand on. Then they should be continually be taught the teaching of Jesus to keep them and live them practically in their lives through various methods like Home Family Prayer and Devotional Time, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Children camps and other way of educating them in faith to guide them more and more in the way of the Lord.
So my clear message is that there should not be any baptism given on infanthood (i.e.) Infant (1-12 monts) and Toddlers (1-3 years), if in case a child around the age of four as a Preschooler (3-5 years) or School-Age (6-12 years) or Adolescent Teenagers (13 teen and above) have come to voluntary profess and accept the faith from their heart, they should be given a change to get Baptised if they voluntarily come forward to confess it before the assembly of saints which is the Church of Jesus Christ.
So, is it important to take dip and immersion baptism in adulthood even if the person has already been baptized in his/her childhood (4-12+ years)? No, if a child has confessed the faith from his/her heart the first time it has done it, God has recorded it in heaven and therefore he seals them with His heavenly seal of the Holy Spirit and also the gift of the Holy Spirit at other instances, and they become God's children forever and ever (John 1:12; Eph 1:13-14; Acts 2:38-39; 10:47; 19:5-6), so there is no need to insist to take the Baptism again if the first one is taken with faith before the assembly of saints or even privately.
If the first Baptism has been sprinkled or done without a personal faith on the part of those who have taken it, it would be better to get immersed and baptized again in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Baptism in water is a declaration to the world that a believer has died with Christ and they have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
Thus we should understand that Baptism in itself is of no spiritual value if faith is not present in the Lord Jesus, where He must be believed in the heart and confessed with the mouth in order for them to get saved and be aligned on to the way of obedience to the words of Jesus Christ which leads to the heavenly Kingdom of God (Rom 10:9-10, 13). Thus Baptism in water is not to get saved but it is for those who know that they are saved by faith. Thus taking water baptism is a obedience to the command of Jesus to become a disciple if we already are a believer. There are tremendous spiritual blessings of deliverance and victorious living that gets released in us when we come to take baptism by faith in Christ Jesus.
Much Blessings...
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