Naturally the subject of baptism will come up in religious talk. It’s a ceremony performed in many religious circles with varying degrees of significance placed on it. Sometimes the subject of “re-baptism” comes up, in which a person who was previously baptized for one reason, studies the Bible and learns about Baptism as recorded in the New Testament, and concludes that the baptism he experienced earlier in his life was not under the same conditions discussed in the New Testament. That person might think he needs to be re-baptized.

What about that?

First a disclaimer: The issue at hand isn’t whether or not a person “fully understands” all the Bible has to say about baptism in order to obtain remission of sins at the point of his baptism (as the Bible teaches — Acts 2:38). The notion of atonement and justification, the power of the blood and the “Death, Burial and Resurrection” symbol of baptism are deep concepts and not ones “fully understood” until years of study have been done (if then).

The issue I’m thinking about is if a person has been taught a false gospel, told “all you need to do is believe; you don’t have to be baptized to be saved” (or something akin to that), and then later was baptized for any number of reasons (such as to be added to a denomination or as part of a cult ceremony, etc).

The issue I’m thinking about is, does that person who was previously immersed for some random reason need to be re-immersed once they learn the truth of the Gospel, which previously had been denied them.
I argue that person WOULD need to be re-baptized because getting dunked in water doesn’t save a person; water doesn’t save. The blood of Jesus saves when we faithfully obey God. That’s the principle taught to us by Paul in Romans 4 (and others).
And since faith comes by hearing the word (Romans 10:17) a person who was not taught the word but was in fact taught a false gospel has no faith. He may “believe that Jesus rose from the dead” but that’s not faith; that’s accepting facts. Faith requires reliance and a yielding over of oneself to God. It is tethered to baptism because it is in baptism that a person puts their old life to death and rises with the intent to walk a new one with Jesus (Romans 6).

And since “baptism,” as the New Testament uses the word, just means “getting immersed in water” we ought not think that just any old “dunking” is sufficient. It has to be a dunking with proper intent. That’s the repentance component to baptism (Acts 2:38). And repentance is more than just being sorry that Jesus died and wanting him to save you. It involves a yielding over of one’s will to God (borne out of godly sorrow).

If a person was taught they were saved before they were immersed then when they were immersed, what happened? Nothing. Just like nothing happens when a sinner says the sinner’s prayer or “asks Jesus into their heart” (concepts which are foreign to the Bible). Nothing happens just like when someone jumps in a swimming pool and is immersed in water. Water doesn’t save, so of course you can’t say “well I jumped in a swimming pool three years ago so I was immersed. There: I obeyed the command of Mark 16:16.”

Someone might say: “But baptism is more than just getting immersed! It’s something you do as part of your relationship with Jesus! After all, when I was baptized by my pastor, he said ‘I baptized you in the name of Jesus.’

But what is baptism in the name of Jesus? It is more than just doing the dunking with a religious flair. It is more than being dunked after making a religious proclamation. The “name of Jesus” is His authority. He sent His disicples out IN HIS NAME, to preach and baptize IN HIS NAME (Mark 16:16). And after being preached to IN HIS NAME and being baptized IN HIS NAME a person is saved IN HIS NAME (Mark 16:16).

Matthew 26:28 and Acts 2:38 together show that perfectly: He shed his blood so that people could go into remission of sins and Peter told the penitent believers on the day of Pentecost to be baptized to go into remission of sins.

Baptism in the name of Jesus—the One Baptism of Ephesians 4:5—is a baptism FOR the remission of sins. It is being dunked in water in order for God to wash away your sins. If you were not dunked in water in order for God to wash away your sins then you were merely dunked in water… If you were told that you were saved and later told to be baptized, beware: Someone told you a false gospel. The True Gospel is the good news of Jesus’ Death, Burial and Resurrection; in order to obey it you must reenact that Death, Burial, and Resurrection. You do that WHEN you are baptized, not before (Romans 6).

So if your preacher/pastor/priest said you can get dunked after you’re saved, then you need to put away that false Gospel, learn the TRUE Gospel and THEN be baptized to OBEY that Gospel. Because it’s not water that saves, it’s God who saves when we obey Him.

So if someone told you that you don’t HAVE to be baptized, that someone was telling you that you don’t have to obey Jesus (Mark 16:16). Stop listening to that person. If a person was told they were saved before baptism and then they were baptized thinking they were already saved, then that person was dunked, not saved. And he would need to be re-immersed once he learns the Truth about the Gospel.