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SUBJECT: Baptism
QUESTION: I was baptized in another denomination
church before becoming a member of the ICG. Do I have to be
rebaptized?
ANSWER:
Ultimately, the new member will make this decision. The
first thing one of our ministers will ask is whether the
previous baptism was by full immersion and whether the
minister then performed the laying on of hands to receive
the Holy Spirit.
To understand both water baptism and the laying on of hands,
we have the following resources:
The booklet, Is Water Baptism Required for Salvation?
It is located at:
http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/pubs/waterbap.htm
Our doctrinal statement on Baptisms:
http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/churchdoctrines.php?stp=11
Our doctrinal statement on the Laying on of Hands:
http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/churchdoctrines.php?stp=12
See the baptism taped series in our Heart & Soul of the
Gospel section under Baptisms
http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/heartand.shtml
If you have had both of these items performed, then it will
only require your feelings whether you feel this is
adequate. Often times the minister giving you counsel will
tell you that it is. You will have received the Holy Spirit
with your repentance and calling into the Body of Christ.
Notice this from the booklet mentioned above:
Is it possible to he baptized and not receive the
Holy Spirit? Yes! In the New Testament we read of a dynamic
preacher named Apollos who was taught by John the Baptist.
Apollos baptized people but did not perform the laying on of
hands. Later Paul met some of these converts and was shocked
that not only was the Holy Spirit absent from their lives,
they had never even heard of it! (Acts 18:24, 19:16.)
There are many Christians today who are in the same
condition. They have been baptized but do not have
God's Holy Spirit in them. The solution to this problem is
the one administered by Paul. He rebaptized them and
laid hands on them so that they could receive the Holy
Spirit (Acts 19:5-6).
What About Re-Baptism?
Tens of thousands have had the experience of "repentance"
at an early state in their lives. Then, as the years go by,
they "backslide," as the churches term it, drifting into
sinful habits, appetites, and attitudes. At some point in
their lives, they begin to realize this sinful condition,
and they again come to the place of repentance.
They begin to attend church; they begin to "straighten out
their lives" again, probably because of some emotional
shock. Sometimes it is financial; or a divorce, or loss of a
loved one, or terrible sickness or disease. Something
awakens them to their spiritual need.
But they begin to feel rejected. They begin to feel
guilty about their previous baptism; about having
slipped back into hurtful old ways. Some, convinced they are
"not good enough" for God, drift along for years,
wondering whether they have committed the "unpardonable
sin", wondering if God will reject them. But, while they
WANT to be forgiven anew. They want to repent; to
straighten out their lives, they labor under guilt feelings,
and can't seem to shake them off!
Then, the question comes; "Should I be re-baptized?" The
answer? It is entirely up to you. Any Christian can
sin - and ALL do, from time to time. But there is a
difference between slipping up; yielding to temptation,
giving in to physical appetites (like
a severe habit of smoking, etc., which can be like a
terrible yoke, and for some almost impossible to break)
and sinning - quite a difference between that, and living
a life of sin.
Surely, if there exists serious doubt about your own
state of mind when you were first baptized; about how much
you understood about what sin really is, whether you
truly repented of it; whether you knew enough about
how to obey God, then you should remove that doubt,
and be baptized again. The point is, no other human being
can make that decision but you. No one can know your
heart except God Almighty. No man - minister, or not,
can claim to know your mind and heart.
---end quote---
So, what we recommend is that you contact the ICG minister
nearest you or the minister who is the Area Coordinator over
your area and discuss this decision with him based on what
you have read above. |