Hello. I am fairly new to Christianity and am trying to figure everything out piece by piece. I was baptized when I was an infant. I have no recollection of this event and had no say in the matter. I am about to graduate high school, and throughout my childhood and teenage years I have not exactly been religious. At times, I have even identified as athiest. My family does not practice the religion at home or attend church. However, things have changed. For the last few months I have started to really delve deep into the bible and trying to understand its messages. I fully believe in God and in Christ as the savior. My question is, if I was baptized without choice as an infant, have strayed from God for most of my life, and do not regularly attend church, will I still have and be guided by the holy spirit as long as I fully believe in Christ? Do I need to belong to a church or be re-baptized in order to have the holy spirit, or is full belief enough? Thanks.
P.S, I plan on attending church regularly once I leave for college in a few short months.
Hi ADB5577,
Thank you for your transparency and honesty about your situation. I want to address your question biblically concerning baptism, salvation and being led by the Holy Spirit, because I don’t want you to be misled or believe something that may not be gospel truth. So...
Regarding the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit only indwells a person who has been born again. Being born again means that person has (1) recognized they are a sinner before God, (2) understands their sin has separated them from God and has eternal consequences in hell, (3) turns away from their life of pursuing sin to follow Jesus, (4) believes Jesus died for their sin personally on the cross and paid their sin debt in full, and (5) places their faith solely in Jesus for what He did for them that they could never do for themselves.
When a person becomes born-again, God immediately saves and forgives them by crediting Jesus’ righteousness to their account, and He sends the Holy Spirit into their heart to take up residence there. Then it is the job of the Holy Spirit living inside each believer who:
1. Empowers them to be effective witnesses of Jesus to the world;
2. Enables them to stand firm in their faith and grow in their knowledge and understanding of God;
3. Helps them walk in obedience to Jesus and His Word;
4. Enables spiritual gifts to operate in their lives according to His will;
5. Produces and develops spiritual fruit within each heart;
6. Empowers them to live victoriously in Christ;
7. Leads/guides them in righteousness.
So if you have been born-again, you
have the indwelling Holy Spirit living within you to help you and guide you. He is our Helper; He is the One who strengthens us; and He is our Comforter, Counselor and Teacher, along with the written Word of God (the Bible).
Regarding Water Baptism: Water baptism does not save us nor usher in the presence of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Instead, baptism is an intentional act of obedience on the Christian’s part that should take place
after receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is an outward, visible sign (to the world, our friends, our family, etc.) which symbolizes the inward, invisible change that has
already taken place in the life of a believer who has received the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the act of baptism serves as a public witness and testimony of a believer’s new life in Christ.
Please understand that there is no saving power in baptism, nor does the Holy Spirit get deposited into a person’s life through baptism. In addition, the act of baptism itself does not cleanse or redeem anyone from their sin, nor is it required for salvation to “take effect.” Salvation from one’s sin comes by grace alone and is imparted
strictly through faith in Jesus Christ, not by external acts, works, behaviors, feats or actions of any kind, including baptism. Therefore, if someone desires to be baptized, yet has not been born-again, their baptism will be of no effect and will accomplish nothing of value.
When it comes to the methodology of baptism, the biblical model is submersion. When a believer is submerged under water, it signifies their death to sin and to the “old self” which had dominion over them before they were saved. When they rise up out of the water, it signifies that they have been raised up with Jesus into new life in Him, and that they will later take part in the resurrection of their body. It is important to remember, however, that even though submersion is the biblical model for baptism, the focus should be on what it signifies, rather than on the exact methodology of how it is performed. For those who are bedridden or unable to be submerged for any reason, alternate methods can be employed which accomplish the same goal.
So to answer your questions about these subjects:
1. Yes, you will be guided by the Holy Spirit if you have been born again.
2. No, you do not need to belong to a church or be re-baptized to “have” or “receive” the Holy Spirit. That only happens through being born again.
3. Yes, you should be rebaptized if you have trusted Jesus fully for your salvation because this is an outward testimony to others of your new faith in Christ, and we are instructed in the Word to believe and then be baptized.
4. Yes, you should be reading the Bible (preferably the New Testament, since you are a new believer) every day so the Holy Spirit can guide you into all truth according to what God Himself says.
5. Yes, you should become an active part of a solid, Bible believing church that teaches God’s Word soundly, accurately and thoroughly.
Hope this helps!