does baptism have a expiration date?

[zoidar]

Then there was no salvation when you were baptized as an infant. Salvation requires faith. Faith is the understanding that we need a savior and the actions we take in response to that understanding that bring us into renewed union with God (repentance, confession of Jesus as Lord, and baptism). If you have not repented (Acts 3:19)(as an infant you have no sins to repent of (I believe)), and if you have not confessed Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9-10)(Infants cannot speak or comprehend the need for this confession), then there is no effectiveness in being baptized: the Spirit does not move, even for an adult, who does not meet these criteria.

Hm ok! But I received the Holy and was born again the summer of 2010, a year or so before my believer's baptism.

 

[Doug Brents]

Hm ok! But I received the Holy and was born again the summer of 2010, a year or so before my believers baptism.

Again, not according to Scripture. 1 Pet 3:21 says that it is through baptism that we are saved. And Jesus commanded in Mark 16:16 that those who believe the Gospel and are baptized will be saved. And in Col 2:11-14 and Rom 6:1-4 we see that it is during baptism that the Holy Spirit takes action to cut our sins from us (the circumcision without hands) and unite us with Christ's death and resurrection. This occurs DURING baptism, not before.

Remember, all of these passages are just as true and accurate as John 3:16 and others which only mention belief. If we only accept the passages that mention belief as all that is necessary for salvation, then we make the passages above out to be lies, and Scripture does not contain lies.

 

[zoidar]

Again, not according to Scripture.

Well, of course it is according to the Bible or it could not have happened the way it did.

1 Pet 3:21 says that it is through baptism that we are saved. And Jesus commanded in Mark 16:16 that those who believe the Gospel and are baptized will be saved. And in Col 2:11-14 and Rom 6:1-4 we see that it is during baptism that the Holy Spirit takes action to cut our sins from us (the circumcision without hands) and unite us with Christ's death and resurrection. This occurs DURING baptism, not before.

Remember, all of these passages are just as true and accurate as John 3:16 and others which only mention belief. If we only accept the passages that mention belief as all that is necessary for salvation, then we make the passages above out to be lies, and Scripture does not contain lies.

I don't think you need to say the passages you share are lies, but they can be misunderstood or overinterpreted like all passages in the Bible.

If you were born again being baptized, that's great, but I think you shouldn't take your experience as the one and only option.

 

[Doug Brents]

I don't think you need to say the passages you share are lies, but they can be misunderstood or overinterpreted like all passages in the Bible.

One passage (say, John 3:16) only says "belief" is necessary to be saved. If you assume that this is the only thing that is necessary to receive salvation, then you are making every other passage that says something different out to be a lie. Because if all that is necessary to receive salvation is belief, then Rom 10:10 (which says that confession Jesus as Lord leads to receiving salvation) becomes a false statement. And the same thing happens to Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Col 2:11-14, Rom 6:1-4, 1 Pet 3:21, John 3:5, and many others.

If you were born again being baptized, that's great, but I think you shouldn't take your experience as the one and only option.

I am not relating my experience. I am relating to you what the Bible says. No one is saved by belief alone. Every soul that is saved since Pentecost at the very latest has been saved through water baptism.

 

[zoidar]

One passage (say, John 3:16) only says "belief" is necessary to be saved. If you assume that this is the only thing that is necessary to receive salvation, then you are making every other passage that says something different out to be a lie. Because if all that is necessary to receive salvation is belief, then Rom 10:10 (which says that confession Jesus as Lord leads to receiving salvation) becomes a false statement. And the same thing happens to Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Col 2:11-14, Rom 6:1-4, 1 Pet 3:21, John 3:5, and many others.

I am not relating my experience. I am relating to you what the Bible says. No one is saved by belief alone. Every soul that is saved since Pentecost at the very latest has been saved through water baptism.

I do believe baptism is needed for salvation (except some cases). Even I believe believers should get baptized, I hold to infant baptism being a valid baptism, however what I get from the Bible, it seems to be speaking of the believer's baptism as the correct practice.

Are you of the belief all or most Christians who are only baptized as infants will be lost? To me that is unthinkable.

 

[Doug Brents]

I do believe baptism is needed for salvation (except some cases). Even I believe believers should get baptized, I hold to infant baptism being a valid baptism, however what I get from the Bible, it seems to be speaking of the believer's baptism as the correct practice.

Are you of the belief all or most Christians who are only baptized as infants will be lost? To me that is unthinkable.

Yes, anyone who is baptized only as an infant never enters into the Kingdom of God, their sins are never washed away, and they are never saved. They never made the personal, conscious decision to obey Christ. Someone's faith cannot save anyone else. Faith is only effective for salvation to the person whose faith it is.

 

[zoidar]

Yes, anyone who is baptized only as an infant never enters into the Kingdom of God, their sins are never washed away, and they are never saved. They never made the personal, conscious decision to obey Christ. Someone's faith cannot save anyone else. Faith is only effective for salvation to the person whose faith it is.

Then I understand why you so strongly promote believer's baptism.

What church/congregation do you belong to?

 

[Doug Brents]

Then I understand why you so strongly promote believer's baptism.

What church/congregation do you belong to?

I do not currently belong to any local congregation, because I cannot find one near me that teaches the truth of God's Word. I even met with the elders of the congregation that I currently attend, and they refused to even search the Scriptures with me to find God's truth.

But I have been a member of the Body of Christ (as the Bible describes it, and the first century Church lived it) since 1987. I am still friends with many of the elders from the last congregation to which I belonged, and they are still the guiding leadership under which I serve, even though I do not live anywhere near them.

 

[zoidar]

I do not currently belong to any local congregation, because I cannot find one near me that teaches the truth of God's Word. I even met with the elders of the congregation that I currently attend, and they refused to even search the Scriptures with me to find God's truth.

But I have been a member of the Body of Christ (as the Bible describes it, and the first century Church lived it) since 1987. I am still friends with many of the elders from the last congregation to which I belonged, and they are still the guiding leadership under which I serve, even though I do not live anywhere near them.

Thanks for sharing!

I belong to a Lutheran congregation. At the moment this seems to be my best option. We'll see ...

 

[Bones49]

I was baptized as an infant. As a believer I was convinced by people in church to be baptized again. I was told all these stories how people experienced their sins being washed away by the water. For me I experienced absolutely nothing, more than getting wet. It's not that I regret getting the believers baptism, I would probably do it it again if I only had been infant baptized, but that is just a theological stance of mine. I don't hold it as an issue of salvation.

I was baptized I was 11, and similarly I don't remember experiencing anything. But I was 'filled with the holy spirit' around that time as well. Is was many years later when I experienced the regeneration of the holy spirit in entire sanctification.

There seems to be a wide range of baptism experiences, which might relate to our understanding, what we have been taught about it, and also our relationship to God at the time, and also our expectations of what will happen. In your case, if you were being pressured into and weren't really sure that it was necessary, then perhaps that reduces the impact of the event.

I would say that it is an issue of salvation, because it is an issue of obedience. We have been clearly commanded to be baptized (well, the disciples were clearly commanded to baptize, so by extension!) But then it is also related to salvation, at least the ongoing idea of salvation, in that it is related to burying the old man of sin, and rising again with the new man of sanctification. If we agree with 1 John, which says like 13 times that Christians don't sin, then entire sanctification is critical for Christian living.

 

[zoidar]

I was baptized I was 11, and similarly I don't remember experiencing anything. But I was 'filled with the holy spirit' around that time as well. Is was many years later when I experienced the regeneration of the holy spirit in entire sanctification.

There seems to be a wide range of baptism experiences, which might relate to our understanding, what we have been taught about it, and also our relationship to God at the time, and also our expectations of what will happen. In your case, if you were being pressured into and weren't really sure that it was necessary, then perhaps that reduces the impact of the event.

I would say that it is an issue of salvation, because it is an issue of obedience. We have been clearly commanded to be baptized (well, the disciples were clearly commanded to baptize, so by extension!) But then it is also related to salvation, at least the ongoing idea of salvation, in that it is related to burying the old man of sin, and rising again with the new man of sanctification. If we agree with 1 John, which says like 13 times that Christians don't sin, then entire sanctification is critical for Christian living.

At the time of my baptism I had been convinced and I was happy to go through with it. I was in a really great mood. It was first afterwards I thought through the whole process, how Christians had told me things about the baptism that wasn't really true, at least not from what I experienced. That is the sad part about it. I have heard simlar things about taking the Eucharist as a Catholic, that it is a totally different experience than taking it as a Protestant. Often Christians push their agenda really hard without thinking through what they are doing. The problem of course is they think what they are doing is a good thing.

 

[Dan Perez]

Yes, and the word BAPTISMA is the noun that means immersion:

Lexicon :: Strong's G908 - baptisma​

βάπτισμα​

Transliteration
baptisma
Pronunciation
bap'-tis-mah
Part of Speech
neuter noun
Root Word (Etymology)
From βαπτίζω (G907)
Greek Inflections of βάπτισμα [?]

1. immersion, submersion
   1. of calamities and afflictions with which one is quite overwhelmed
   2. of John's baptism, that purification rite by which men on confessing their sins were bound to spiritual reformation, obtained the pardon of their past sins and became qualified for the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom soon to be set up. This was valid Christian baptism, as this was the only baptism the apostles received and it is not recorded anywhere that they were ever rebaptised after Pentecost.
   3. of Christian baptism; a rite of immersion in water as commanded by Christ, by which one after confessing his sins and professing his faith in Christ, having been born again by the Holy Spirit unto a new life, identifies publicly with the fellowship of Christ and the church.
      
      In Rom 6:3, Paul states we are "baptised unto death" meaning that we are not only dead to our former ways, but they are buried. To return to them is as unthinkable for a Christian as for one to dig up a dead corpse! See also discussion of baptism under the previous Strong's number (907).

AND where have you seen a Greek Word called IMMERSION or SUBMERION ?


How in 1 Cor 10:2 reads And all were BAPTIZED unto Moses in the CLOUD and in the SEA
,
So how were they BAPTIZED unto Moses in the CLOUD and in the SEA ??

There were thousands of Jews and thousands Egyptians following them and how were they BAPTIZED into a CLOUD and BAPTIZED into the SEA .

And do you see the Greek word for WATER // HUDOR here at ALL .


Then in Rom 6:3 , reads , Or are you IGNORANT , that as many were BAPTIZED // BAPTIZO , into Christ were BAPTIZED // BAPTIZO , into his DEATH ?

Please notice that the Greek WATER // HUDOR is NO WHERE to be found in Rom 6:3 .

dan p

 

[Doug Brents]

AND where have you seen a Greek Word called IMMERSION or SUBMERION ?

Immersion and Submerion (Submersion?) are not GREEK words. Those are ENGLISH words, the translation of which is "BAPTIZMO" (the verb), and "BAPTIZMA" (the noun). Immersion and Submersion will not be found in the Greek texts, because they are not Greek words. But the Greek words (BAPTIZMO and BAPTIZMA) most definitely are found in the Greek texts.

How in 1 Cor 10:2 reads And all were BAPTIZED unto Moses in the CLOUD and in the SEA
,
So how were they BAPTIZED unto Moses in the CLOUD and in the SEA ??

Have you ever heard of "immersion language training"? When one who does not speak a certain language is completely surrounded by people who only speak that certain language all the time, that person is "immersed" in the language (notice no water, or fire, etc.) and so learns the language much more quickly than they would if they could resort to speaking their native tongue. This is an example of one of the meanings of BAPTIZMO. In the case of Moses and the nation of Israel, they were likewise immersed in the cloud and in the sea by way of the Exodus.

Then in Rom 6:3 , reads , Or are you IGNORANT , that as many were BAPTIZED // BAPTIZO , into Christ were BAPTIZED // BAPTIZO , into his DEATH ?

Please notice that the Greek WATER // HUDOR is NO WHERE to be found in Rom 6:3.

BAPTIZO does not have any connotation of the word WATER. One can be "baptized" (immersed) in water, a language, the Spirit, love, the Cloud and Sea, fire, a book, etc. But when we are talking about being baptized into Christ, we must only be talking about being baptized in water, because that is the mode of baptism that Scripture mentions when speaking of salvation. The Holy Spirit takes action during water baptism to remove sin, and thus we are saved.

 

[The Liturgist]

The answer to the OP is still no. If the baptism is valid, which credobaptists will say is not the case about infant baptisms, but I disagree; I was baptized as an infant by aspersion, and I am comfortable with that, despite my enjoyment of swimming which could make rebaptism enjoyable, but one can piously swim on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, indeed the Russians will cut a cross in the snow or ice and swim in that, but they are adapted to the cold and I would not suggest this for someone like me who has lived most of his life in a Mediterranean climate. Indeed I am not sure if I have ever experienced temperatures below 0, even when I traveled to Martha’s Vineyard in January.