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why do different Baptist churches not accept baptism in another baptist church?
why do different Baptist churches not accept baptism in another baptist church?
When I was searching for a church that was Word-centered and zealous, I came upon a Southern Baptist Church that seemed to fit, and after a few visits I went to the Pastor and told him I wanted to join the church. He told me I had to be Baptized first. I told him I was already Baptized, and felt it would dishonor my Baptism to repeat it. I told him to be Baptized again would be a denial, or rejection, of my prior Baptism - which was into Christ - and that would be to me an insult to Christ.
He explained his insistence this way: they believe that one is Baptized into the particular individual church/parish that you seek to become a member of. I could not agree to that understanding, nor could I be Baptized again, so that was that. I left, disappointed and very saddened that such a requirement would exclude me and my understanding of the meaning of Baptism, from other Christians!
Out of curiousity was your baptism "believer's baptism" in some other denomination than Baptist?
The denomination I belong to accepts "believer's baptism" in other denominations so that when someone wants to join - we ask them to look over a set of Bible studies that explains what we find in the Bible - and if they agree to it they join by "profession of faith" not baptism since they already were baptized as a believer.
When I was searching for a church that was Word-centered and zealous, I came upon a Southern Baptist Church that seemed to fit, and after a few visits I went to the Pastor and told him I wanted to join the church. He told me I had to be Baptized first. I told him I was already Baptized, and felt it would dishonor my Baptism to repeat it. I told him to be Baptized again would be a denial, or rejection, of my prior Baptism - which was into Christ - and that would be to me an insult to Christ.
He explained his insistence this way: they believe that one is Baptized into the particular individual church/parish that you seek to become a member of. I could not agree to that understanding, nor could I be Baptized again, so that was that. I left, disappointed and very saddened that such a requirement would exclude me and my understanding of the meaning of Baptism, from other Christians!
Yeah, that idea is problematical. I'd give it only two favorable presumptions:
1. If they required a "commendation" from another congregation with similar baptism rules certifying that you had, indeed, been previously baptized by the same rules.
2. If they accepted any baptism done after you'd reached an age of reason.
I'm not saying that either requirement is necessary, but I could accept the rationale.
But just to move from one congregation to another...no, that's not biblical.
He made clear to me that they understood "Baptism" as into a specific "Body of Christ" congregation. That is not true, as I understand the meaning of "the Body of Christ."
when one moves to another city and wishes to join another independent Baptist church just like the one they left, they must be baptized yet again
I've been an independent Baptist since 1970, and I have never attended a church that required you to be baptized into their congregation. However, I have heard about it.
PS. I was baptized in a creek on a winter day with snow on the ground.
The first problem, it seems to me, is the embrace of the contradiction "another independent Baptist church". Your point #1 is exactly right: "the Church of God ... is united by His Holy Spirit."
Good to hear from you Fide.
I have personally taught on Ephesians 4:2-3 on getting along with each other. But baptism has never been an issue in any Baptist church I have ever attended. The Bible clearly teaches that we need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved, and then we are to be baptized.
As far as Baptist churches that require you to be baptized into their congregation, I suspect that if they told their side of the story, it would not be what they actually believe.
Yes, there are some independent Baptist churches that insist that baptism is into a particular congregation and that when one moves to another city and wishes to join another independent Baptist church just like the one they left, they must be baptized yet again. There are two particular problems that jump out to me, as follow:
1. "Church" is misunderstood to mean a particular congregation, not the Church of God which is united by His Holy Spirit.
2. Baptism is associated with joining a church. Never in the Bible is anyone commanded to be baptized so they can become a church member.
The Southern Baptists, while a bit less strict on transfers from other SB congregations, are fairly hardcore on this "rebaptism" thing from other denominations. It's probable they would make exceptions for, say, former Independent Baptists or Bible Churchers, but that's about it.
While they will refer to "of like faith and order", that "order" part knocks out almost everyone but other Baptists, and they'd probably even apply that to the Free Will Baptists because of their rejection of "once saved always saved".
It stems from disputes with what is now known as the Church of Christ over who was the "New Testament Church". The founders of the Restoration Movement claimed that they were restoring the true New Testament Church. In response, a group of Baptist writers came up with what they felt were five or so marks of a true church...which coincidentally lined up with Southern Baptist theology and practice. However, they applied those markers loosely so that almost anyone up to Martin Luther who dissented with the Roman Catholic Church counted, making it possible to create a variant on apostolic succession in which there was always some kind of "Baptist" church from the resurrection forward.
TL; DR: I'm a Nazarene now because I refuse to make my wife, who was immersed in the Christian Church, undergo another baptism just to satisfy a quirk of Baptist ecclesiology.