When someone desires to join themselves to a Southern Baptist church in membership there are several things that must be considered. After evaluation is taken of the salvation of the individual the question of baptism arises. Many who join themselves to a Southern Baptist church may be coming from a church that is apart of another denomination. Many denominations do not practice baptism in the same manner as Southern Baptists. Therefore, it is necessary to decide which baptism is recognized as a legitimate baptism by a Southern Baptist church.
On a personal note, this is an issue that has plagued me for many years. Growing up in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist church and seeing the practice of re-baptism for all who moved their membership from another denomination caused great confusion. When I began to study baptism and learn of the true biblical practice of this church ordinance I began to question the practice of re-baptism for all individuals moving their membership from another denomination.
According to Acts 8:36-39, Christian baptism should be practiced by immersion and is the testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Baptism, according to Acts 2:41-42, is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ. Furthermore, the Baptist Faith and Message states, “Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.” This statement has been the standard for Southern Baptists for many years and continues to stand as the rule of faith in Southern Baptist churches.
This is one reason why it is so necessary to investigate all potential church members and learn of their background and belief system. There are people from different denominations that desire membership in your church who believe in the biblical practice of baptism. They have been immersed as a sign and testament to their salvation experience, not believing baptism is essential for salvation but an outward sign of what has taken place in the heart in conversion. They have entered the waters believing they are identifying themselves with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ desiring to walk in newness of life. They have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Seeing that their doctrinal system is consistent with the church they are joining themselves with, these individuals, I currently feel, have no need for re-baptism in a Southern Baptist Church.
It is entirely another matter when an individual is coming into your church from a different religion such as Catholicism. When someone considers their baptism at infancy sufficient for their identity with the church there is a need for proper teaching on the subject and another baptism. Or perhaps when the individual has considered their baptism as essential for salvation, there is a need for a more biblical baptism. Instead of using the word “re-baptism” it is proper to use the term “first baptism” due to the lack of biblical understanding of what baptism really is. There are at least a hundred other examples and scenarios that could be given where another baptism would be valid in order to accept the prospective member into full fellowship with the church. It is probably rare that someone would come from another denomination that fully understands and agrees with the Southern Baptist position of baptism.
It is extremely necessary to gage the view of the church and the church leaders on this position. There must be good biblical teaching on the subject and a sound agreement on this issue. Baptism is not something to be placed on a list of less important doctrines. It is something Southern Baptists hold very dear and see as very biblical.
Filed under: Baptism, Baptist, Doctrine, Southern Baptist, The Church
