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Religion

2008-04-01 11:22:00

Questions about baptism

Question: Must a person be baptized in order to be saved? If a person, who is already baptized in a Christian church, changes to another church, is it necessary for him/her to be re-baptized? If one is not sure whether he/she was baptized, should he/she be baptized again?

Answer: The Lord Jesus himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation: “I say to you that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is reborn of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Jesus also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them: “Go throughout the whole world and preach the Gospel to all mankind. Whoever believes and is baptized, will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed, and who have the possibility of asking for this Sacrament. The Church takes very seriously this injunction of her Lord, and endeavors to provide that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has tied salvation to Baptism, but He Himself is not bound by His Sacraments. This truth affords hope of salvation for good persons not formally baptized. The Church has always been convinced that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith or of morality (authentic martyrs), without having received Baptism, are baptized by their death in union with Christ. This “Baptism of blood,” assumes the desire for Baptism and achieves the effects of Baptism. Likewise, those persons who are preparing for Baptism but die before receiving the Sacrament: are considered to have received “Baptism of desire,” through their explicit desire to receive it, and are repentant for their sins. These alternate forms of Baptism assure those persons the salvation that they were not able to receive through “Baptism by water.” Also, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Every person, who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the Will of God insofar as he/she understands it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired baptism explicitly, if they had known its necessity.” Baptism is so necessary that, in a situation of emergency, anyone (even a non-Christian) can perform the simple ceremony of baptizing with water and pronouncing the words: “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This presupposes a real act of faith and desire on the part of the person being baptized. In the case of infants, that faith and desire is supplied by the parent or guardian or by the Church herself. Since a real Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual seal, the character, which consecrates the baptized person for Christian worship, Baptism cannot be repeated! Thus, when a baptized Christian changes to another Christian church, ordinarily s/he is not re-baptized, but recites a profession of faith. This presupposes the baptized person already has accepted the authentic Christian faith, as summarized in the Apostles’ Creed. If there is any doubt about the validity of the former baptism, or a person is not sure whether s/he has actually been baptized, then the person is baptized conditionally, by the baptizer saying: “If you have not been baptized, then I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” while pouring water on the person being baptized. In Orthodox Churches the correct formula is: “The servant of God, N. (name of person being baptized ), is baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” If a person has been baptized in the Mormon religion, the Unitarians, Witnesses of Jehovah, Christian Scientists, or in any religion, which denies the Holy Trinity or any doctrine of the traditional Christian faith, then that baptism is considered invalid. An invalid baptism does not join the person to Jesus in his death and resurrection. Regardless of what such a group may call themselves, e.g. “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” or “Reorganized Church of God,” etc., their baptism is not valid. Likewise, when the person who baptizes changes the words of the baptismal formula, to accommodate popular language, e.g. “I baptize you in the Name of the Creator and of the Redeemer and of the Sanctifier,” such an abuse of hallowed language probably makes the attempted baptism invalid. Those persons, who have been baptized with such a formula, ought to have themselves re-baptized by a person, who respects the Church’s tradition and rules.