Expert: Joe Norman - 3/29/2011

Question
QUESTION: Let me first say that I am not a member of the Church of Christ (or any church for that matter) but I am looking for a church and typically have attended non-denominational churches, ie; First Christian Church, Fellowship etc.
I was baptized at the age of 9. I did believe that Jesus was the son of God who was sent to die for my sin, BUT I believe that my initial reason for being baptized and the urgency I felt was not in keeping with the spirit of the ceremony and the fact that I had only been a child makes me question if there was yet a need to be made new. My dad was a preacher and I'm sure that when I came to him requesting to be baptized, he felt joy and pride and was eager to oblige. He DID council me beforehand and I said I understood but I don't know if, at that age, I could fully conceive the depth of the act.
Now for my reason for accepting Christ into my heart and the baptism. I am embarrassed to admit that it was for fear of becoming possessed. Remember, I was a little girl...and I had seen (ugh) Excorsist and - was - terrified! I did not want that to happen to me and when I had asked someone if that could really happen to someone they told me, "not if they have accepted Jesus into their heart".
So, I am older now and just starting to reevaluate what it means to truly be faithful to God and have sinned many times over in my adult life and the question remains, should I be baptized now that I would do it in earnest and with understanding, joy and obedience rather than in childhood fear?
Thank you in advance, I appreciate your insight as it appears that you have devoted much time into studying  God's word. It shames me that my dad was also a preacher and that I know so little about His word. I blame myself only. My poor dad was shocked as well...oy! I could go on and on! I thank God for my salvation, am humbled and bewildered by it and feel it necessary lately to hide my face in shame and to cry when I pray. But I'm rambling again, sorry! Thank you again!

ANSWER: Hi Christen,

I do thank you for choosing me to ask your question but am puzzled as to why you don't ask your dad who is a preacher your question. My dad was a preacher in the church of Christ for many years. He retired at 77 when he learned he had Parkinson's disease. I do understand your doubts about your baptism. I was baptized just a month before turning 11 years old. Although my dad also counseled me and I gave him all the right answers, I wasn't sure if my baptism was legitimate when I became an adult and looked back. I believe I mainly got baptized when I did because my best friend at church was baptized a month prior to when I did. I wanted to fit in and really admired my best friend at that time.

I talked to my dad about my baptism and I will share what he told me. He said he believed my baptism at almost 11 years old was legitimate. He said we don't have to know the depth of what we are doing so long as we do know we are sinners and lost without being washed in the blood of Jesus through water baptism. But then he said it doesn't matter what he thinks. It matters what I think. He said if I have doubts then I should get baptized again. He said if God saw the first one as legitimate, then the second time I am just getting wet. If God saw the second one as legitimate and the first one not legitimate then the first time I just got wet. Either way, I would be truly accepted by God as a baptized believer and my doubts would be gone. So he baptized me again as an adult.

I think you need to be baptized again for remission of your sins. But I also believe you need to determine which church is the true Lord's church as well. Although there are many which claim to be "non-denominational" most of them are actually meaning "inter-denominational". Let me explain the difference between true "non-denominational" and "inter-denominational".

Interdenominational churches claim to transcend denominations by uniting people from differing beliefs and allegiances with a focus on what they see as primary beliefs all can agree on and viewing their differing beliefs as secondary beliefs which are not essential to Christian belief. Their view is unity is more important than getting everything right.

A non-denominational church believes there is only one true church and denominations are not the true church. They are completely autonomous as well - meaning each local church is independent of the others. There is no over-arching governmental system or priesthood. There is no "convention" such as the Southern Baptists have in which the leaders get together to decide together any major changes in their denomination's view of a specific topic. Non-denominational really means we don't believe God permits His church to be separated into denominations. Think of money and how there are one dollar bills, five dollar bills, etc. but it's all money. That is what most believe regarding religious denominations. They are different but ALL are still Christian. A true non-denominational church does not accept that view. There is ONE church and it is not divided.(Rom.12:4,5; Eph.4:3-6)

The churches of Christ (mainstream) are truly non-denominational and strive to use the Word of God as our only guide in all we do - specifically the New Testament. The Old Testament is important for our study to fully understand God's nature and to provide major proof that Jesus truly is the Son of God. But instruction to Christians regarding how to organize the church, how to worship acceptably, etc is only in the New Testament. I would encourage you to find a local church of Christ (mainstream) in which to study with someone in depth and eventually become baptized into the Lord's church.

I again thank you for asking me your question and your kind words to me. I pray my answer has been a blessing to you and I will keep you in my prayers as you ponder my response and decide what you need to do as it is always not my decision but yours to make.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I should have mentioned that my dad did not know my real reason for wanting to be baptized at the time. Also, a few years ago I did ask him if he felt I needed to be baptized again and he felt that I did not, but was not opposed if I felt compelled to do it. I think my reason at that time NOT to go ahead with a second one was because I was still living a life displeasing to God and had struggled without success to change. Well, I believe He led me out of that life and now set me on a path, but I have a lot of work to do and feel I need to, well, be made clean.
As far as the Church of Christ goes, I actually did attend one for a couple years with my first husband and accept for the absence of instruments, found little difference in the teachings of that church and how my dad viewed the word of God... as I said, I have much more work to do and I trust God to guide me and my husband.
Thank you for you answer, you have helped me greatly in this as well as other areas you covered with others' questions.

ANSWER: Hi again Christen,

I appreciate the added information and am thankful as well that I have been of help to you both with your question on re-baptism as well as other questions I have answered for others. I want to point out that my most recent answers prior to the one for you was on music in worship. I provided information showing every one of the founders of our largest denominations were against the use of musical instruments in worship to God and also provided historical evidence showing musical instruments did not become widely accepted in worship until about 1000 years after the church was established in 33 A.D. as well.

You might not have seen much difference in the teaching of the church of Christ and how your dad viewed the word of God because most likely unless there was teaching about how the church is to be organized or something like that, the general teaching would be very similar. As you continue to study God's Word and if you enter into a personal Bible study with a preacher or elder at the church of Christ you might see more differences. I am curious to know if your dad believes and teaches that the point at which a person becomes a saved Christian comes at water baptism or before. The majority of those in denominations don't believe a person is saved at the point of water baptism. They mostly believe we are saved by "faith only" and water baptism is just an outward empty symbol of the inner change.

We do not agree with them regarding the point of salvation. We agree with the Word of God which clearly teaches we must be baptized to be saved. Water baptism for remission of our sins is taught (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21 - among others). I will continue to pray for you and your husband and hope you will continue to study God's Word and grow spiritually.

I want to end by explaining that water baptism will make you clean and after you are baptized just walk in the light as best you can and Christ's blood will continue to wash your sins away as you walk in the light. (I John 1:7) None of us can be perfect and sinless on our own. We need the blood of Christ Jesus.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I don't know if I'm doing this right. I'm choosing "ask a follow up question" when I may need to be choosing just to rate and thank.
Anyway, in answer to your question, yes my dad believes that we are saved in baptism and views the act as a serious and crucial part of salvation (I apologize if I dont word things right). He no longer preaches but is still a believer and is happy to council anyone who seeks it.
I guess my question now (I'm sorry to keep bugging you) is let's say i end up going to a church that is not what God sees as a true church (like the type I typically attend) but I felt that it was where I belonged....in the end, what will that mean? I'm speaking of the type of church in which my dad used to preach, not a Catholic church or any specific denomination. I hop that was not too muddy of a question :) Thank you for your speedy responses and I do intend on continuing to study the bible for myself but I've only just started and easily get confused.

Answer
No worries Christen,

I am not bugged by you at all. But if you no longer have a follow-up question, please choose rate and thank instead of follow-up question.

To be completely honest, I don't know 100% if God will see you as truly saved or not if you attend a church of the type you typically attend. I can only tell you what I believe. I believe if the church is not organized according to the New Testament pattern, doesn't worship according to the New Testament pattern, etc. it is not the one true church. But each one of us is responsible for learning and understanding the truth. We should never take anything someone teaches as true blindly. We must study and prove whether or not what is being taught to us is really true.

Yes some things are hard to understand and one can get confused. I always tried to do two things. I would read my Bible cover to cover at least once a year. I would also choose a specific topic I wanted to study and find all passages that cover that topic. My dad raised me to study for myself and determine if what I was taught was the truth. He taught me to even investigate what he taught me. That is what we all must do too. I pray you will study and determine yourself what is true. If you want my help with understanding something that confuses you, please let me know. I am always willing to help. When I present my understanding of the thing which is confusing you, then you can evaluate what I present (which will always have scripture to support it) and determine for yourself if what I presented makes the most sense to you.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman