And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
“Do I need to be ‘baptized’ again?” a common question Pastors are familiar with. My answer… “it depends.” I’d say that you really only need to be baptized one time. If it’s genuine, once is enough. However, if you didn’t understand it the first time, just like those believers in Ephesus didn’t, then the first time it wasn’t a genuine “baptism” you just got wet. Perhaps you were an infant or a young child and didn’t truly understand the gospel, if that’s the case, it may have been a very meaningful ritual for your family, but baptism is something believers do. If you came to faith in Jesus AFTER you were ‘baptized’ then you do need to (genuinely) be baptized as a Christian.
