Can a Christian be baptized twice?
In order to answer your question properly, we should ask a few more questions:
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM? – Romans 6:3-6 tells us, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We see in this portion that water baptism is symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. By being baptized ‘unto’ (as it is properly translated) Jesus we were baptized ‘unto’ His death. We IDENTIFY with the Lord, owning that we, too, have died, were buried, and risen a new creature when we put our faith in our savior. This act of identification is also our public proclamation of our belief in the Lord Jesus. Having done so, we are told to “walk in newness of life” and “we should not serve sin.” Colossians 2:12 speaks of this water baptism. It says, “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
WHAT WOULD BE THE REASON TO BE BAPTIZED TWICE? Years ago, a dear Christian lady informed me that she was going to be re-baptized as a symbol of her re-dedication to Christ. She had been away from the Lord, had been restored, and wanted to be baptized again as a symbol of her restoration. I questioned her as to the PURPOSE of baptism. Was baptism ever used in the Bible to indicate restoration to the Lord? NO! The purpose of baptism was to identify with the Lord in His death for us.
ARE THERE ANY INSTANCES IN THE BIBLE WHERE SOMEONE WAS BAPTIZED MORE THAN ONCE? Actually, YES, there is an incident where some were re-baptized. Let’s read Acts 19:1-5, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” The book of Acts is so unique in that you find both Old Testament saints and New Testament saints alive at the same time! Christ had come into the world to die for our sins. Many believed and were saved. There were some who were faithful to God’s Word dealing with the saints under the Law, yet they had not heard of the Lord Jesus. They were saved, but not in the Church. This was a unique time that will never be repeated. The book of Acts is a book of ‘transition’, showing us how we got from being under the Law to being in the ‘body of Christ’, the ‘church’. These faithful men were obedient to the truth they knew. They were followers of the teachings of John the Baptist and so had received John’s baptism, which was a “baptism unto repentance” (Matthew 3:8-11), showing they were sorry for their sins. Today’s baptism indicates that one has repented and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as savior and Lord, and identifies with Christ in His death. Under John’s baptism, Christ had not even died yet. In this case, it was proper that these men should now be properly baptized “unto Christ”.
ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS? Is it ever proper for a person to be baptized twice today? I suggest that if a person was baptized before being saved and desired to be baptized ‘according to knowledge’, then he should indeed be baptized again, truly and intelligently identifying with the Lord Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. (256.2)