Q&A: How Does Baptism Work?

Question: I know when I got baptized as a teenager I got saved. But three things. How exactly did I get saved,does a person have to be emersed in water to be baptized. And my biggest question is, I know I was forgiven of my sins at that time but I have sinned since then so do I need to be rebaptized for those sins.

Jesus was clear that for a person to be able to enter the Kingdom of God, they had to be reborn or Born Again in the Spirit. To accomplish this, they must accept God’s plan for their salvation which is now through faith in Christ plus nothing. The very moment a person believes in their heart and professes with their mouth that they accept Christ as their savior, they are immediately indwelled by the Holy Spirit and thus born again. There are several reasons people are immersed in water.  First, Jesus was baptized by John in water and was fully indwelled by the Holy Spirit thus we continue this act by example. Second, this ceremony is an outward show of an inward change of heart. Third, by standing up in front of people, it is the first public declaration of hopefully many in which they will help spread the good news of salvation to others. This was the final command or Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples and followers as He ascended into heaven.

God recognizes all people indwelled by the Holy Spirit. It is the original GPS system. It is this system that will allow people of faith to be identified and instantly raptured from the earth. A person will continue to sin throughout their lives due to the powerful effects of the flesh. But, the intellect of a person, through the assistance of the Holy Spirt, will now have a more highly tuned conscience so that they sin less and less. Thus, the secret of life is spiritual growth. Life is a training period for believers and they will be rewarded for their efforts or their Fruits of the Spirit at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ. There they will receive greater positions of governance during Jesus’ Millennial Reign on earth.

As for recent sins committed, look at it this way. How many sins did you commit before Jesus was crucified. The answer is none because you were not born yet. So, because Jesus said He died for all the sins of mankind, this means He died for all the sins you will ever commit both past, present and future.