Got baptized before you were truly saved? This is more common than you might think. In this episode of Marked by Grace, Heath Lambert addresses a listener's question about getting baptized at 14 without being saved, then coming to faith at 35. Using Romans 6:1-4, discover why baptism is a sign that only has meaning when the spiritual reality it represents has actually occurred in your heart. Learn the biblical difference between getting wet and being truly baptized, plus Heath's personal story of his own childhood "baptism" that wasn't really baptism at all.
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction: The question of getting baptized again
0:46 - The listener's scenario: Baptized at 14, saved at 35
1:12 - Heath's answer: Yes, you need to be baptized
1:18 - Heath's personal story: Childhood baptism without faith
2:04 - The grandmother who demanded baptism
2:46 - Going down the aisle under pressure
3:25 - Why that baptism was meaningless spiritually
3:54 - Getting truly saved at age 14
4:21 - Realizing the first baptism didn't count
4:34 - Romans 6:1-4: The meaning of baptism explained
5:30 - Baptism as a sign and picture of spiritual reality
5:57 - When the sign means nothing: Getting wet vs. being baptized
6:36 - Why it's not "baptized again" but "baptized for the first time"
7:10 - The call to be baptized now as a believer
Key Points
Baptism Requires Faith: Baptism without genuine faith in Jesus Christ is just getting wet. The spiritual reality must exist before the physical act has any meaning.
The Sign vs. The Reality: Baptism is a sign that points to a spiritual reality - dying to sin with Christ and being raised to new life. If the reality hasn't happened, the sign is meaningless.
Common Scenario: Many people get baptized before they're truly saved - whether as children, teenagers, or adults who thought they believed but hadn't genuinely trusted Christ.
Biblical Foundation: Romans 6:1-4 explains that baptism represents our spiritual death and resurrection with Christ. Paul assumes all believers have been baptized because it's the natural response to salvation.
Not "Again" But "For the First Time": If you weren't saved when you were first baptized, you weren't really baptized at all - you just got wet. True baptism happens when you're baptized as a genuine believer.
Personal Responsibility: Even if you were baptized due to family pressure, church tradition, or personal decision before salvation, you need to be baptized as a believer to properly signify what God has done in your heart.
The Picture of Baptism: Going under the water represents death to sin (like Jesus in the tomb), coming up represents resurrection to new life (like Jesus rising from the dead).
Scripture References
Romans 6:1-4 - "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." - The meaning and necessity of baptism for believers
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