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Does one have to be baptized as an adult, to receive the Holy Spirit, even if baptized as a child?
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A church I'm reading about has said adult baptism is necessary for the repentance of sins from the time you were a child. Only then, does the Holy Spirit come to reside in you. True or false?
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Acts 2:37,38, And having heard, they were stabbed in the heart and said to Peter and the other Apostles, What shall we do, men and brothers? But Peter said to them, Everyone of you must repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Because of Adam and Eve everyone is destined to die, whether old or infant, but infants are without sin and are not even conscious of sinning. The ONLY reason some churches baptize babies is to get them while they are young. An old saying goes something like this: raised a Catholic, die a Catholic. And its not just Catholics that do it either, but without knowledge of changing one's ways to serve God the Biblical concept of Salvation is omitted. I am not stepping on anyone's denomination and yes some have received the Holy Spirit before baptism, but in the Bible they were baptized there after. Asking this question proves that you are serious what the Scriptures say rather than denominations and you should persevere and be immersed soon and follow the Lord's Word and a church that follows the Lord's Word as well. God Bless
I would have to disagree with the above comment. Saying that infants are without sin and not conscious of sinning goes against what the Bible teaches. What the Bible says about babies is this
Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
It says they are wicked and estranged while still in the womb without even being born they are in rebellion against God. That is why a lot of people reject the idea of the "age of accountability" theory because it is not supported by scripture.
With that being said we are also told of God pouring out his Spirit upon certain babies like John the Baptist while he was still in the womb.
Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
There are times in the bible where people receive the Holy Spirit before being baptized by water or never being baptized by water and there are times where they received it after.
One thing people get confused with is that water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit are 2 different things and one is not the result of the other. Most Christians who get baptized are already saved and have the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 3:5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.
Being a Lutheran Christian I can tell you why we baptize infants, and it is not for the reasons stated above.
We believe that all humans are conceived with a sinful nature, a nature that is 100% against God in every way. Humans are conceived spiritually dead and completely unable to respond to God except in a sinful way. We are born enemies of God and as a result are doomed.
We believe that it is God himself who builds and maintains his church through certain means. These means are his Word (Bible) and Sacraments (Baptism and Lord’s Supper). From eternity he chose all those who would respond to the Gospel message and believe it. He gives sinful human beings the honor and privilege of using these means to grow and maintain his Church here on earth until the last day.
We believe conversion from un-belief to faith in Christ is 100% God’s work. All of the power to believe is the work of the Holy Spirit through the means mentioned above. The converted are only receivers of God’s grace, we do not ask for it, nor can we. Example: Raising Lazarus from the dead. (John 11:43)
We believe that to receive the blessings of salvation through Christ we must be given the gift of faith. Faith is the spiritual hand that receives what God has to offer.
We believe faith is given in 2 ways. Through the hearing or reading of the Gospel message and through Baptism. It is not the water in Baptism that does this great thing, but God’s Word of promise that is attached to it.
We believe that when Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20 to baptize all nations (people) he did not exclude infants and the mentally challenged.The gift of faith is available to all.
We believe that baptism is the Gospel in visible form.
We believe that infants and the mentally challenged can believe in Jesus as their Savior. Belief is not reserved for people of a certain age or mental ability.
We believe that a person can lose the faith he was given in baptism by neglecting to sustain that faith through the regular use of God’s Word.
We do not believe that unbelieving humans have a free will concerning spiritual things. Unbelievers can only choose to sin.
We did not choose to be physically born or to which family we would be born into. We also do not choose to be born again (spiritually)
I agree and disagree in part with the first and second answers above.
We are all born into sin, including babies. A sin is defined in the Bible as a transgression of the law. I believe in "age of accountability" for sins as a 4 year old may not know the difference between right and wrong (sin). We as adults are to teach children growing up life lessons as to right and wrong. So, a 10 year old knows that it's wrong to steal as a 4 year old may not.
Infant "baptism" is merely a symbolic gesture on the part of the parents who are "dedicating" their baby to be raised Christian. It's not a baptism as the baby has not accepted Jesus. That is why adult baptism is important as we as adults either accept Jesus or reject Him. But I think you can as an adult accept Jesus without the symbolic gesture of being baptized.
I'm just not totally convinced that baptism is required to be saved. The reason being is that Jesus said the time to seek salvation is NOW. But if you go to many churches and ask to be baptized oftentimes the pastor will want to first talk to you and you may go through a series of interviews. One denomination I know of tells the person they must give up smoking, drinking, etc. in order to be baptized. By doing so, by telling a person they must do certain things or wait before being baptized, the pastor is merely injecting himself in place of Jesus. That to me is blasphemy. If Jesus says the time to seek salvation is NOW, who does this minister think he is by telling the person he must wait?
In His grip,
D.L.
My parents had me Baptized as an infant.
I am a born again Christian believing in Jesus for
my salvation.
Am I Spirit filled? I believe so.
I pray in tongues which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
I have not been re- Baptized since being born again
all those years ago.