# Your baptism



## Jake (Jul 12, 2014)

I'm interested to hear about your baptism. Were you born into in a covenant home and baptized young? Were you baptized upon profession of faith? What church/denomination was this in? 

I grew up in an SBC church and I was baptized upon profession of faith while in grade school. Interestingly, I have found journals from a young age written alongside reading Scripture recognizing my need of salvation and desiring to be a part of the church, but I was not deemed old enough to make a profession of faith until later in life.


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## Guido's Brother (Jul 12, 2014)

Born in a covenant home, baptized as a baby in a Canadian Reformed Church about 2.5 months after my birth.


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## Quatchu (Jul 12, 2014)

Was supposed to be baptized Anglican, but the Anglican minister refused to baptize me unless my parents came to church every Sunday. They felt life for them was to busy to go to church every week, so they went across the street to the United Church of Canada (liberal protestant) the minister at that church had no problem baptizing a infant who might never enter the church again. After becoming a Christian in high school I went to a Christian Liberal Arts University, I went to a baptist church with a friend, that day they were doing spontaneous baptisms and I went up. I know consider the baptist baptism to have been a unfortunate dip in a small pool.


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## earl40 (Jul 12, 2014)

I was baptized in a RC "church" as a child and used to have the conviction that credo was correct and was "baptized" again in a baptist church. Now possessing the opposite conviction I also think as Justin said "consider the baptist baptism to have been a unfortunate dip in a small pool".


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## Jack K (Jul 12, 2014)

I was just a few weeks old. My family was about to move across the country and my parents wanted the baptism done before we left. We were Christian Reformed (CRC).


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## reaganmarsh (Jul 12, 2014)

I made a (false) profession of faith at 5 years old and was baptized. At about age 13 I was converted while living in Albuquerque, NM, and was baptized about 1.5 years later while living in Southaven, MS (the same church which eventually licensed & ordained me to ministry).


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## hammondjones (Jul 12, 2014)

I was baptized as an infant in a Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in very much a Christian family, but not explicitly covenantal. In fact, we soon joined a SBC church, we were all baptized again upon profession of faith (me at about 8).


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## Mushroom (Jul 12, 2014)

Dunked in the Pacific Ocean at age 20 by a Pentecostal Church Pastor, then again at age 31 by a Nazarene Pastor who convinced me my first 'didn't take'. Found out later from my Mom that I'd been baptized (sprinkled) as a baby in a Methodist Church, never before having been informed of that fact. 55 now and all wet...


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## PaulMc (Jul 12, 2014)

I was baptised a year after my conversion at age 23, at a Reformed Baptist Church, while at university in London.


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## Contra_Mundum (Jul 12, 2014)

I am baptized today...

Today, I arise and put Christ on as my robe, having been baptized into Christ, Gal 3:27.

Today, I drink of the one Spirit for nourishment, having been baptized into Christ's body, 1Cor.12:13.

Today, I am buried in the tomb with my crucified Lord, having been baptized into Christ's death;
and I am raised with him to eternal life in his resurrection, having been baptized into his resurrection;
and I am united with him through baptism into all of his past and present Work on my behalf, Rom.6:3-5.​
Baptism happened to me, a long time ago. However, baptism is for today. I am baptized today.

Baptism is mine because I believe what baptism means for me _right now._ (and see WLC #167)

*God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It*
(Edmann Neumeister, 1718)

1.
God's own child, I gladly say it:
I am baptized into Christ.
He, because I could not pay it,
Gave my full redemption price.
Do I need earth's treasures many?
I have one worth more than any,
That brought me salvation free,
Lasting to eternity

2.
Sin, disturb my soul no longer;
I am baptized into Christ.
I have comfort even stronger:
Jesus' cleansing sacrifice--
Should a guilty conscience seize me--
Since my baptism did release me
In a dear forgiving flood,
Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood.

3.
Satan, hear this proclamation:
I am baptized into Christ!
Drop your ugly accusation!
I am not so soon enticed.
Now that to the font I've traveled,
All your might has come unraveled,
And against your tyranny
God my Lord unites with me.

4.
Death, you cannot end my gladness;
I am baptized into Christ.
When I die, I leave all sadness
To inherit paradise.
Though I lie in dust and ashes,
Faith's assurance brightly flashes;
Baptism has the strength divine
To make life immortal mine

5.
There is nothing worth comparing
To this lifelong comfort sure.
Open-eyed my grave is staring;
Even there I'll sleep secure.
Though my flesh awaits its raising,
Still my soul continues praising:
I am baptized into Christ;
I'm a child of paradise.​


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## Jerusalem Blade (Jul 12, 2014)

Grew up in a Reformed Jewish (i.e. liberal) home, where my mom believed in Christ (her dad had converted from the Jewish faith to cleave to Messiah), but neither parent was overt about what they believed, plus I was away from home in boarding schools since around 7 due to my mom's severe illness (cancer).

Was radically converted from the 60's counter culture to cleave to Christ at age 26 (in 1968), and the woman through whose testimony I was drawn to Christ told me to get a Bible and go to a church in Manhattan, which was Rock Church (holiness Pentecostal) on E. 62nd St. I was baptized there a few months later, by submersion, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.


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## Andres (Jul 12, 2014)

Baptized as an infant in the Roman Catholic harlot. Raised RC, but was never practicing and left the faith altogther around 15 years old. At 18 years old, I heard the gospel for the first time and was converted. Began attending a Pentecostal church and was baptized (Trinitarian) at age 19 on profession of faith. 

Have since repented of my erroneous views on Baptism and thankfully, had my son baptized around one month old in an OPC church.


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## kodos (Jul 12, 2014)

Converted in a non-denominational megachurch in late 2008. Baptized on the Saturday before the Lord's Day that fell on Easter in 2009, with about 10 others if I remember correctly. Though I will never worship there again, I am grateful for the means that the Lord used to bring about my conversion. 

I still reflect upon my time there fondly, in remembrance of my earliest encounters with Christ, and my new found reliance and faith in Him. Remembering my discovery of the Word of God, the Spirit who illuminated it, and the God who was now my Heavenly Father.


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## Scottish Lass (Jul 12, 2014)

My parents were non-attenders when I was little. I literally attended Sunday School alone as a small child (I could walk to the nearest PCUSA church, which was the denom my mother had grown up in). By the time I was seven or so, they started attending worship. I made a profession of faith and was baptized at eight.


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## Mephibosheth (Jul 12, 2014)

Baptized as an infant in the United Methodist Church. Later "re-baptized" with my entire immediate family as a pre-requisite for joining our Southern Baptist Church. Ironically, that summer, the youth group of that SBC church took us to "Student Life Camp" on the campus of Covenant College. Four years later, I returned to Covenant as a naive Freshman. I left a Presbyterian and a Presbyterian I shall remain.


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## Edward (Jul 12, 2014)

I was baptized at age 12 when I made my public profession of faith and joined the PCUS church where my family was (were?) members.


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## TylerRay (Jul 12, 2014)

Jake said:


> I grew up in an SBC church and I was baptized upon profession of faith while in grade school.


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## Miss Marple (Jul 12, 2014)

I met a man on a bus in Santa Clara County somewhere. I was on my way to a theatre rehearsal.

Previously, I had come under conviction of sin. It seemed an organic thing, but I must have had some information from somewhere. I know I found a tract (again on a bus) and prayed the sinner's prayer. I also lobbied for and finally got a Children's Bible, which I tried to read and understand but could not. I remember reading about the doves being split and so forth and not understanding why they did that and why it was apparently no longer done.

The "I Found It!" campaign was going and I called the number but the lady who answered the phone was very unhelpful.

Somehow I knew that to get saved one had to be baptized.

So when this young black man on the bus struck up a conversation with me and asked me if I was a Christian, I said "yes," since I'd prayed that prayer and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me (!) (I was like 13 years old), and he asked if I were baptized, and I said no, and he said well we are going to get you baptized. So I went with him somewhere I think to East Palo Alto(?) to a church that was quite empty and there was a baptismal tank in there and we went into the tank and he dunked me under. I think and hope he baptized me in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There was a chalkboard on the wall with hash marks on it for baptisms, and he made a hash mark for me.

Then he went with me to the theatre and probably meant no harm but started freaking me out because he was saying such things as "Do you make good fried chicken? Because I want a wife that makes good fried chicken." And so I was very happy to ditch him. He had gotten my address and phone number from me, but I did not answer the phone or the door and he slipped notes UNDER the door, which alarmed my mother, but he eventually went away. His name was Ali. 

Shortly thereafter I rejected the idea of being a Christian although my conviction and prayer and attempts had been earnest at the time. Despite my enthusiastic embrace of most things evil God was pleased to be faithful where I was not and called me to Himself when I was 21.

And the session accepted my baptism. . . odd as it was.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jul 13, 2014)

Though my parents were members of a northern mainline UPCUSA they didn't want me baptized in the northern church, so they took me at 6 months old to my grandparents PCUS church (where about 8 generations of my mother's family had also been baptized as infants) where I was baptized. I almost was baptized by immersion by a SBC youth pastor when I was 13 but my dad put a stop to it when he found out.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 13, 2014)

My Dad was raised Baptist and my Mom was raised Methodist. For about the first 6 years of my life, we didn't attend church. Then when they decided to start attending church, we started attending a congregation that was then affiliated with the PCA. This was also likely at least partly due to the influence of a family friend that was a member there. And the pastor was and is a gifted pulpiteer. I do recall saying prayers at night during this period (or maybe in the year or two afterward) but I'm not sure what my understanding really was. I knew that "sin" was bad and that we needed to be forgiven of it, but I don't know that I could have explained how we obtain forgiveness from God. Much later on I had what were vaguely Pelagian views coupled with other heretical views. 

For several reasons my parents decided to leave that PCA congregation after a year or two (never having joined) and we ended up in the Methodist Church. I was about 8 at the time my parents joined but I was not baptized at that time. (I don't recall them baptizing kids that old but I think they might have had my parents requested it. They may have been asked about it.) I eventually went through confirmation and was sprinkled and confirmed at the age of 12. Technically this was a baptism following a profession of faith which I had made at a retreat we had at the end of confirmation classes, but the examination was rather brief and pro forma. "Do you believe Jesus died for your sins?" and so on. Not many kids are going to say no under those circumstances. I wasn't really inclined to say no, but it wasn't something that I took seriously. It is possible that there may have been more truth in those confirmation classes than I remember. But about the only thing that I remember that was "conservative" that I encountered there in all those years was a Sunday School teacher who opposed satanism in rock music and played Mike Warnke tapes for us. 

While I did have a rudimentary understanding of the facts of the gospel, I remained unconverted until my mid 20's. Between that time, (having also attended a Roman Catholic school) I rejected the deity of Christ, becoming a blasphemer. About a week before the time that I mark my conversion, I saw an ad in the local newspaper for a local Wesleyan church. It said something like "A Conservative Methodist church with verse by verse preaching from the Bible." Still being a blasphemer, I said to myself "This guy probably doesn't know anything but verse by verse does sound interesting." For whatever reason, perhaps due to my upbringing, "Conservative Methodist" appealed to me more than if it would have said Conservative and something else. (For reasons that I can only attribute to God's providence, for about a year prior to this I felt led to attend churches occasionally even though I had no real intention of joining any or abandoning my views.) 

I was brought to the Lord by reading some books, even Dave Hunt, who was actually the most influential! The books led me to abandon any flirtation with Roman Catholicism. I was surprised to see an evangelical point out the glaring issues I saw with much of evangelicalism. And he addressed some of the occultic things I was intrigued with at the time. He also debunked Y2K,which I was concerned with at the time, having heard Gary North on the Art Bell show. (I had no idea who North was at the time.) Very soon thereafter I got a MacArthur book, adopted Calvinistic views, and then got into Sproul, Lloyd-Jones and other writers. Several years later I finally canceled my free subscription to Hunt's newsletter when I saw him consign to hell all who are converted under Calvinistic teaching. 

I continued attending that church for some time afterward. My Calvinism was not a problem there (The pastor said "Don't tell anybody but I sort of lean that way too".) I wasn't sure of where else to go at that time anyway. They only baptized and took in members about once a year, and I was baptized by immersion around a year later and joined the church. The policy of The Wesleyan Church is to basically accept all baptisms (only Trinitarian ones, hopefully!) so due to my experience in the UMC, immersion or baptism following a credible profession was not a prerequisite for me joining. The pastor told me this but he was baptistic and encouraged me to be baptized. I didn't want to have anything to do with the UMC anymore anyway so it didn't take much convincing. 

This immersion in a Wesleyan church, even subsequent to conversion, isn't considered valid baptism by many Baptists, even some who are not Landmarkers, strictly speaking. The reasons include that the Wesleyans don't believe in eternal security and because some of their congregations may baptize infants and may baptize by other modes besides sprinkling. Not being of "like faith and order", they are an "invalid administrator" even if the ordinance is otherwise performed correctly. But I've never been convinced by that line of reasoning, even in my most hard core Baptist days. I haven't inserted this paragraph for purposes of debate, but only to note that I have at times considered whether or not my immersion in that church was valid, probably because some worthies of the present and past who I respect would reject it.


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## Sovereign Grace (Jul 13, 2014)

I grew up in a non-christian home, but we were always taught to be respectful of others, and especially those who were christians. Dad and mom would have flogged us, but good, if they found out we were acting unseemly around them. We knew about Jesus, and what he did, but most sundays we stayed home. When I was around 11-12, mom and dad went to church every sunday for about a year, and then stopped. Dad was saved in 1997...ordained to preach in ~2000, and mom was saved in 1999...she passed away June 12, 2012...but I have a hope of seeing her again.

When I became an adult, I did a lot of the same things. I'd go to church for a while, and then stop. I'd then go for a while, and then stop. However, one sunday morning, I was listening to a FWB preacher preaching on the radio from Daniel 2. It's amazing how God works. It seemed like something "clicked" within me, and I truly realized without God, I was going to that fiery furnace called hell. 

I had it in my mind I had to make myself "savable". Meaning, if I would quit doing "this" He'd save me...nope. Then I'd quit "that", thinking then He'd save me...nope. It got to the point where I had done all I knew to do, yet I was still as lost as a ball in the weeds. Then at work on May 24th, 2007, I was praying with everything within me. I wasn't uttering any words, but I was pouring my heart out to God. I knew if He wouldn't save me, I was a goner. I was so bad off, I didn't want to live any longer without Him in my life, being my life. Then at ~01:30 that morning, I felt a feeling come over me, that started at the crown of my head and moved all the way down to my feet. I could fill a load come off of me, and I truly experienced peace, a peace I had never felt before. I've never been the same man since....

Then on June 10th, 2007, my dad and another preacher baptized me in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. I know the water doesn't save, but I felt something was missing from the time I was saved until I was baptized. I felt complete after they laid me in the liquid grave.


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## JonathanHunt (Jul 13, 2014)

Baptised aged 15 on profession of faith.


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## Jash Comstock (Jul 13, 2014)

Born into a covenant home and was baptized in an independent baptist church upon profession of faith. I have since embraced the Westminster standards, and intend to baptize my children.


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## Unoriginalname (Jul 13, 2014)

Born to Christian parents, baptized upon profession in a Baptist church in my mid teens. Would baptize my own children as babes now.


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## Gforce9 (Jul 13, 2014)

My history is much like Earl's; born and (mostly) raised R.C., so regeneratively baptized flamingscot as an infant. Following in the tradition of the Anabaptist (literally!), I was re-baptised as a professor around 20 y.o. in an SBC affiliated, non-denom, Willow Creek/Saddleback wannabe. The road from then to here has changed my view on so many things. Both my children were baptized last year in our OPC congregation, with all joy, gladness, and thanksgiving.


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## Sensus Divinitas (Jul 13, 2014)

I was dedicated in a Conservative Baptist church as an infant. I was baptized upon a profession of faith (poured, not immersed) when I was around 12 in a non-denominational church with Presbyterian leanings. Obviously, now I hold to the WCF.


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## DMcFadden (Jul 13, 2014)

Baptized by immersion upon profession of faith in January 1963 (9 years old).


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## Philip (Jul 13, 2014)

Baptized as an infant in a PCA Church.


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## irresistible_grace (Jul 13, 2014)

RC baptism as a newborn (Father is RC & mother is AoG but we did not go to church often)
Anabaptist re-baptism Assemblies of God at age 14 upon profession of faith (by coercion)
Became Reformed in my theology late '08 when my oldest was almost 2 yrs old 
All three of my covenant children have been baptized since (ARP, OPC & RPCNA)


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## One Little Nail (Jul 14, 2014)

Was born into a R.C. Family and received a "baptism" when an Infant. When I got saved at 21 I joined an AoG Church and
was Baptised by Immersion upon my Profession of Faith.

I don't count my R.C. baptism as valid, though I regard my Pentecostal Immersionist Baptism as valid, even though I now believe that pouring or affusion is the proper Mode of Baptism. Affusion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Andres (Jul 14, 2014)

irresistible_grace said:


> All three of my covenant children have been baptized since (ARP, OPC & RPCNA)



You're really trying to cover all your Presbyterian bases! Haha


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## Mister Snrub (Jul 14, 2014)

Mine was when I was 11 (or 12), in the PCA. I was born into a church that believed in baptismal regeneration (Disciples of Christ I believe, but I was so young when we left, so I really don't remember) prior to joining the PCA, and both older sisters were baptized as believers. I hadn't reached age at which I could be baptized into that church yet when we moved, so I was never baptized into that church. My baptism was at some point after starting the Communicant's Class at the church I ended up growing up in. So I have a distinct memory of it. It was nothing particularly special in terms of ceremony, but certainly was a significant moment for me in my life, and walk with Christ.

Side note...my three month old son was baptized yesterday. His grandfather (a TE in the PCA) performed the actual baptism. It was a really sweet full circle moment between him and my wife. They have a very rocky history which has been being reconciled for seven or so years now--since before I came into the picture. Yesterday was, especially those who know the history between my wife and her father, a wonderful picture of how God can restore the most broken relationships.


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## JML (Jul 14, 2014)

I was baptized as an infant in the United Methodist Church, baptized by immersion in an SBC church after my conversion at age 20, and (wrongly) re-baptized in a Reformed Baptist Church after coming to the doctrines of grace.


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## belin (Jul 14, 2014)

Baptized as an infant in an Anglican church. Assumed it was a mistake until I studied the theological reasons.


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## Bill The Baptist (Jul 14, 2014)

John Lanier said:


> I was baptized as an infant in the United Methodist Church, baptized by immersion in an SBC church after my conversion at age 20, and (wrongly) re-baptized in a Reformed Baptist Church after coming to the doctrines of grace.



I am surprised that a reformed Baptist church would require re-baptism since you had already been baptized by immersion upon a profession of faith. Was this something that you wanted personally? or did the church request it?


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