Re-baptism
I was baptized and confirmed in WELS. I attended an ELCA university. After some post-college research into my family tree, I discovered the Jewish roots of my family. I desired to reconnect with my distant family heritage. After several years of study under both Conservative and Orthodox rabbis, I renounced the Christian faith and officially became Jewish. Recently my attention has turned to studying who the “Jewish messiah” is. I have been studying with Christians and “Messianic Jews” from various backgrounds for about two years now. I have read on your website that re-baptism isn’t necessary for one who “wandered away” from the faith and returns, but what about someone who formally renounced their Christian faith publicly before a court of Rabbis? Is re-baptism necessary? Thank you for your time.
Re-baptism is not necessary. In Baptism, God offers and gives the forgiveness of sins. He clothes people in the righteousness Jesus Christ won (Galatians 3:26-27). People enjoy those blessings through Christian faith.
If a person is baptized and then rejects Christianity, that person forfeits the blessings of baptism. If the Holy Spirit changes the heart of that person and it becomes the residence of saving faith again, the person enjoys the blessings of baptism once again. There is no command, or even example, in the Bible that tells us we are to be baptized more than once.
As you study Scripture, be sure to cling to the Bible’s teachings of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. God guide you in the steadfast confession that “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).