Those who qualify for rebaptism are those who meet the following criteria:
- Baptised as infant: Anyone who was “baptised” in a denomination while an infant. Note baptised is in quotes. I tend to refer to these “baptisms” as naming ceremonies and not baptisms because scripturally, infants cannot be baptised since they cannot make any judgement of their own.
- Baptism of Repentance: In the book of Acts we see an example of believers who received the baptism of John which was the baptism of repentance. This baptism was not of Jesus Christ even though it did resemble. But instead the apostles rebaptised the believers in the name of Jesus. Only in this name will any one’s baptism be effective because it makes one identical to Jesus Christ in his suffering, death and resurrection and only then will their be an effectual removal of sins. Less of that, its a false baptism. (see Acts 19:1-5)
- Baptised by unbeliever: One qualifies for rebaptism if he was baptised by an individual who was not a Christian but purported to be one. They live an evidently sinful life that is contrary to the required standard of a true believer. Perhaps they weren’t baptised themselves and do not carry the spirit of God in them.
- Partial immersion: A believer qualifies for rebaptism if at all their baptism did not involve full immersion in water which is the equivalent of burial beneath the surface of water. Remember baptism is like burying a person in the grave of Jesus, so you are literally buried but this time under water in the grave as that of Jesus.
- No understanding then: One may be rebaptised if at all they are not sure if they understood why and what they were baptised into. Some times people loose memory of the event of their baptism and are not sure if it was right or not and in whose name they were baptised. So they feel a rebaptism will give them sure confidence.