Dear reader, whether you believe it or not, there are some baptisms which are not valid.  Our Lord told the disciples to teach people to observe all thing that he had commanded them (Matthew 28:20).  If we are going to please Christ we must do everything he has commanded us - and - do these things in the way he commanded.  There are some baptisms which are not valid today because they are not after the pattern which Christ established for us in His New Testament.  Let us look at some of these baptisms.
    Infant baptism is not valid.    One of the first things a candidate must do before that person can be baptized is to believe in Christ and then make a conscience decision to follow Him.  In Acts chapter eight we find the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.  As they were riding in the chariot and as Philip was teaching him about Christ the eunuch asked, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?”  In this question we can see that the eunuch had already made the decision to follow Christ but Philip had to know something else.  “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  An infant cannot make the decision to believe in Christ nor can it make the decision to follow Christ.  If you were baptized as an infant, your baptism is not valid.
    Sprinkling / Pouring for baptism is not valid.    When Christ gave the command to baptize people (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, etc.), He used a word that there should be no doubt about what he meant.  He used a Greek word that meant “to dip” or “to immerse.”  If Christ wanted people to pour water on people or to sprinkle people he would have used other words.  Both of these words appear in the New Testament (Acts 2:17, Heb. 9:19) and they are not even remotely related to the word Christ used for baptism.  If you were “baptized” by sprinkling or pouring, your baptism is not valid.
    Baptism in the name of Christ only is not valid.    We are not told the exact words that were said when someone was baptized under the New Testament.  However, we are told how to baptize people.  Jesus told his disciples to baptize people “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”  (Matt. 28:19).  Christ gave the words he wanted said at baptisms and who are we to go against his wishes?  If you were baptized in the name of Christ only, your baptism is not valid.
    Baptism for the wrong reason is not valid.    Christ told the disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth (John 16:13).  On the day of Pentecost, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke these words, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”  (Acts 2:38).  In this Peter gives the reason that a person is to be baptized.  People are to be baptized “for” or “into” the remission of sins.  There are many who teach that remission of sins comes before baptism and that baptism is an outward expression of an inward grace.  But Peter, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, taught that remission of sins does not come until one is baptized.  Who will you believe; modern preachers or Peter?  If you were baptized for any reason other than “For the remission of sins,” your baptism is not valid.
    Conclusion:   If all of these baptisms are not valid, what are we going to do with all these people who have been baptized in these ways?  We are going to re-baptize those who will submit to Biblical baptism.  But is there any authority for doing this?  In Acts chapter nineteen we find this very thing being done.  There were some in Ephesus who had been baptized unto John’s baptism.  When it was known by Paul that they had not been baptized properly he re-baptized them under the authority of Christ (Acts 19:5).
    Today there is but one baptism that is valid.  Paul wrote that there is, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”  (Ephesians 4:5).  That one baptism is found in the pages of the Bible.  That one baptism is “for” or “into” the remission of sins.  That one baptism is by immersion.  That one baptism is not designed for infants.  That one baptism is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.  That one baptism is practiced by The Churches of Christ.  Will you submit to New Testament baptism?
    There is a friendly member of the Church of Christ who would like to talk with you about this subject.  If you are willing to sit down and discuss these things privately, please send me a message.