Can I baptise myself? ....or get a friend to do it....

[Esther4:14]

I agree with the consensus that it would be okay to have a friend or couple of friends do this somewhere like a lake or ocean or whatever.  I don't think you have to be in a church especially if you feel uncomfortable with that.  Baptism is special.  It should be a special experience.  Even if there are only a couple witnesses of the actual experience, you will have the testimony to share for a lifetime.  So it should be a experience you would want to enthusiastically share with others; or, something you could suggest for someone else one day who wants to have the same pure experience of baptism without the politics that are suffocating many churches today.  

I think that would be preferable if I couldn't find a church that I felt comfortable with.  

[gdemoss]

Can a friend help you?  Yes.  Just as Phillip baptized the Ethiopian so can any brother in Christ baptize you in any water anywhere public or private does not matter.

I must beg to differ. Baptism is (amongst other things) a testimony - it should be public. 

You are free to disagree.  There is nothing in scripture that compels me to believe it MUST be public.  I am OK with people believing that it should be but commanding that it MUST be requires the bibles testimony of the requirement.

[thereselittleflower]

Oakwood, have you ever been baptized before, even as a child?

If you have never been baptized, then all you need is for someone to baptize you according to the words of scripture   "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

That's all you need.

 

If it helps, the Didache, a wrting from the 1st century, lists out the various ways one may be baptized.

Chapter 7. Concerning Baptism. And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.

 

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html

 

"Living water" meant running water as in a river.

[Omegaman 3.0]

According the the great commission,

Jesus told His apostles to make disciples of all nations, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - well, read it for yourself:

 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

So, if Jesus wanted to have the disciples taught to obey everything Jesus commanded them, and one of the things He commanded them, was to make disciples and baptize them, we would expect that every disciple was to make more disciples each who would baptize and make disciples, it says nothing about special church leadership etc.

I would caution however, that a disciple, is one who is a student, a learner follower of Jesus and His teachings, and that the implication here, or the expectation would seem to be the a disciple making other disciples, would educate them in the knowledge of the things that Jesus taught the apostles. To me this implies that newbie Christians, should not be baptizing converts, until those converts were also disciples, taught and apt to teach and follow Jesus.

I think baptizing one's self would be a bit odd since presumably one is baptized by another who has been involved in teaching them the ways of Christ etc. Hopefully, that would be an experienced believer, otherwise believers are apt to be 'inferior' products, ill equipped to teach others. Additionally, baptism is usually seen as an act of obedience to Jesus, and a public demonstration of commitment to the faith, a profession, in front of others.

Unless one is the only person on a desert island, there is probably no good reason to baptize one'self.

Since those to be baptized are disciples, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that infant baptism, is not really scriptural, since babies are not yet disciples, having no learning in the things of our Lord yet. I would say on that point, that there is no specific age that a person must be to be baptized, but it stands to reason that they should understand what they are doing, and understand the teachings of Jesus. We know from Acts, chapter 8, that this does not meant that a person has to have undergone a lot of schooling, in fact, that example appeard to be a same days as beleife baptism, so no need for undue delay, Of course, the man had just also had the teaching of an apostle. I would think that there ought to be an understanding of at least cardinal doctrines, but that is my opinion.

Paul did not seem to think that it was critically important who performed baptism, (1 Cor 1) since he seems to have rarely baptized people himself.

Some denominations perform baptisms by sprinkling - I would not go so far as to say that this is totally invalid as a method, but the symbolism of being washed, and of going down (as in death) and rising up (as in ressurection) is lost a bit. The Biblical model is to be immersed - in fact the Greek word baptisma which appears as baptism in our bibles, is a bit odd. Most words are translated to a meaning, in the case of baptisma, the bibles usually have the word baptism, a made up word that sounds similar to, but is not a translation of the word. If Bibles had the word translated, we would read about immersion, not "baptism". Perhaps Bible publishers we afraid that some denominations would not buy their translation if they said immersion and the denominations practice was sprinkling. No idea why that word is generally not translated into English.

[Guest shiloh357]

I know that there are no perfect churches, but the churches in my area preach homosexual marriage (one even has a gay pastor) and they are into other non-Biblical nonsense. I feel that getting baptised in one of these places would be like being baptised in a witches coven.

I'm quite prepared to do a public baptism but I want it be done by people who have the Holy Spirit and who don't twist scripture..... that's all I'm asking for.....

Hey Oak,

Do you have any friends who are solid believers that might be willing to baptize you?   I know of men who were not preachers who baptized their children.  They had some close friends at their baptism as witnesses and were baptized in a river.   Afterwards they had a cookout near the shore.   There is no rule that you have to be baptized by an ordained minister in a church.   "Public"  simply means in presence of witnesses.  So a few close friends who witness it would be sufficient.  Understanding the need for baptism as an act of obedience to Jesus is what counts and it is the Lord who is watching and he will honor your obedience and faithfulness.

[Deborah_]

Another thought that has occurred to me:

Baptism is (amongst other things) the outward sign of membership of the universal Church. I know that there are a few churches that believe otherwise, but as a general rule, it doesn't matter where or by whom you were baptised, that baptism 'admits' you to any church, anywhere.

Therefore it's better (if at all possible) to be baptised by a recognised church (who will usually give you a certificate) rather than by a private individual. I know things were a bit different in the New Testament era, but the Church was a lot smaller then. It makes your baptism 'official' if it is done before witnesses.

A 'certificate' actually sounds very old-fashioned now, doesn't it! Perhaps an alternative would be to video your baptism - a permanent record that you could show to anyone, which would make it more 'public'. 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Deborah_

[other one]

I know that there are no perfect churches, but the churches in my area preach homosexual marriage (one even has a gay pastor) and they are into other non-Biblical nonsense. I feel that getting baptised in one of these places would be like being baptised in a witches coven.

I'm quite prepared to do a public baptism but I want it be done by people who have the Holy Spirit and who don't twist scripture..... that's all I'm asking for.....

Hey Oak,

Do you have any friends who are solid believers that might be willing to baptize you?   I know of men who were not preachers who baptized their children.  They had some close friends at their baptism as witnesses and were baptized in a river.   Afterwards they had a cookout near the shore.   There is no rule that you have to be baptized by an ordained minister in a church.   "Public"  simply means in presence of witnesses.  So a few close friends who witness it would be sufficient.  Understanding the need for baptism as an act of obedience to Jesus is what counts and it is the Lord who is watching and he will honor your obedience and faithfulness.

Shiloh, we are supposed to profess our faith publicly, but does it say that we must be baptized publicly....  As far as I know, When Phillip baptized the eunuch, there were not any extra people.

[Guest shiloh357]

I know that there are no perfect churches, but the churches in my area preach homosexual marriage (one even has a gay pastor) and they are into other non-Biblical nonsense. I feel that getting baptised in one of these places would be like being baptised in a witches coven.

I'm quite prepared to do a public baptism but I want it be done by people who have the Holy Spirit and who don't twist scripture..... that's all I'm asking for.....

Hey Oak,

Do you have any friends who are solid believers that might be willing to baptize you?   I know of men who were not preachers who baptized their children.  They had some close friends at their baptism as witnesses and were baptized in a river.   Afterwards they had a cookout near the shore.   There is no rule that you have to be baptized by an ordained minister in a church.   "Public"  simply means in presence of witnesses.  So a few close friends who witness it would be sufficient.  Understanding the need for baptism as an act of obedience to Jesus is what counts and it is the Lord who is watching and he will honor your obedience and faithfulness.

Shiloh, we are supposed to profess our faith publicly, but does it say that we must be baptized publicly....  As far as I know, When Phillip baptized the eunuch, there were not any extra people.

I don't know that the Bible specifically states that it MUST be public.   And how many people are required for a baptism to be "public?"   I think it's a good idea to have some witnesses, though.  But that is just my opinion.

[Willa]

So photograph it and put it on a Facebook page.  You can't get much more public than that.

[other one]

I have seen that done...