How far should a person’s past be checked before baptizing them?
Question:
When you have an open Bible study with a family, and they come to the knowledge of the truth, and you find out that a previous marriage has taken place earlier in years, and show them the truth of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, and they feel like they are in a scriptural marriage, but you have some doubt or concern pertaining to the fornication, but they insist and believe they are correct after studying Scripture, how much should we find out before they are baptized? I know this sounds confusing, but should we ever refuse someone being baptized to get into Christ for the remission of their sins once we have shown them the truth? Just how far should we "dig" into the details of a past marriage?
Answer:
If a person is blatantly in sin and refuses to leave his sin, then I would tell him that baptism isn't going to him any good because the Scriptures requires repentance (Acts 2:38). But in this case, you taught this couple the truth, you thought there might be a problem in one area, so you made sure they understood what the Scriptures state. They told you that this doesn't apply to their situation. Now either they lied to you or they told you the truth to the best of their knowledge. I don't recall that God told us to be His gatekeeper. Unlike the Baptists, we don't judge whether a person is worthy to become a member of the church. All of this is in God's hands. Accept their word. If facts come up later that indicate a problem, address them with the couple at that time. But if such a problem does arise, and proves to be true, then it indicates there is more than just a problem regarding their marital status. There would also be a problem with truthfulness.
