Hi there,<\/p>\n
I know you’ve probably answered many questions like mine, but I’m just struggling with a lack of peace. I ache for peace, and I am praying for help. I doubt my baptism, and I just wanted to seek guidance. I do struggle with moral OCD, and I do think it’s my overthinking, but I want the freedom to know and believe that I am saved.<\/p>\n
I was baptized for the first time when I was eight, and I wasn’t ready. I was more interested in the baptism pool than anything else. So I was baptized again at 14, and this time, it was for better reasons and because I genuinely wanted to be right in God’s sight. However, I still wondered if I’d been baptized in a pleasing manner, so I was baptized again at 20 in a bathtub during quarantine.<\/p>\n
I know I had decided my life needs to be about God and for God. I believe Jesus died for me, and God forgives and washes us of sins in baptism. However, I didn’t feel different after my baptism. I still felt uneasy and anxious- like I hadn’t done something right. Additionally, I grew up without understanding grace and justification. I’ve been wondering, did I not believe God forgave me at baptism? I knew that God forgives at baptism, but what if I didn’t trust Him to forgive me? And if I didn’t… do I need to be rebaptized? Did I not trust Him enough then, or do I repent and work on trusting Him now? I know He does not lie, but the fear is hard to overcome.<\/p>\n
I am so afraid of incorrect baptism that it is overwhelming. I want to live in the peace and freedom that Jesus provides. I’ve been learning about our assurance in Jesus and want to believe I am among those promised this assurance confidently.<\/p>\n
Please provide guidance if you are willing.<\/p>\n\t
Yes, you are suffering from scrupulosity. You think that God only accepts perfection, and you want to have no risks. Thus, you constantly review your past to look for the slightest flaws, which you then condemn yourself over and assume<\/strong> that God is displeased because they weren’t perfect.<\/p>\n God never said He requires perfection. Instead, He says that any claiming to be flawless and without sin is lying (I John 1:8,10). He warns that expecting to be more righteous than God requires will lead to your ruin (Ecclesiastes 7:16). We are to work toward righteousness and holiness, but we know we won’t make it. That is where God’s mercy and grace come into play. I do the best that I can. When I make mistakes and sin, I apologize to God and continue striving to improve. It isn’t about the past. It is about the future.<\/p>\n Everyone who becomes a Christian doesn’t understand everything. Being a Christian is about continued growth and learning. Of course, you know more now than when you were baptized, but that doesn’t mean you must be baptized again.<\/p>\n Confidence comes from trusting God, not yourself or the things you have done in the past. You can’t earn your way into heaven. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked<\/em>” (I John 2:3-6). Are you doing everything you know to do? Then that is good enough for now.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hi there, I know you’ve probably answered many questions like mine, but I’m just struggling with a lack of peace. I ache for peace, and I am praying for help. I doubt my baptism, and I just wanted to seek guidance. I do struggle with moral OCD, and I do think it’s my overthinking,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[248,965,966],"class_list":["post-85752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptized-again","tag-ocd","tag-scrupulosity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-get-baptized-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":0},"title":"Do I need to get baptized again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I grew up in the church of Christ. I was first baptized around age 12. I later was baptized again because I became unsure if I did it for the correct reasons the first time. I thought I did it more out of fear of hell than belief\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-my-baptism-invalid-because-i-did-it-to-avoid-going-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":1},"title":"Is my baptism invalid because I did it to avoid going to hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When I got baptized, I was being baptized not necessarily wanting forgiveness but more about keeping myself from going to Hell. I was sincere in my commitment to God giving Him my life, but I was baptized out of fear of going to hell. This burdens my conscience every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-matter-if-you-are-baptized-facing-forward\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":2},"title":"Does it matter if you are baptized facing forward?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just started going to a church of Christ and love it. They're a real loving congregation. I was just baptized. I'm new to all this but have OCD and am particular. I find it odd that they baptized me forward while I was on my knees. I'm new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-suffering-ocd-when-it-comes-to-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":3},"title":"I’m suffering OCD when it comes to baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question. I am pretty sure I am suffering from OCD when it comes to baptism. I have been baptized multiple times because I did not think my repentance was genuine enough and because I was learning more about baptism. I originally came from a Baptist denomination.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25930,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-was-baptized-as-an-infant-do-i-need-to-be-baptized-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":4},"title":"I was baptized as an infant. Do I need to be baptized again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was baptized as an infant; however, I have recently found Christ and repented from my sinful ways. I know the importance of baptism and want to ensure that I am in accordance with the Scriptures. There are many different views on this subject; however, I cannot seem to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38598,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-worried-that-i-wasnt-baptized-properly\/","url_meta":{"origin":85752,"position":5},"title":"I’m worried that I wasn’t baptized properly","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hey, I've been reading your articles about baptism and asked my Christian parents to baptize me. They were very kind and asked me if I believed in Jesus. I did everything right, except I'm very worried I was not under the water properly. 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