Based on the writings of Ellen White, if you have sinned after baptism, the immediate and primary suggestion is to seek God for forgiveness through sincere repentance.
Here are the key steps she outlines:
### 1. Seek God Immediately
Don't delay in turning back to God. She offers this encouragement:
> "Have you fallen into sin? Then without delay seek God for mercy and pardon... The Lord is calling to us in all our wanderings: 'Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings'" (
5T 177.3).
### 2. Experience Sincere Repentance and Reformation
Confession alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by a genuine change of heart and life.
> "Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance and reformation. There must be decided changes in the life; everything offensive to God must be put away. This will be the result of genuine sorrow for sin" (
SC 39.1).
This involves practical steps as described in the Bible:
> “‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ Isaiah 1:16, 17" (
SC 39.1).
### 3. Believe God's Promise of Forgiveness
You cannot make yourself holy, but you can accept God's promise to do it for you through Christ.
> "You cannot atone for your past sins; you cannot change your heart and make yourself holy. But God promises to do all this for you through Christ. You believe that promise. You confess your sins and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill His word to you. If you believe the promise,—believe that you are forgiven and cleansed,—God supplies the fact; you are made whole..." (
SC 51.1).
### 4. Consider Re-baptism if Necessary
For some, a new and deeper understanding of their sinfulness and of God's grace may lead them to desire re-baptism.
> "His former baptism does not satisfy him now. He has seen himself a sinner, condemned by the law of God. He has experienced anew a death to sin, and he desires again to be buried with Christ by baptism, that he may rise to walk in newness of life. Such a course is in harmony with the example of Paul in baptizing the Jewish converts" (
LP 133.2).
In summary, the counsel is not one of condemnation but of hope. The path forward involves immediate action, sincere repentance that leads to a changed life, and faith in God's power to forgive and restore.