9. Acts 10:1-48 (vs 47) "Can any man forbid the water, that these
should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?
(ASV)"
10. Acts 16:14-15 "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple
of the city of Thyatira, one that worshiped God, heard us: whose heart the
Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul. And when
she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, ‘If ye
have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.'
And she constrained us. (ASV)"
11. Acts 16:32-34 "And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with
all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and
washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And he
brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly,
with all his house, having believed in God. (ASV)"
A few points to note:
A. In the book of Acts, baptism is mentioned in every detailed account of
an individual's conversion. Everyone of them: Simon, The Eunuch, Saul, Cornelius,
Lydia, Philippian Jailer(The only possible exception being Sergius Paulus,
Acts 13:7, which includes no account of the words spoken by Paul to Sergius
or words spoken by Sergius, and is therefore not as detailed).
B. Most churches do not follow the Bible on baptism. Notice in the conversions
mentioned, those who believed the gospel were baptized immediately. No waiting
for a special once a month or year "baptism" service, no waiting
for warm weather, or special class to go through, and it was not something
to "get around to sometime." The Bible is clear. The Apostles baptized
people once they had faith in Jesus. No waiting.
I want to emphasize this: When you read the examples in Acts you can see they thought baptism was something important and they were baptized as soon as they could, it was a pressing issue. Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on His name."
If baptism was not for the forgiveness of sins, then why the rush? Please
think about this....
Does baptism being for the remission of sins mean that water has some
special powers?
No, and this is simply not the issue. The question is, did God choose to apply
the blood of Christ to Christians in water baptism? That is the question.
Very clearly, God can use His powers through acts of faith. In John 5:1-4,
when God healed the first man to enter the pool of Bethasda, was it the power
of the water that healed the man or the power of God? Very clearly, it was
the power of God, but it worked through means of the water, something powerless
of itself. When Jesus rubbed mud on the eyes of the blind man in John 9, was
it the power of the mud or the power of God that healed him? Very clearly,
we would agree it was the power of God working through something which, of
itself, is powerless. This is how God works in baptism. Consider Col 2:12-13
"...buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with
Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13And
you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He
has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses..."
(Also Romans 6:3-4)
Now let's go a little deeper:
What shall I do to be saved? Is asked five times in the New Testament. At
Pentecost (Acts 2:37), the Phillipian jailor (Acts 16:30), and Jesus talking
to the Rich young ruler ( In the gospels of Matt 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22,
and Luke 18:18-23), Jesus talking to a Lawyer (Luke 10:25) and the parallel
accounts of Saul's conversion (Acts 22:10 & Acts 9:6).
I want to consider three of those:
Acts 2:37 (Pentecost), Acts 16:30 (The Phillipian Jailor), And Acts 22:10
& Acts 9:6 (The conversion of Saul). These three apply because these are
the three that occurred after the formation of the church - after the death
of Jesus on the cross for our sins.
Acts 2:37- The situation was this:
Peter had just given a very convicting sermon to the Jews. They were cut to
the heart. They realized what they had done. They had crucified the Son of
God. They were convicted and they asked (vs. 37)"Men and Brethren,
what shall we do?" Notice how Peter answered the question "
what shall we do?" (vs.38)"Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent,
and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirt' (NKJV)."
Notice: He did not, like many churches today, tell them to say a "sinner's"
prayer.
Acts 16:30- The situation was this:
While in Philippi, Paul and Silas were thrown in prison. There, Paul and Silas
prayed and sang hymns. At midnight a great earthquake shook the prison. The
doors were broken open. The jailer was awakened. He saw the prison doors open.
The Jailer realized he would lose his life if a prisoner had escaped and he
drew his sword to kill himself. Then Paul said in vs. 28-30 "....
‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here'. Then he called for a light,
ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them
out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' So they said, ‘believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'
(NKJV)"
My question is this: Why didn't Peter answer the same question
in Acts 2:37, the same way as Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30?
Acts 2:38 "...Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus for the remission of sins...(NKJV)"
Acts 16:30 "... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved... (NKJV)"
Why did the same question receive a different answer? Which answer is correct?
If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, you therefore must believe it does not contradict. There must be an understanding which reconciles both answers.
A review of the audiences:
To the Jews, in Acts 2:38, Peter answered, "repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins." To the Philippian, in Acts 16:30, Paul answered "Believe on the Lord Jesus." But was something different about the audience at Jerusalem compared to Philippi? Yes! The Jews already believed, in both God and Jesus. The Jews knew very well who Jesus was. Many standing there had probably both seen and heard Jesus. So, the next step for that audience was repentance and baptism. The Philippian jailor in Acts 16:30, had never heard the Word (vs.32), he didn't know who Jesus was. So the correct answer for him was "believe on the Lord Jesus." That is the first step, but not the only step.
An illustration to clarify:
There were two men and a guide walking to a city. As they were walking, one
of the men asked "how far are we from the city" the guide responded
" three miles." Sometime later, the other man asked " How far
are we from the city" and the guide responded "one mile."
Two different answers to the same question, but they are both correct. The Phillipain jailor was "three" miles away. The Jews at Pentecost were "one."
Consider the third event:
Acts 22:10 & Acts 9:6-The situation was this: Saul was going to Damascus
to persecute Christians. While still on the road to Damascus, he is engulfed
in a heavenly light. It is revealed to Saul that Jesus is the Son of God.
Saul, confronted with this knowledge, asks in (9:6) "Lord, what would
You want me to do? (NKJV)" The Lord answered (9:6) "Arise
and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do (NKJV)"
The heavenly light then goes away. The now blinded Saul is lead to Damascus.
There, he prayed and fasted for three days.
Was Saul saved now? We know he believed in Jesus. He had prayed to God. He was certainly repentant. Did Saul need something more to wash away his sins? Yes. Ananias, in vs. 16 told Saul he needed to wash away his sins. Acts 22:16 "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord(NKJV)" Remember Saul was someone who had for three days believed in Jesus, had prayed to God, and was repentant, yet he still needed to wash away his sins through baptism. (Please pause for a moment and think about this)
Conclusion: So where do you stand: Does your church follow the Bible on baptism? Do you teach that those who believe in the gospel should be baptized as soon as possible, as the Apostles did? For the forgiveness of sins, as the Apostle did? The Word of God teaches baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, Christians accept that on faith and obey. If you were not baptized for the remission of sins, can you say that you have obeyed God? Can you say your sins were washed away? Remember a living faith produces obedience to God's word. A living faith is more than just a belief in Christ. A living faith produces obedience. You can have a living faith today, God did not make salvation hard. He wills that all men should be saved(II Peter 3:9. I Timothy 2:4). The first step is to believe, to have faith. Next, to repent and confess Jesus as Lord. Finally, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. You can be saved today, why wait?
Ryan Sollars 2003