Baptism 05: Baptism for Me
Orientate
I love it when God just puts me in the right place at just the right time. The reading today is an example of this. Philip was a leader in the Jerusalem church who got very specific instructions from God to hitch a ride in a chariot on a desert highway. God does not always speak this specifically, but when he does, it’s very exciting. Along the road came a very important Ethiopian official who really respected the Jewish religion and had been worshipping the Jewish God in Jerusalem. He was reading aloud from the Old Testament but had got stuck on a passage that he couldn’t fathom. It didn’t make sense to him. This was Philip’s God-given opportunity. Read the whole baptismal testimony.
Explore: Acts 8:26-39
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Journal
Journal for a few minutes on the following questions:
1. What is God saying to me? Which verse is most significant?
2. What do I want to discuss/explore further?
3. What do I need to do?
4. Why was the guy so keen to be baptised?
Reflect
This story is another example of the close link in the New Testament between conversion and baptism. The Ethiopian official hears the gospel and wants to say yes to Jesus by being baptised. Philip whips him straight into the water and baptises him. There is no series of studies to complete or check on how serious the guy is. Through his baptism, he is being transformed by Jesus and filled with God’s Spirit. It all happens together.
This is not usually our practice. Baptism often comes some time after conversion. There may be some good reasons for this. Baptism for the early Jewish Christians was usually a very costly event. It usually resulted in being ostracized by your family and community. It marked you as different. So you had to be serious about following Jesus to be baptised. These days the cost may not be as great and therefore the sincerity about Jesus not as strong. But still, the closer baptism can be tied to your conversion, the better. This is the biblical way. It makes the symbol more meaningful.
I have sometimes heard Christians say, “I will be baptised when God speaks to me about it.” Well God has already spoken, as we have seen in these readings. It’s not a matter of being good enough or spiritual enough. Baptism is not a symbol reserved for the most committed Christians. It’s for everyone who has been saved by Jesus. Yes, you must have an intention to keep following Jesus, but baptism is about what Jesus has done for you, not what you will do for Jesus. If you have been saved by Jesus, then be baptised to tell everyone about it in the way God designed.
What if you have actually been a Christian for a long time – do you still need to be baptised? Yes, it’s still important. There is no allowance in the New Testament for an unbaptised Christian. Baptism of course won’t save you, but it will complete the conversion process. You see being saved by Jesus is a process and baptism is the last step. It’s a bit like the place of the wedding in a marriage. You’re committed long before the wedding, but it’s the final step of the process.
One more thing. You may find that your baptism is one of the "highs" in your spiritual life to date (like the Ethiopian guy), or it may turn out to be another step of faith and obedience without much emotion attached. Whatever the case, you can be sure that God is immensely pleased with and proud of your obedience and that spiritual blessing will flow from your baptism.
Pray
Lord may I follow you in faith and may others be impacted by my baptism.
Respond
Talk to your mentor (and/or maybe a pastor) about being baptised.
