Covering the Basics (Part 1)
Speaker: Andrew Brown
Key Passage: Act8: 26-39
Date: 30 May 2010
Some of you will remember that just before Christmas I gave you all a challenge. I challenged you to look at four different areas of your life (the social, physical, mental and spiritual) and to make goals in each of these. Being a man who wants to practise what I preach I did the same exercise myself. I sat down and decided that I needed to make changed in the ‘Physical’ are in particular. You see I was just playing at doing fitness. I did a little swimming here, a little walking there. I stuff around. I decided that I needed to compete in something and I decided to train for a half marathon.
So I downloaded my training schedule and commenced 4 months of training. And the result was that last weekend I competed in the 30th Huntly Half Marathon and came in 1st (wait) -801st. Okay 801st doesn’t sound as great as 1st, but it was a great effort for me. My aim was to run 21km in just under 2 hours and I did it! On top of that it was the 30th anniversary of the race and they promised a medal to everyone who finished the course, so I can also honestly says I won this silver medal! It was a great experience and I encourage others of you to do it.
And what I learnt from it was several things about the importance of setting goals and just getting on with getting things done. I mean we can be great procrastinators can’t we? But what I discovered is that: a. setting a goal means we can finally complete what we have been meaning to do. I’d been pottering around for years hoping one day that I would get healthy. Setting a goal meant I finally got one with it.
b. There were benefits along the way that I didn’t quite expect. I lost over 5kgs. I feel fitter and leaner. There’s the satisfaction of having done the race. c. And chasing the goal has brought me to a place with new horizons. One goal I have is to walk across Mt Tongariro. In the past I was reluctant to do it, thinking I wasn’t fit enough, but now I know I can do it, so I will. There’s also a kind of madness that’s associated with running. On the way home I was praying, “O God, it hurts so much!” and then in the next breath, “Lord, when can I do this again?” Hopefully in the Auckland half marathon in October, but what I’ve learnt is the power of goals -of simply getting on with things. Maybe you have discovered this in other areas of your life?
Which kind of leads me on to this question: Why aren’t more people in a hurry to be baptised? Why do some people keep putting off and putting off their baptism sometimes even for years? Jesus says very clearly in scripture, Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” If people can see the obvious power of achieving goals in other areas of their life like career, health, relationships, and travel, then why not get on with the essential spiritual goals? Why shouldn’t you be baptised?
I. To answer this question we are going to look at the story of two men who wrestled very briefly and yet decisively with this question. The main character was an Ethiopian eunuch, the financial manager of the Queen mother of Ethiopia. This was a very well connected man. In our account in Acts 8 he was travelling from Jerusalem where he had been worshipping God back to his home. He was a convert to Judaism. He was travelling along in a chariot, which was rare to own in those days, so he was essentially travelling business class, and reading aloud from his Bible as he rode along. (Reading out loud was the custom in those days).
Two things stand out about this man from the text: a. He was someone who was spiritual, even religious. He clearly had an awareness of God. He had acted on that knowledge by becoming a Jew. b. Yet he was still lost. He had not found God. He still had a hunger and a willingness to learn. He did not have a closed mind, but was open to new information that would help him.
So God sends the second character, Philip, to speak to him. Philip walks alongside his chariot and gets talking with him. ‘What are you reading?’ he asks. It’s a very natural question. (Talking openly about your faith is a natural thing). So the Ethiopian invites him up into his chariot where Philip talks to him about Jesus and shows him how Jesus is the answer to His spiritual questions. The Ethiopian agrees right away. He’s an intelligent and practical man. They come upon a pool of water and so he immediately requests baptism. He says, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptised?”
Now this is interesting because it shows that baptism in water was part and parcel of following Jesus at that time. From earliest days of the church it was simply expected that if you believed in Jesus you would be baptised. It’s not some later invention thought up by water loving clergyman. The church didn’t invent it later on. Jesus Himself commanded it. “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:15-16).” And the apostles practiced it as well. When the people said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-38).
So baptism is expected, but this raises for Phillip a very important question that we would do well to ask, ‘What ought to delay someone from being baptized, and what should not stop someone from being baptized right away?’
1. To address one issue at a time -there appear to be two, possibly three reasons, why a person should not be baptised. In other words there are 2-3 pre-requisites for baptism.
a. The first is that you must have faith. If you do not have faith in Jesus Christ, you should not be baptised. In Acts 8:37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” be baptised. The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” and so he was baptised. Jesus Himself also stressed the importance of faith. As we read before in Mark 16:16 there is always a pattern. You believe and then you are baptised.
It may helpful to mention here that there are several popular views of baptism. From the first perspective baptism is like an automatic operation. This view believes that when you are baptised, regardless of what you believe and whether you believe, you are somehow changed. Whether you want it or not, like it or not, believe it or not, this theory goes that baptism changes you as a person. Some churches like the Roman Catholic Church have at times believed something close to this. When a baby is baptised ‘hey presto’ (wave the magic wand) they somehow receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit at that moment.
There is another view of baptism, however, that says that baptism actually does nothing. It changes nothing at all! This view says that baptism is simply an outward symbol of an inward invisible change that has already taken place. The important work has already been done. Baptism is simply a drama -a dramatic way of telling everyone.
In some ways these views are at opposite ends of a spectrum. There is a third view that says that the truth is somewhere in between. In this view baptism is like receiving your entitlement to a promise. You might receive the gift of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, which Jesus has promised to you, before, during or after your baptism, but in your baptism it is yours by right in faith! If nothing has already happened, then by faith you now have it! The major thing for our discussion today is, though, that you need to have faith in Jesus before you are baptised.
2. The second thing is that you should not be baptised if you have not repented. You need to repent first. Repentance is the second major pre-requisite for baptism. Repentance basically means to have a change of heart and mind that shows itself in regret and in a change of conduct. It’s where a change of heart and mind leads to a change of lifestyle. We often associate such a change with sorrow over our past sinful actions, but this is not the main point. The main point is simply that you have changed your mind about life and that you want to serve God alone and to go God’s way.
In the Ethiopians case this probably wasn’t such a big deal because he had already decided to go God’s way. It was his beliefs about Jesus, not his lifestyle that needed to change, but I’m sure Phillip could have quoted the words of Acts 3:19 to him if he had needed to. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3:19).” What’s clear is that you can’t carry on as you did before. You can’t be baptised and merely pay lip service to doing what God wants! There’s genuine repentance that’s needed.
3. And the third reason why you should not be baptised is if you don’t have enough [pause] water! Look I know this is a bit of a ‘no-brainer’, but you need sufficient water in order to be immersed. The Greek word for baptism, Baptizo, means to dip under, to plunge into or to immerse. A literal translation of baptizo into English is “dipping” or “plunging” or as we sometimes like to say ‘dunking.’ This requires plenty of water.
Baptizo also happens to be the same word that the ancient Greeks used for washing the dishes[1]. Baptism is to do with washing away your sin. Acts 22:16 says, “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” How much water do you require to baptise your dishes? Enough to wash them in! It’s the same with baptism.
So if there is no water, then that hinders baptism, but with all the rain that we have had in the last few weeks that is hardly going to be a problem, so there are only two things that need hold up baptism –genuine belief and repentance.
2. Yet the truth is that people often allow other things to keep them from being baptized. They let other unnecessary things get in the way of getting on with their spiritual lives. Let’s take a quick look at some of the things that should not slow you down from baptism.
a. There is pride. Some people are too proud to admit that they need forgiveness and that they need to be baptised. They don’t want to be humble and knuckle down to God’s way of doing things. Naaman, the Syrian general, was a man like this. He went to the prophet Elisha and asked for his help to get rid of a dreadful skin disease. Elisha sent a message telling him to get baptised seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman was very angry and insulted. He said the Jordan is a muddy ditch. We have much nicer rivers at home, but his servants said to him, “If he asked you to do something great or heroic, you would have been glad to do it, so why not do this simple thing that he asks.” So Naaman swallowed his pride, was baptised in the Jordan River and his skin was completely healed!
There will always be people who think that they deserve a different method or they should be made a special exception, but there are no exceptions. The Ethiopian man could have argued his case for being a very important man and not needing to be baptised, but he probably knew that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).” Pride keeps God at arms length. Pride should never be allowed hamper someone from being baptized.
b. And sometimes there is family. Some people are concerned about what their family will say if they are baptised, and they might be afraid of being disowned. I don’t know that this was much of a problem for the eunuch. Sometimes it’s easier being single, but people do worry. I worried what my parents would think. I hesitated before being baptised by immersion, although I shouldn’t have bothered. They didn’t mind. I think now days it’s becoming less of a problem, but Jesus made it clear that family should not prevent us from doing what He wants. Sometimes you simply have to decide what’s your top priority. As Jesus says in Matthew 10:37-38 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (38) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” The bottom line is you have to figure out what is ultimately important –God or your family. Family should not hinder anyone from being baptized
c. Likewise some people worry about peer pressure. They are afraid that people will laugh at them or brush them off because of their faith. You might worry about what your mates at school or work will say. Certainly peer pressure kept some of the Jews from following Jesus. They were afraid of what the Pharisees might say. They were concerned that they might get kicked out of their synagogues. Again Jesus makes it clear that we should not let what others think not sway us. He said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (Luke 9:26)” so peer pressure should never be a reason for not being baptised.
d. Some people of course argue though that they have already been baptised –as an infant! This is another reason some people offer to put baptism off. Now the Bible clearly says, “Believe and be baptised,” not “be baptised and believe” so there shouldn’t be any much argument over this one. Do you follow the clear teachings of the Bible or the teachings of man? But you may wish to consider this. Although the majority opinion is that the eunuch was not yet a Jew, there is some opinion that this man was already a full convert to Judaism. The eunuch may already have been a baptized by immersions as a Jew, but this did not stop him from being baptised again when he became a follower of Jesus. So in the same way you might have been baptised as an infant –before you personally heard of Christ, but we are happy to baptise you now that you have. Many of us here were baptised as babies and have chosen believer’s baptism. Don’t let this reason put you off.
But in the end I think the two of the biggest reasons why some people put off baptism are these: e. Some people believe that they do not know enough to be baptized. They think that they don’t have nearly enough information. They assume that someone must know just about everything that the Bible teaches before they are baptised. But how much is enough? E.g. Do you need a PhD in theology?
The baptism of the eunuch, like most baptisms in the New Testament took place after only one discussion –one discussion. Most baptisms took place pretty smartly. They did not muck around. The early church leaders assumed that you would learn all you needed to know later on. In fact Jesus stated that a lot of the teaching comes after, not before, baptism. Remember the words of Matthew 28:19-20? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The bulk of teaching follows baptism -so if you believe in Jesus and are willing to follow Him as your Master, then you are ready.
f. But some people believe that they are still not good enough to be baptized. Some people think that they must sort out their lives or clean up their act before they be baptised. Ever felt like that? Again this isn’t an obstacle. Just remember this key: baptism is not for the saints. It’s for sinners. It’s for ordinary fallible people like you and me. Why if I was to walk around this auditorium this morning and ask all of the people who have already been baptised to share with us the sins that they are struggling with now, it would be surprising. It would be very surprising, wouldn’t it! You would be very surprised. But the reality is that much spiritual development actually occurs after salvation, not before it. Baptism is like joining kindergarten. It’s not a university graduation. For example, you are not going to display the fruit of the Spirit –love, joy, patience, peace, etc. until after you have received the Holy Spirit and learnt how to resist temptation. So if someone has repented (that is if they have changed their mind and want to serve God) that is enough. You are ready. You see misunderstanding about these kind of things should never hinder anyone from being baptized
f. So how old do you have to be some people ask? Some people worry that you have to get baptised at the right age or the right time. They think that it can only take place at certain times. Let me just say that if you are at secondary school/college or older PBC will baptise you. And you don’t have to wait until there is a special invitation at the end of a sermon or for a baptismal service to ask for baptism. You don’t have to wait until you feel like doing being baptised. The eunuch’s baptism shows that baptism can be done anywhere, anytime. Time and place needn’t prevent you being baptised, and so if you have not been baptised as a believer, the right time is now. The right time is now.
C. Look after the eunuch was baptized, he got up and went on his way rejoicing. The Message Bible says, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be (Acts 8:39)”. The eunuch believed that Jesus was the Son of God who died for his sins. Although it doesn’t say it, we can assume that he repented of his sins, so he was baptised. He then got up out of the water and got on with his faith. God had new things for him to do in Ethiopia. There were new spiritual horizons to be explored.
So if you want that same joy and to get on with your spiritual journey with God, don’t let anything stop you obeying God in this way. Don’t take this subject lightly. John Stott says ‘it is the duty of every minister to press upon his or her congregation the obligation and privilege of baptism. It is the duty of every professing Christians to ask for baptism for themselves.’ Baptism is a gift that Christ and His church offer you. It’s something that we ought to gladly receive.
c. So I urge you -be baptized as soon as possible, as soon as you believe in Jesus and have decided to follow Him. This is the first of three very basic spiritual decisions or steps that we need to take in the spiritual area. I’m talking about the next one next week.
You know the power of setting goals and of simply getting on with things, therefore just get on with baptism if you haven’t done it already and move up to the next level with God. Here’s a suggestion. I always put my goals down on a chart. Today I want you to do something similar. I find that many folk use ‘Post it’ notes to remind themselves of what to do. You can put them on your dashboard, your fridge, your treadmill or your Bible. (Put them on your forehead if you want to). Would you please open your newsletter? Would you grab a pen or a pencil? Write these words down on the post-it note inside the newsletter. “1. Be baptised (x2).” Please speak to myself, Pastor Gareth or Pastor Marjory after the service if you would like to learn about how to be baptised. And as we conclude please keep in mind the words that Ananias said to Paul when he first became a follower of Jesus. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” – Acts 22:16
[1] Mark 7:14
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