Good morning, friends.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 8:38, “And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”
This verse is one of several that is used to support the practice of baptizing believers by immersing them in water, as the word baptize means in Greek, as opposed to sprinkling water over their head. The most salient point is that the Holy Spirit is clear to point out that Philip and the eunuch both collectively and individually went into the water for the baptism. Understood in this description is the need for Philip to get in the water so he could perform the baptism, and for the eunuch to get in so he could be submerged. It seems reasonable that a person such as the treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia would certainly remain on land if he were to be sprinkled by water that Philip could have brought up to him. But besides that issue, which has been debated for centuries and which I will neither resolve nor shed any new light upon, the fascinating part is how immediately obedient the eunuch was after being told the story of Jesus and undoubtedly hearing His command for followers to be baptized. His desire to associate himself with the death and resurrection of Jesus knew no delay or reservation.
If you are a Christian, a little Christ as they were referred to in Antioch, then you have presumably been baptized. You committed your life to trust and obey. And leading to that baptism was the decision to repent of your sins. And while baptism is a public, visible act, the repentance that takes place within the heart is not. And being an act of the heart, the will of the individual, we know very well that that is what Jesus is most concerned with. If He can make worshippers out of stones, He can certainly perform baptisms whenever and however He wished. Your baptism declared for all your intentions to put your eternal life in Jesus, but it is your repentant spirit that displays the substance of that declaration. If the eunuch hedged on repenting, then his baptism meant nothing, regardless of how wet he got. If you were baptized yesterday, would your today look like the second day of the most important and exciting time of your life, living in repentance and holiness? If not, command your chariot to stop and do something about it.
As we seek Him today, ask God to show you an area that needs His cleansing work.
Have a sweet weekend.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
