Daily Success
Institute in Basic Life Principles

Command 47 : Baptize My Disciples | Day 323

Baptize New Believers!

A miracle was about to happen on the dusty road leading south to Egypt and Ethiopia. An impressive chariot rolled along with a high-level government official in it who was reading from the Book of Isaiah.

God told Philip to join the man in that chariot. Philip then had the opportunity to explain the passages in Isaiah that the man had been reading and to preach the Gospel to him. When they came to some water, the Ethiopian eunuch said, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (Acts 8:36).

Philip did not rush to baptize him; he first made certain of the eunuch's inward faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip answered, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). With this open confession of faith, Philip then baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in obedience to Christ's command:

Command Forty-Seven: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19).

The word translated baptism is derived from the Greek word baptizo, which means "to immerse, submerge for a religious purpose." This defines the form that baptism should take, because it is an outward expression of our identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul affirmed this when he stated, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

The command to baptize disciples was carried out on the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 men were convicted of their sin and cried out to Peter and the other apostles: “Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ... . Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:37-38, 41).

It is important to understand that baptism is a public declaration of an inward belief, because many are confused by the following statement, which is included in Paul's personal testimony: “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

If baptism washed away our sins, then there would be no need for the blood of Christ. Peter testifies that we are redeemed by the "precious blood of Christ” (see I Peter 1:18-19). It would also mean that we are not saved by the free gift of grace, but by works, because baptism is a work. This would be totally contrary to Scripture.

After receiving the free gift of salvation by grace and through faith, we give outward evidence of this inward change through baptism.

We are saved by believing in our hearts and then confessing with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. (See Romans 10:9.) Then, we openly declare Him by the water of baptism. If you are a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and have not been baptized, I urge you to do so as soon as possible in obedience to Christ's command to believe in Him and be baptized.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

Daily Success
Like Twitter Pinterest GooglePlus LinkedIn Forward

Online Resources for Command 47 »

Make sure your Daily Success e-mails always go straight to your inbox by adding dailysuccess@iblp.org to your address book.

You are receiving this e-mail because you are enrolled in Daily Success, a ministry of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). E-mail addresses are never sold or given out to third parties. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Copyright © 2005–2013, Institute in Basic Life Principles. All Rights Reserved.
The Institute in Basic Life Principles is located at 707 West Ogden Ave., Hinsdale, IL 60521.
Contributing writer: Bill Gothard