Acts 8 Lesson

WHY SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED?

Have you ever asked yourself:

• “Should I be baptized?”

How did you answer?

And why did you answer that way?

BAPTISM IS NECESSARY FOR SALVATION

Baptism is one of the five “Matters of salvation” that are mentioned in the Bible:

1. Believe in Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” – Acts 16:31, 
2. Confess our belief in Him. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:10, 
3. Repent (turn away from) of our sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3, 
4. Be baptized. “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ .” – 1 Peter 3:21 and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16, 
5. Obey God’s commandments. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Mathew 7:21. 

For today’s lesson, we will be focusing on the fourth bullet point from above.

It contains two important scriptures about baptism:

1. “Baptismnow saves you.” – 1 Peter 3:21,
2. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16.

Different denominations have different interpretations of baptism. 

Is it necessary for salvation?

Is it something that is only “the right thing to do,” but not required for salvation?

Returning to our scripture from Peter’s first epistle, we see that Peter wrote:

• “Baptismnow saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 3:21,

In this scripture, Peter uses the actual words:

• “Baptism now saves you.” 1 Peter 3:21.

This should be enough to convince even the harshest critic that baptism is necessary for salvation.  

Short of using the actual words, “Baptism is necessary for salvation,” reading the words, “Baptism now saves you” tells us that yes, we do need to be baptized in order to be saved.

Can God decide to save somebody who was not baptized?

Of course.

Should we take that chance and not get baptized?

Of course not!

BAPTISM IS HOW WE RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

We receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized. 

We understand this because Luke wrote in his Gospel:

• “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38.

WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT BAPTISM?

To further illustrate the point that baptism is a matter of salvation, we will read the following two statements made by Jesus, Himself:

1. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” -Mark 16:15-16,
2. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Mathew 28:18-20.

In the above quote, Jesus identified two requirements for salvation:

1. Belief,
2. Baptism.

JESUS WAS BAPTIZED

Mathew records the baptism of Jesus in the scripture below.

As you read it, notice how John the Baptist initially tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized. 

Then ask yourself, “Why was it important to Jesus that He was baptized?”

Next ask yourself, “Should it be important to me?”

• “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.  But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.  After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” – Mathew 3:13-17.

Jesus said that He was baptized:

• “To fulfill all righteousness.” -Mathew 3:15.

In other words, Jesus was baptized because it was the right thing to do.

God had a powerful reaction to His Son’s baptism.

God said:

• “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” –  Luke 3:17.

How wonderful it must feel to hear those words spoken by our Creator!

Before we conclude our lesson, we will highlight two things that are important for us to learn about the baptism of Jesus:

1. Jesus was baptized because it was the right thing to do (“To fulfill all righteousness” - Mathew 3:15),
2. It pleased God that Jesus was baptized (“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” - Luke 3:17).

Are those enough reasons to be baptized?

Absolutely! 

What could be more important than doing what is right, and what pleases God? 

THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

In Acts Chapter 8, Luke writes about the story of the Ethiopian eunuch on the side of the road.

The Ethiopian eunuch was returning home from Jerusalem when the Spirit moved Philip to interact with him.

The Spirit said to Philip:

• “Go up and join his chariot.” – Acts 8:29. 

Philip did as the Spirit told him to and went to see the eunuch.

When Peter and the Ethiopian eunuch were together, they had the following conversation, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel.

Peter said to the Ethiopian eunuch:

• “‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The eunuchreplied,‘How could I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come and sit with him.” - Acts 8:30-31.

There are three teachable moments from this exchange that we will highlight below:

1. When the Spirit told Philip to do something, he did it! He did not make excuses or try to talk himself out of it. Which begs the question, “What do we do when the Spirit compels us to do something?” Do we respond with the same vigor that Philip did? Or do we come up with a reason not to?
2. The eunuch was teachable. If we are fortunate enough to have somebody like Philip in our lives who is capable and willing to help us with our faith, we need to be humble enough to let them.
3. It is ok to ask for help if we are struggling with whether or not we should be baptized.  The eunuch asked Philip: “What prevents me from being baptized?” – Acts 8:36.   Philip responded in verse thirty-seven, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” - Acts 8:37. That was the only qualifier that Philip put on the eunuch being baptized.   He wanted to make sure the eunuch believed in Jesus.  

CONCLUSION

As we have seen, baptism is necessary for salvation.

Jesus commanded us to be baptized (Acts 2:38), and Jesus Himself was baptized (Mathew 3:13-17).

Baptism is also one of the five matters of salvation that are mentioned in the Bible:

1. Believe in Jesus.(Acts 16:31),
2. Confess our belief in Him.(Romans 10:10),
3. Repent (turn away from) of our sins. (Luke 13:3),
4. Be baptized. (Mark 16:16),
5. Obey God’s commandments. (Mathew 7:21).

Baptism is how we receive the Holy Spirit.

Luke wrote:

• “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38.

He wrote that for a reason.

But in the end, the reasons that we need to be baptized, are the same reasons that Jesus was baptized:

1. Because it is the right thing to do (“To fulfill all righteousness” - Mathew 3:15),
2. Because it pleases God (“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” - Mathew 3:17).

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture taken from John’s Gospel:

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” – John 3:5.