"What Doth Hinder Me To Be Baptized?" (Part I)

by Micky Galloway

This question is asked in by the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:36. Philip the evangelist had “preached unto him Jesus” (verse 35), beginning from Isaiah 53, the very text from which the eunuch had been reading. This eunuch was an important and obviously intelligent man. He was Treasurer of Queen Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was also a very religious man as he had traveled 1,000 miles in a chariot to Jerusalem to worship (verse 27). He was interested in learning, “Of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other?” (verse 34). Philip preached Jesus unto him prompting the question, “Behold, (here is) water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” He was told, “If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). To preach Jesus means to tell of his ancestry, birth, baptism, temptation, miracles, betrayal, trial, death, burial, resurrection, last charge and commission to the apostles, and His ascension. But it also includes preaching about “water baptism.” Else, why did the eunuch ask about being baptized? This eunuch realized the urgency of being baptized in water. “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). No man ever rejoiced over sins being forgiven before baptism under the great commission of Christ! “What doth hinder me to be baptized?”

Necessity of faith. The eunuch was told, “If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest” (verse 37). No one can be scripturally baptized without faith. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Jesus also said, “for except ye believe that I am (he), ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). This makes teaching necessary. We must be taught in order to have faith for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV). God has provided evidence to produce faith. We must be willing to study the evidence. In Matthew’s account of the commission of Jesus he said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them (those who were taught, mg) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19 KJV). This requires an understanding heart before conversion (cf. Matthew 13:15). It is necessary to understand what baptism is for. Some morally upright people have not been properly taught the gospel. Therefore they are not baptized “into Christ” (cf. Galatians 3:26-27), “for remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and their sins are not washed away (Acts 22:16). Also see Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:26-27; I Peter 3:20-21.

Necessity of repentance. The apostle Peter had convinced many of the Jews in Acts 2 that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Christ, the Messiah of O.T. promise and prophecy. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. Now when they heard (this), they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36-37). Peter then promptly commanded them “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38). Repentance therefore, is a prerequisite of baptism. Repentance is a change of mind that produces a change or reformation of life, brought forth by godly sorrow (cf. II Corinthians 7:10-11). It is a complete reversal of one's attitude and values, it is a turning toward God. “Repentance” means “to change one's mind for the better, heartily TO AMEND with abhorrence of one's past sins” (Thayer, pg. 405). “… This change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God”(W.E. Vine, Volume 3, page 281). In Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, it suggests that repentance involves turning away from evil (Vol. IV: P. 1004). A.T. Robertson said that when John called upon his hearers to repent, “John did not call on people to be sorry, but to change their mental attitudes AND CONDUCT” (Word Pictures in the N.T., Volume 1, Page 24). Consider these examples of repentance: For the Jews, repentance began when they gladly received Peter's words with a fixed purpose to reform their lives, preceded by deep sorrow toward God for the wrongs they had done (Acts 2). The Ninevites “turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10). Jesus called that repentance (Matthew 12:41). The Thessalonians turned from idols (I Thessalonians 1:9). The Ephesians brought their magical books together and burned them in the sight of all (Acts 19:19). The jailor “washed their stripes” (Acts 16:33) and the Corinthians turned from their former corrupt practices (cf. I Corinthians 6:9-11). These all brought forth fruits worthy of repentance (cf. Luke 3:8; Acts 26:19-20).

Necessity of confession. After repentance one confesses with the mouth unto salvation “for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). What is this confession? The eunuch confessed, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). The wrong confession would disqualify one from being scripturally baptized. Some confess, “I believe that God for Christ's sake has pardoned my sins.” This shows that the person was taught wrong and believed wrong, for one is NOT pardoned of sins before baptism. Regardless of sincerity, such a confession of falsehood renders the baptism null and void.

After scriptural teaching, belief of truth, sincere repentance and the right confession, one is a scriptural subject for scriptural baptism. Unbelievers or infants can not be scripturally baptized in view of these requirements.