“...See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (Acts 8:36b)
The Lord once led Philip to minister in a desert. There he preached Christ to a man “of great authority,” a eunuch who was in charge of all the treasure of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This noteworthy man placed his trust in Christ that day (Acts 8:26-39). Born again, he then asked a fitting question when he and Philip approached water: “What doth hinder [prevent, stand in the way of] me to be baptized?”
Part one of this devotional series addresses this one question about baptism: Who should be baptized? Acts 8:26-39 is a case study involving conversion and baptism. The eunuch’s question for Philip was, essentially, “Is there any reason why I shouldn’t be baptized?” Philip clearly answered the question by putting the eunuch to a test: “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest [be baptized]” (8:37). Was Philip too easy on the eunuch? The thorough Bible study Philip had provided the eunuch prior to verse 37 tells us that Philip wasn’t too easy on him. Philip had begun at Isaiah 53 (where the eunuch had been reading already and needed guidance) “and preached unto him Jesus” (8:35).
Who should be baptized? The eunuch was mature enough to understand the gospel. He made an informed and heartfelt decision to become a Christian and demonstrated that by his response to Philip’s clear preaching. Is there a certain age to be reached before baptism? God’s Word shows the stage, not the age, of those who undergo baptism. Scripture includes no record of the baptism of an infant or toddler. Since they could hardly understand salvation, repentance, grace, or new birth, they were baptized as believers at a later stage (and age). Examples of so-called household baptisms do not contradict the principle that baptism is for believers only. The households of Lydia (Acts 16:15) and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:29-34) were baptized, but no mention is made of infants or unbelievers having been baptized. Those cases follow the rest of the New Testament if we understand the baptized ones to be believers who were not babies.
When Philip probed, the Ethiopian eunuch answered him well: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (8:37). When Philip was satisfied that this was no vain testimony, he baptized his newly-converted brother in Christ. Have you come to know Christ as your Savior? Baptism is for you. You’ve not come to know him yet? It’s not for you until you do.
