Today’s reading is Acts 7:1-8:40.

Acts 8:4 starts a parenthetical section which doesn’t conclude until Acts 11:19. Luke tells four stories to prepare us for the progression from a Jewish church to a Gentile church. In order to prepare his early readers he told the first story of the conversion of a Samaritan Sorcerer. If Simon could be saved, a half-breed pagan, then anyone can be saved. Then he told the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch. If a proselytized Eunuch, could be saved, anyone can be saved. Then he told the story of the Priest’s Persecutor. If Saul, who was the number one enemy of Christ’s church could be saved, then anyone could be saved. Therefore, we should not be surprised when the Caesarean Centurion could be saved.

Lesson #1: I can be saved

This brings us to the first lesson I get from the Ethiopian Eunuch. According to Deuteronomy 23:1, no eunuch could enter the assembly of the Lord. This man was almost a second class citizen of that old kingdom. There is no way to know if he learned this after making the pilgrimage or if he made the pilgrimage even though he knew this. Yet, in either case, we see exactly why he asked, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” He had just experienced a time of prevention. He was prevented from much of the worship of the Jews because he was emasculated. Did that same prevention apply to entering Jesus? Philip’s answer was the only thing that prevents someone from being baptized is if they do not believe. The Eunuch believed and was baptized (cf. Mark 16:15-16).

The lesson for me is if the Ethiopian Eunuch can be saved, then anyone can be saved. More importantly for me, I can be saved. The only thing that will hinder me is whether or not I believe. Because, if I believe it, I will do it. If I don’t believe, I won’t follow God’s path. That will lead to destruction. I can be saved. You can be saved. Do you believe?

Lesson #2: Preaching Jesus

Philip preached Jesus to the Eunuch. He preached the good news about Jesus. While we don’t know his complete sermon. We can ascertain some aspects of it. He clearly pointed out the servant of the passage in Isaiah 53:7-8 is Jesus. He clearly pointed out there is good news in Jesus, that is, there is salvation in Jesus. But what cannot be missed, he clearly taught baptism as part of Jesus. The Eunuch didn’t come up with baptism on his own. There is no teaching of baptism from Isaiah 53 or in the Old Testament at all. How did the Eunuch come up with this question? Because an integral part of teaching the good news is teaching the necessity of baptism. 

This is a real shock considering the modern approach to baptism. For most of modern Christian religions, baptism is called something really important. Surely someone who is already a Christian should do it to let the world know they’ve been forgiven (odd point since the world isn’t seeing their baptism). Some even suggest they will question the salvation experience of a person who refuses baptism. But is it necessary to salvation? Is it necessary to the preaching of Jesus? The resounding answer is, “NO.” Friends, if we are going to follow in the footsteps of our ancient predecessors, we’ll see baptism as an essential to teaching the lost the good news of Jesus. It is not a sermon for the saved to convince them it is a good thing to do after they are saved. It is a lesson for the lost. It is part of preaching the good news. Without the baptism taught in Acts and exemplified in this story, no one will be saved. All other baptisms will fail us as Ephesians 4:5 explains there is only one baptism. That is, only one that brings us into the one body, expresses the one faith, provides us the one hope of our calling, submits us to the one Lord, follows the guide of the one Spirit and surrenders us to the one God.

I hear a lot today about just preaching Jesus. I’m all for it. Let’s just make sure when we are preaching Jesus, we are at least preaching what those early Christians preached when they preached Jesus.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. If you would like to read/hear a lesson I presented on this parenthetical set of stories and what we learn from them about the amazing gospel, click the link: The Amazing Gospel of Christ

P.P. S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

No doubt, in these chapters the amazing part of what is going on is that Jesus died for us. I’m just amazed that He did. How could He possibly love us that much? That is just how unfathomable God’s love is. Yet, He does love us that much.

However, what good does it do for God to love us if we won’t submit to even the simplest and straightforward commands of His? In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked how we could call Him Lord and not do what He said. Yet, folks do it all the time today.

The Gospel of Matthew ends with these words:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (ESV).

I’m just not sure how we can get any clearer that Christ’s disciples are made through baptizing them. They aren’t made through praying a sinner’s prayer. They aren’t made through a moment of faith. They are made through baptism and teaching. 

Why is baptism for the remission of sins such a dividing point today? Why do so many refuse to be baptized in order to become Christ’s disciple, in order to be forgiven, in order to be saved? Why can’t we all just do what Jesus asked? Have you submitted to Jesus in believer’s baptism in order to become a disciple and receive the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). 

I encourage you to read these verses and see what they really say. I’m not making this up. 

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

II Corinthians 6:2 drives it home: “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Christianity is not merely something to think about. It is not something to tinker with for a while to see if it fits you. Christianity is about freedom in Christ. It is about freedom from guilt and shame by His love and forgiveness. It is about freedom from the controlling power of sin by His strength and grace. 

However, if you are just kind of playing with Christianity, it won’t do you any good. Half-measures accomplish nothing. We need to whole-heartedly surrender to God and submit to Him. If you haven’t done that yet, do it today. Today is the day of salvation. Trust me, this is one of those issues that if you put it off for a year and you are actually still alive a year from now, you will wish you had started today. And, having added another year of pursuing the lusts of the flesh you will find it harder to start then. So just go ahead and start today.

Just surrender yourself today to the Lord and let Him cleanse you of your sins. Then rely on His word and His people to help you grow. Do exactly what the Corinthians did to surrender themselves to the Lord. 

Acts 18:8 says, “And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.” If you haven’t committed your life to Christ through faith in the working of God in baptism (immersion in water) for the remission of sins, do it today. Don’t wait. There is no other plan by which you may be set free from your sins and receive the salvation Jesus offers.

Don’t delay. Today is the day of salvation.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

There Ought to at Least be One Verse on This

When I was in college, I worked for a furniture store. One day, a discussion ensued with one of the other workers about baptism. Her denomination teaches baptism is an outward sign of inward grace. It is one of the first steps of obedience after one is saved. However, it is not necessary to be baptized and baptism is not at all a prerequisite for salvation. She said, “Edwin, you would think if baptism saved us, God would have told us that at least once in the Bible.”

I responded, “Funny, you should mention that. Have you considered I Peter 3:21?” Before we could look it up, a customer came in and we had to get back to work. We were busy until it was time for my co-worker to leave. So I took a piece of paper and wrote “I Peter 3:21” on it. I gave it to her and encouraged her to read it that night and we could discuss it the next day. She handed the paper back to me and said, “I’m happy where I am.”

I Peter 3:21 says: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Christ” (ESV).

I’ll let you draw you own conclusions about this.

We Don’t Want to Hear Your Doctrine on This

When I was conducting a radio show in Beaumont, TX, I heard about a brother in Christ from Little Rock, AR who had his own local show in the local time slot of an American Family Association radio station. Sadly, I can’t remember the brother’s name at this time.

One of this brother’s episodes was about Noah. He recorded his 15 minute broadcast without a hitch, saying everything he wanted to say in that brief period about Noah. However, when he listened to it, he noticed it had been edited. The very end was cut off. He rechecked the time and determined he had not gone over. That was not the reason for the missing seconds.

He just couldn’t understand why the final verse he read had just been removed. His broadcast on Noah ended merely with the reading of I Peter 3:21. He did not comment on it. He did not saying anything about. He did not provide explanation. He simply read it. But when the show was aired, the reading of I Peter 3:21 was cut out. 

Do you remember what I Peter 3:21 says? “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Christ” (ESV). 

When the brother called the station manager to question why the reading of the verse had been cut off, the station manager said, “We don’t want your teaching on baptism on this station.”

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about this.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

With the conversions of the households of both Lydia and the Philippian Jailer, Acts 16 is a great place to learn about how to live an evangelistic lifestyle. Note 5 keys we learn from the chapter.

1. Know the message: In Acts 16:13-14, Paul and Barnabas obviously knew the message they needed to preach to these women. Further, in Acts 16:32, they knew the message to give to the Jailer when he questioned them. No matter what else we do, if we don’t know the message, we can’t be evangelistic.

2. Know where the prospects are: In Acts 16:13, Paul and Barnabas knew where the Jews would meet in the absence of a synagogue. We are probably not looking for a riverside religious meeting. However, we need to be able to tell where the prospects are. They aren’t in our church buildings. They are out in the world. Salt is only useful when it comes in contact with what needs to be salted.

3. Care about people, no matter how they have treated you: I can’t help but think how many of our modern vengeance minded Americans would have acted when the Jailer was about to off himself. Instead of stopping him, many would have thought “good riddance” regarding the man who had placed them in stocks and, no doubt, treated them with disdain. But Paul and Barnabas cared about people. Despite how the jailer had treated them, they wanted him safe. That only comes when we actually care about people.

4. Be a Christian everywhere, displaying your spirituality: Certainly, we are not supposed to shine our lights so people will somehow think we are special. However, we do need to display the light so folks will glorify God. Whether we find ourselves beside the river with a specifically planned time of evangelism or find ourselves in prison, we need to live like Christians displaying our spirituality. No doubt, evangelism is about us going and teaching. But at times, it is also about us just living right so that when people who are not interested right now become interested later, they know where to turn. That is exactly what happened in Acts 16:29-30. The Jailer had not been interested, but suddenly his perspective changed. He knew where to turn for answers not because Paul and Barnabas had already had a Bible study with him. But because they had displayed their spirituality, living as Christians no matter where they were.

5. Don’t stop because of rejection: In Acts 16:16-24, Paul and Barnabas suffered a tremendous rejection. It was so strong, they were thrown in jail. I could see how that would be a tad bit discouraging. However, it didn’t stop them at all. Instead, they just kept right on being Christians. They just kept right on living out evangelism.

I hope and pray we all develop this kind of lifestyle and spread the gospel to all who will hear.

Keep the faith and keep reading

ELC