Baptism Part 3: The Urgency

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Continuing this short series on baptism today, I would like to highlight the sense of urgency connected to baptism that we find all over the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. (The book of Acts!)

 

We’ll start with Acts 22:16, these are the words of Ananais spoken to the Apostle Paul immediately after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus:

 

 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

 

Did you catch that? “Why are you waiting?” (sounds pretty urgent to me.)

 

Then there’s the Ethiopian eunuch, who upon having the gospel explained to him by Phillip, spots some water, slams on the brakes and says, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36)

Obviously Phillip brought up the matter of the urgency of baptism in his presentation of the gospel. The eunuch grasped it and immediately seized the opportunity.

 

This emphasis on baptism should not surprise us, since it was part of the great commission that Jesus issued to His church!

 

Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

This emphasis on baptism in the great commission was not lost on Peter, and his very first sermon included the urgency of baptism in his gospel message!

 

Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

 

Well, where am I going with all this? I invite you to stay tuned in the days ahead and you will find out.

 

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word