Weighty Yet Wonderful

Let me hasten to clarify what I mean by weighty. This simply refers to things and thoughts about water baptism which, over the ages, and even today, still bring a spirit of heaviness, controversy, and even marked divisions among believers. All I share with you today, I offer in the confidence of faith that God the Holy Spirit will make all things clear in you and me. This clarity and deeper understanding will not be as we think they ought to be, but only as the Holy Spirit gives life and testimony to them, in our surrendered and submissive hearts and minds.

As promised, three weighty subjects which deal primarily with water baptism, will be lifted up before us. The first has already been, brought before us in the fact that water baptism does not have to precede the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps you know of devout believers who argue this point and claim, with good logical, human arguments that one must be baptized with the baptism of repentance, before one can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. All I say to you is to look again. With Spirit-taught ears, eyes, heart and mind, look again at His demonstration on Cornelius and his household.

Holy Spirit, thank You that You blow where You will and how You will. Thank You that no human being can dictate to You how to work, when to work, where to work and in whom to work. Amen!

The second controversy comes in the actual, physical water and how many believers look to water as some sort of magic, miracle water that ensures change to a person who has died to sins and intends to lead a brand new life in God. This is what I mean. There is great religious superstition, if you ask me, as diehard believers, some whom I know, who cower at the very thought of one not being baptized in holy water or in large bodies of water at that. They are adamant in their teachings, admonishing, encouraging and working, that the quantity and quality of the water are fundamental in holy Baptism.

When we look at both the transforming work in the eunuch and in Cornelius, the centurion and his household, what is the Spirit saying to you? Remember that these people were all uncircumcised people. Where is the Spirit of the Lord taking you? Regardless of any previous thoughts and actions, what are you hearing and seeing today? One sure fact is that there was absolutely nothing superstitious, special nor sacred about the source of water, used in baptism.

Where is the eunuch? Well, when we listen to the instructions of the angel of God to Philip, we know where the eunuch is. Now the angel of the Lord said to Philip, Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Acts 8: 26. It is on this road that Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch. It is on this ‘dry’ road that is not known for many water places, that the Eunuch sees water and quickly gives orders for his chariot to stop. This is no river Nile, no river Euphrates and no river Jordan either. This is simply, some water. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. Acts 8: 36a. The amount, quality, condition and location of the water matter not, for true baptism.

The third controversy found among many believers is the age of baptism. The truth is that I get the distinct impression from many of us that age strictly refers to a person’s chronological age. But are we being turned to a more faith-induced understanding? Could it be that our Lord is showing us that the age of children, where faith is concerned, is more than those of adults? Think about that for a bit. Once, Jesus called a little child and placed him among His followers and then said this. Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18: 3b.

If we hold to these and all that the Spirit is speaking to us in this matter, then we can easily believe that children were also baptized in households. We look at what took place in Cornelius’ house. What kind of house is it? He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. Acts 10: 2a.  Faith allows us to believe that when this man invited his relatives and close friends to come and hear Peter, children were a part of his household. When Peter and his entourage arrived at the centurion’s house, Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.  We are told that when Peter entered this Gentile house he found, a large gathering of people. Acts 10: 27b. Do you really believe that this gathering, this Spirit-engendered gathering, this Spirit-organized gathering, would have excluded, young adults, teenagers and children? 

Do you remember Crispus, the synagogue ruler who heard Paul preaching and testifying that Jesus was the Christ? This is what is documented about him and his family. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. Acts 18: 8. Here is a more well-known family gathering where baptism takes place. Paul and Silas have been severely beaten and cast into prison. That night, God moved in a powerful way and broke every chain from their hurting, bleeding bodies and from every single prisoner. Every door, gate, window in that prison was flung wide open. The jailer, realizing what had happened, was about to take his own life, when Paul stopped him. The jailer wanted to know what he had to do to be saved. Paul and Silas told him how. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household. Acts 16: 31b. We are told that the Good News of the Gospel was told to him and all the others in his house. The record tells us this. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all of his family were baptized. Acts 16: 33.

Aren’t you glad that baptism is for families, all members of the family at that?