3711—Ready for Baptism
By Editor
Please explain when a convert is ready for baptism. I have searched, and can't find any place in regard to this but "Repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be baptized." M. L. M. Is not this sufficient? That is what the eunuch did, as recorded in the 8th chapter of Acts. He found Christ as Philip preached to him and talked to him of the Lord Jesus, and, of course, told about baptism, and the command which Jesus gave as recorded in Matthew 28. It would seem, without question, Philip must have told all this; and then the eunuch, having accepted that, said, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" And Philip answered, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." And that took in everything; for, as recorded in Romans 10, "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." A belief that is not unto righteousness stops short, it is not true belief; but the true belief believes that the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ covers our sins, and therefore repents of sin. So also in Acts 2:38, "Repent, and be baptized." That, of course, implies belief. Baptism is the marriage ceremony. See Rom. 7:4; Gal. 3:27: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Baptism does not imply perfection, any more than the marriage ceremony implies that the wife is perfect. She is to learn the ways of her husband, and learn how to blend her nature with his so as to reach the highest perfection. Likewise the individual who unites with the Lord Jesus Christ, is simply initiated into the Christian life at baptism, and from that time on is to learn the ways of the perfect Master, until the life is perfectly blended with the life of the Lord.