After hearing Jesus preached by Philip, the Ethiopian desired to be baptized. The biblical account of his conversation is as follows: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:35-39).
As one reads the inspired accounts of the conversions set forth in the book of Acts, he should compare them carefully with what is practiced today. Note the following observations from the record of the Ethiopian’s conversion:
1. Preaching proceeded the Ethiopian’s conversion and was an essential part of it. This harmonizes with what Jesus said in the Great Commission. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).
2. Preaching Jesus caused the Ethiopian to see the need to be baptized. He said to Philip, “See here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?”
3. Inasmuch as only believers are to be baptized, Philip said, “If you believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”
4. The one who was to be baptized made the following confession: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
5. The action in his baptism was clearly immersion. “They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”
6. The Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing after he was baptized. So we can conclude that baptism in water, as set forth in the Gospel, is the dividing line between the church and the world, the saved and the lost. If you have not been baptized according to the Gospel, we urge you to do so today.