Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, specifically Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8, our focus this morning will be on the conversion and the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. Hopefully as we move through our exposition, our explanation, you'll begin to understand those particular terms. Conversion is what is referred to generally in the sense where God saves a sinner.
That sinner, by the grace of God, believes the gospel and repents from his or her sin. That is man's response to the grace of God by the grace of God, conversion. After conversion, persons then obey the Lord Jesus Christ and follow him in this ordinance of baptism. And it's a blessing for us to be able to gather together today to witness and to see those who have been converted, those who have by God's grace come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, now taking that step of obedience and coming under the waters of baptism.
So I'll just pick up reading in Acts chapter 8 beginning in verse 26. Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert. So he arose and went.
And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake his chariot.
Philip Questions the Eunuch
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you understand what you are reading? And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
Isaiah 53 and the Servant's Work
The place in the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his justice was taken away. And who will declare his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.
The Eunuch's Earnest Question
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.
And the eunuch said, See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuchs saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea." Amen. Well, let us pray and ask the Lord's blessing upon our study. Our Father in heaven, we gather together on this happy occasion, specifically the Lord's Day. We thank you for this opportunity and privilege to come in out of the world and to meet with you first and foremost.
We pray that you would be worshiped and glorified. We pray that you would be honored and adored, for certainly you are worthy. You are the God who made this world and everything in it. You are the God who governs this world. and You are the God who has saved His people from their sins.
As well, Father, we thank You for this opportunity to witness baptism. We just pray that You would be glorified in this as well. We ask that You would fill each and every one of us with Your Holy Spirit, that You would guide our thoughts as we consider the Scripture, that You would speak to each one of us. Lord, we pray that You would forgive us for all of our sins as we come to the Word, as we come to study, the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
We are mindful of our own sinfulness and the darkening influence that it casts on our minds. We pray that you would wash us and purify us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for any and all who have come here this morning outside of Christ, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, that they would hear of Jesus, that they would hear of this one in whom there is salvation, this one in whom there is forgiveness, even redemption from sin. We just thank you for the glory of Christ, and we pray that it would be manifest in this time together.
We ask in Jesus' blessed name, Amen.
Introduction
As I said, we're going to consider verses 26 to 40, and notice that this Ethiopian eunuch is converted to the Lord Christ, and then he is baptized. And the section breaks down to three primary areas. First, the Holy Spirit directs Philip specifically to contact this particular man in verses 26 to 30. Secondly, the Ethiopian himself is pointed to Christ in verses 31 to 35, and then the last section deals with the Ethiopian converted and baptized in verses 36 to 40.
Now it might be helpful for me to point out that that passage that Pastor Cam read at the outset of worship. I hope that you are paying attention. That was from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53 specifically, which focuses upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The person of the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, but his work as well. It's also important to remember that the prophet Isaiah wrote his prophecy about 700 years prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It gives a very vivid and detailed explanation of what the Messiah or the Christ or the Lord Jesus himself would come to do in Israel. And it's that particular passage that this particular eunuch is reading, as we read here in Acts chapter 8.
But not long after Isaiah 53 is Isaiah 56. Now have that for some learning this morning. Not just numerically, but this particular unit was probably conscious of Isaiah 56 as well. You say, what's important about Isaiah 56?
It speaks about units. Now, this man is identified as an Ethiopian eunuch, but four times in the narrative it highlights the fact that he's a eunuch. The emphasis does not fall upon the fact that he's an Ethiopian, but the emphasis falls upon the fact that he's a eunuch. Now a eunuch is somebody that was either born that way or made that way and then employed by royalty for particular service.
That's this man's function. He served under Candace. They were given responsibility, they were trusted with many things. But in the prophet Isaiah, the prophet foretold a time when the eunuchs would be able to approach the God of Israel.
Now prior to that, back in the book of Deuteronomy, this predates Isaiah several hundred years, in the book of Deuteronomy, eunuchs were prohibited from coming into the assembly of the Lord. Now, there's various reasons why. If you're interested, we can talk over lunch, if you'd like. But just suffice it to say that this eunuch understood this.
He was a worshipper of the God of Israel. He was coming back from Jerusalem, because he had been there for a particular feast. He knew this doctrinally. He knew that because of the fact that he was a eunuch, he was barred from the assembly of the Lord, but he also knew that Isaiah was talking about a time when these eunuchs would be brought near, that they would be accepted, that they would be made able to come to the God of heaven and earth.
And that's what's going on here in this particular passage. I suspect that this eunuch has understood Isaiah 56, and now he's looking at Isaiah 53, and he really wants to know the identity of the man that the prophet is speaking about. And that's the whole point of the passage. It's about the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's because of what Christ has done. It's because of what he lived, he suffered, he died, and he rose again. that anybody, whether eunuch or non, can be brought to the living God. So now let's look at this particular passage with at least that bit of information in our minds.
The Spirit Directs Philip
Notice first that the Holy Spirit calls for His people. He directs Philip very specifically in verse 26. Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, Arise and go down toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert.
Notice that the author, Luke, the man who wrote this particular book of the Bible, is very detailed and very specific. These are places that you can find on a map. These are places that you can see with your own eyes. Places that your feet can traverse upon.
This isn't myth, it's not fable, it's not cunningly devised. It's not something just out there that tries to promote a bit of feeling, but rather what happens is historical in nature. And so Luke wants us to understand that. This Philip was already sent to Samaria according to chapter 8 verses 5 to 25.
Now he's directed from Jerusalem to Gaza which is particularly desert. So I've already mentioned he identifies this eunuch. Verse 27, So he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. So as I said, he's a eunuch of great authority.
A commentator says it was common. until recent times for civil service and household duties under the monarchies of the Middle East to be largely delegated to a class of castrati deliberately groomed for these purposes. This man has got a particular role, but it also indicates a spiritual condition. It says that he had come to Jerusalem to worship. It says that he has the prophet Isaiah.
The scroll of the prophet is with him and he's giving himself to a study of these particular things. And I think just by way of a very sideline application, this speaks to something absent in our day. It is very difficult to find people interested in spiritual things. It's very difficult to find people that are concerned with things beyond what they're going to have for lunch, beyond what they're going to do at work this week, beyond what their 401k is going to yield, beyond what the next federal election holds.
We see often times in the biblical account, and I hear it still like this in the Middle East, people have an interest in these sorts of things. And this man is to be commended for this. Not because he's a godly man or a righteous man, but he's an interested man. And I dare say if you're here this morning, that's a good sign there's some degree of interest.
And may I suggest that you pursue that interest. Be like this particular unit. He has the prophecy of Isaiah. He sees that it's speaking of the death of a particular man.
And he questions, who is the prophet speaking of? He understands that somehow what's going on in 53 affects what is told in 56. It is because of the work of this man in Isaiah 53, that makes it possible for the eunuch to draw nigh unto the living God. And if you're not a eunuch, the same desire ought to be in your heart.
How do I, a sinful man, a sinful boy, a sinful girl, a sinful woman, draw nigh to the living and true God? It is because of the selfsame Jesus that Philip preaches to him from this particular text. On his journey back to Ethiopia, probably someone else was driving the chariot, the Ethiopian eunuch is reading his scroll. Do not text and drive.
Do not read Isaiah 53 on your Bible app when you're driving. Do not say, well, I heard in church on Sunday morning, officer, that this man was in his chariot. Doesn't mean he was driving his chariot. Have your wife, have your husband, have your friend drive, and you sit in the passenger seat, and you study Isaiah 53 all you want.
You see, this is what this man is interested in. He has a desire. There is something there. He knows there is a problem.
And as we move through the passage, as we look at the book of Acts, as we survey the entirety of the Scripture, his problem is far more difficult and far more severe than simply being a eunuch. There is a problem far more severe than simply being barred from the physical assembly of the Lord. His problem was one of sin. And only the Lord Jesus Christ can deal with that particular malady.
And that's what this man is learning. The Spirit commands Philip, Philip overtakes the chariot, as the Spirit sovereignly brings these men together. And that brings us to verse 30. Notice, so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, do you understand what you are reading?
He didn't assume. How often do we assume that everybody knows who Jesus is? How often do we talk to people assuming our confession of faith? No, I believe that confession of faith is a blessed foundation for the life and the practice of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But we mustn't assume that everybody to whom we come into contact already has that foundation. We need to ask them, do you understand who Christ is? Do you understand who the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53 is? Do you understand what atonement means?
Do you understand what the gospel means? How many people today who go to church regularly don't even know what the word gospel means? Philip in Acts 21 is called an evangelist. Do you know what an evangelist is?
An evangelist is somebody who goes around telling people the evangel. The evangel is the gospel, the good news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not the good news concerning my life, my happiness, and my religious experience. That's not the gospel.
The gospel isn't the effect that it has on my life. The gospel is the message concerning Jesus. specifically his life, his death, and his resurrection. Well, Philip's job or task as an evangelist was to meet people and tell them this particular message. How many people just assume, how many times do we just assume that everybody has the same degree of understanding?
There ought not to be any shame with us to say, do you understand that? If the person's offended, so be it. I'd rather them be offended than not understand the basic truth that Christ died for sinners. And notice this Ethiopian's response.
He has a humble honesty. This is something else that we don't often meet with. It's not wrong to say, I just don't know. It's not wrong to admit ignorance.
It's wrong to pretend knowledge when you don't have it, but it's not wrong to say, how can I unless somebody explains it to me? Again, another commendable trait in this particular man. He has an interest in spiritual things, he's reading the prophet Isaiah on his way back from Jerusalem, and here he doesn't understand who the primary character is in Isaiah 53. Philip says, do you understand what you're reading?
And this man says, how can I unless someone guides me? Praise God. Praise the Lord. What do we need with today?
Well, what do I need the church for? Well, what do I need those preachers for? Well, what do I need those teachers for? Well, what do I need those books for?
What do I need that sermonaudio.com for? I know it all. No, you don't. You really don't.
There's an arrogance absent in this particular man. And he has a desire to know. He says, and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. If you're not a Christian this morning, may I say to you that this eunuch is a great example.
You're in a place where hopefully you're going to hear about Jesus. You may not understand everything. Ask questions. Search till you find, because these are weighty and most important issues, be open to the truth of God's Holy Word.
Calvin makes this observation. He contrasts the Ethiopian's modesty in that he acknowledges his ignorance freely and frankly. I think the most difficult people to witness to or to talk to if they profess Christ are those who know it all. It's like that time when a young man applied for the pastor's college in London, England in the 1800s.
Pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon had the particular task of interviewing young potential candidates. And this young man presented himself to Pastor Spurgeon. And he basically recited his entire religious resume. He basically rehearsed how he had been used in witnessing, how he had studied the classics, how he had understood the system of theology, how he knew his Bible front to back.
And after the interview was over, C.H. Spurgeon says, well, we have no place in our college for you. The young man's surprised. He thought he was so fit, a candidate for ministerial training.
And the young man asks him. He questions him. He says, but Mr. Spurgeon, why is it the case?
He says, well, after hearing of your accomplishments, I don't think that our college can do you any good. That's how people are today. They think they know everything. Especially internet theologians.
Man, you spend 20 minutes Google.com and you know it all. You see these Facebook discussions where young men sitting in their mother's basements, and probably not all of them are, but some of them are, eating cheese puffs, licking cheese dust off their fingers, getting nasty and arrogant with pastors and doctors in the church. What's happened to us? Our natural proclivity and tendency to pride.
We're not like this man. How can I? Unless somebody explains it. Calvin says he acknowledges his ignorance freely and frankly.
He contrasts this with a person who is swollen at it with confidence in his own abilities. Calvin goes on to say, that is why the reading of scriptures bears fruit with such a few people today, because scarcely one in a hundred is to be found who gladly submits himself to teaching. And then notice what we find in verse 31. How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
The place in the scripture which he read was this. Now, there couldn't have been a better text for Philip. There couldn't have been a more appropriate passage for Philip. This was the fastball right down the pipe.
This was the beautiful one. This was the one where all Philip had to do was fall down and he would be able to hit it. reading from the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 53. As I mentioned, that prophet wrote 700 years prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in four places, in Isaiah's long prophecy of 66 chapters, there are four, what men have called, songs concerning the Lord Christ.
They are in Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, and as Pastor Cam read this morning, Isaiah 52 and 53. They all give us various aspects concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. It wasn't an accident that Christ was born in Bethlehem on that happy morn. It wasn't just an accident that Jesus came and lived and died and rose again.
This was orchestrated by God Most High from before the foundation of the world. The Father gives to the Son a people to redeem. The Son willingly undertakes to go into this world to die on their behalf. The first promise is given in Genesis 3.15, and then it's opened up and developed and fully blossoms throughout the Old Testament and comes to full fruition in the New Testament Scriptures.
But in Isaiah 53, one of those high places, one of those blessed vistas of biblical revelation, it speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bruce says, at a time when not one line of any New Testament document had been written, what scripture could any evangelist have used more fittingly as the starting point for presenting the story of Jesus to one who did not know Him? This would be akin to somebody saying, what must I do to be saved? It happens.
We see it in the book of Acts, chapter 16. Does it happen a lot in your day-to-day lives? No. More often than not, you meet somebody at work who saw something on the Discovery Channel, or A&E, or History, that has debunked the Bible.
And they confront you at work and they say, well, what about this? They don't sit there humbly reading the prophet Isaiah chapter 53 and say, of whom does the prophet speak? That generally and typically doesn't happen. And so in this particular instance, as Bruce says, what passage, more fittingly, could be given to an evangelist?
Let's look at it. The place in the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent. So he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation his justice was taken away. And who will declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. The song itself, Isaiah 53, specifically what Pastor Cam read, verses 1-3 deals with the humiliation of Christ, 4-6 is the suffering of Christ, verses 7-9 the death of Christ, and 10-12 is the triumph of Christ.
Now if you ask the question, with this particular man, well why? Why did he have to do this? Why is this one who was promised 700 years prior to his coming, why is he purposed to die? Again, you go back a little bit in the Old Testament.
There was a system set in place by God for the people of Israel in how they were to worship Him. How were they to worship Him? They were to come to the tabernacle, or they were to come to the temple. But when they came to tabernacle or temple, they did not come empty-handed.
They came with an animal. And they came with that animal so that the throat of the animal could be cut, and so that the animal itself could be sacrificed to the Lord God Most High. And the reason for this is this. God is holy.
God is righteous. God is majestic. The scripture says that God's eye is too pure to approve of any evil. See, I don't think we've begun to imagine how holy our God is.
I don't think we've begun to imagine that scene that we're confronted with earlier in Isaiah chapter 6, when the prophet is rehearsing his call to the ministry, and he says that he saw the Lord, he saw Jesus Christ high and lofty, exalted, and he's attended by angels. You know anything about the Bible? The Bible says that angels are holy. And these angels had six wings.
With six wings they flew, I'm sorry, two wings they flew, two wings they covered their feet, and with two wings they covered their faces. Why? Because a holy angel cannot look upon the glory of God and live. God's holy.
So for a sinful man to come to a holy God, he demands the shedding of blood. There has to be blood. There has to be remission. There has to be forgiveness.
Do you see those Old Testament sacrifices simply pointed forward to this servant of the Lord? When we ask the question, why did Jesus die? It wasn't so He could be an example. It wasn't so He could fill our hearts with love.
It wasn't so He could melt us under a sappy story. It was so that he could bring us to God. That's what it's about. That's what the prophet is saying.
That's why the language, notice, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silenced, so He opened not His mouth. Isn't that what we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? In the latter chapters of each of those Gospel accounts, when Jesus is hauled before the civil tribunal, does He testify? Does He declare?
Does He say, I'm not guilty, I've been framed, I've been, you know, they set me up? He doesn't do that. He's like a lamb being led to the slaughter. He knows the purpose for which He has come.
He is not going to shrink back. He is not going to turn away. He is going to drink the cup of God's wrath that has been given unto Him. You see, the eunuch understood something about this servant in Isaiah 53.
He didn't understand who the prophet was speaking about, but he knew that this man of 53 was the reason for 56, that this eunuch could be brought 9. And this is what we find in verse 34. So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of some other man?
Again, as we read this particular text, perhaps it's difficult for us to really enter in. This man is coming back from Jerusalem. He's gone to the temple to worship. Has he got to enter in?
He's a eunuch. He's kept outside. As much as he's drawn to the God of Israel, he realizes there's a barrier. He realizes there's a problem.
He realizes there is a lack of access for him. And so when he's reading this and he's connecting with chapter 56, his heart's probably earnest. He's probably anxious. He's probably genuinely searching.
He actually wants to know, of whom does Isaiah speak? I don't like being outside. I don't like being barricaded. I don't like being without.
I've heard of the God of Israel. I've heard of His love. I've heard of His mercy. I've heard of His kindness.
I've heard of His goodness. I've heard of His power. I've heard of His sovereignty and His majesty. And I want Him.
I want to draw nigh. So who does the prophet speak of here? And then notice, verse 35,
Philip Preaches Christ
then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at the scripture, he preached Jesus to him. He preached Jesus Christ, the unique link between God and man. Jesus Christ, the one who came in the fullness of the time, sent by his Father, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. Probably Philip went all throughout the prophet Isaiah.
He went to 7.14 and said that this Jesus would be born of a virgin. He went to chapter 9 verses 6 and 7 and said, He would be mighty God. He would be everlasting Father. He would be Prince of Peace.
He would be wonderful counselor of the increase of His government and peace. There will be no end. He would go to chapter 11 in the prophet Isaiah and say, the fullness of the Spirit was upon this Jesus. He would go, of course, to these servant songs in 42, and in 49, and 50, and here in 53.
He would explain the significance of the life, and the death, and the resurrection to this unit. He would tell the eunuch, you're a sinner. It's not just that you're a eunuch that keeps you from God. That's just a picture or a symbol of your bigger problem.
The problem is that man is estranged by his sin and he cannot come to God because of that. But herein is the glory of the good news. Herein is what Christ did. In His life, He obeys His Father.
In his death, he cleanses his people. And in his resurrection, he brings them justification. Philip preached Jesus to this particular unit. And we see in the book of Acts, it doesn't say it specifically here, but an emphasis that we find is on forgiveness.
See, if you look in this passage this morning, you say, well, I'm not a eunuch and I'm not from Ethiopia, so it really has nothing to do with me. I don't know if I could find Ethiopia on a map. I don't know if I could explain what Kastrati means. I don't think I even understand the whole idea of monarchy.
So, this passage has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with you. Because each and every one of us, each and every person here, each and every person out there has this in common. We have sinned against God.
And one of the things that the Bible, specifically the book of Acts, sets forth is forgiveness of sin. I often say, at least in my own experience, and I think I speak for some in this congregation, that one of the chief boons, the chief perks, the chief blessings of being a Christian is being forgiven. We sing a song in our hymn book and it says this, My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. You see, that's the biggest problem anybody ever has. There was recently a debate by Ken Ham and Bill Nye.
And Bill Nye has all of his scientific excuses as to why he won't believe in Ken Ham's version of the Bible, which was all propaganda. He has all of his reasoned arguments as to why he won't subscribe to the system revealed in the Scripture. One thing you probably won't hear him admit is because I'm a sinner and the thought of a holy God terrifies me. Be honest, Bill Nye.
Admit it. If the God of the Bible is there, if the God of the Bible did create, if the God of the Bible does govern, and if the God of the Bible is going to judge, that's terrifying, isn't it? That's frightful. John Owen, the Puritan, made a statement.
I can't cite it verbatim, but he says something to the effect that when men are under tempests, or when they hear lightnings, or see lightnings, and they hear the thunder, and they see the storm all about them, they are afraid. Not so much in the natural phenomena itself, but in the stark reality that if God is there, He is a consuming fire. Sin is our problem. You see, Fraser and Brad and Katie do not go into that water today because they deserve it, because they've earned it, because they're good people.
That water tells us just the opposite. They go into that water because they don't deserve mercy. They don't deserve favor from God. But because God in His grace sent His Son to die.
God in His grace has been merciful. That water does not ascribe to the glory of Fraser, Brad, or Katie, but to the glory of our great God in the sending of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for His people and to rise again. You know, sometimes, after a baptism, a brother, a sister may come up out of the water, and I don't know where this started, but we start applauding. Got to ask ourselves, what are we applauding for?
Perhaps that doxological response when the baptism waters have settled, when the brethren have emerged, and we sing hymn number, Roman numeral 16. That is our applause. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. You see, that tank exists to glorify the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Forgiveness of Sins in Acts
Just a couple of passages in the book of Acts that highlight this emphasis on forgiveness. Acts 2, the day of Pentecost, Peter says in verse 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, for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 3.19, repent therefore and be converted, that your sins, I love the language here, may be blotted out! Blotted out!
Removed! Eradicated! Taken away! I think the prophet Isaiah is behind this as well!
Where Jehovah says, I am God who blots out all your transgressions. Notice in Acts chapter 3 at verse 26, To you first God, having raised up His servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. And while 4.12 doesn't mention specifically forgiveness or remission, we can't survey the book of Acts without including this. nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts chapter 10 verse 43, Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius as he brings his sermon to a close.
It is on this crescendo, it is on this high note, it is on this boon of gospel blessing to him, all the prophets witness that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. You see the promise? You see what's offered? You see what's available?
You see why it's good news? We are sinners. We've offended God. We deserve His punishment.
We are liable to His wrath. And yet through the gospel, through the good news, because of what Christ the servant has done, there is given to us forgiveness. Notice in chapter 13, verse 38, as the Apostle Paul himself is preaching in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. He makes this statement in verse 36, is preach to you the forgiveness of sins.
And by Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. As difficult as it may be for my sensitive-minded brethren, we must wrap our minds around the forgiveness of sin. It brings glory to the forgiver when we believe this. Acts 26.18.
Acts 26.18. The Apostle Paul, again, before Agrippa, says what Jesus told him to do. Verse 17 of 26, "...I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you." Notice, "...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me." My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. You see why I say there couldn't have been a better text that the eunuch was reading on that day and asks Philip, an evangelist, of whom is the prophet speaking?
The Ethiopian Converted and Baptized
Now
The Ethiopian Converted and Baptized
notice thirdly and finally, the Ethiopian converted and baptized. It's a bit of a textual variant in verse 37. If you're using other than the King James or the New King James, it'll either not be there or it will be in the margin. For the sake of argument this morning, we're going to assume its presence in verse 37.
Notice in verse 36, And the eunuch said, back to the beginning, now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, see, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Now we must assume that Philip spoke about this.
When he preached Jesus to him, we do not know how long he did this. We don't know how much of the prophet Isaiah he spoke of. We don't know how much of the life and ministry and resurrection of Jesus he spoke of. We don't know how much of church life and polity and ecclesiastics and all that sort of thing he spoke of.
But we can assume, for the sake of argument, that at some point in the discussion, Philip mentioned baptism. And so when the eunuch sees this water, he says, what hinders me? It's a good thing. It's a good sign.
You see, people generally want to be baptized because they've been converted. There is an assumption, there is an implication here, however. There are things that do hinder baptism. If the eunuch says, what hinders me, can't we conclude there are things that would hinder you?
Things like unbelief hinders baptism. You shouldn't be baptized if you're not a believer. You should not be baptized if you're not a Christian. If you are not following the Lord of glory, you shouldn't be baptized.
But in this instance, Philip says to him a particular condition, and that's verse 37. If you believe with all your heart, you may. If you believe with all your heart, you may. Again, the implication is clear.
If you don't believe with all your heart, then you may not. Just like the Lord's Supper. You don't partake of the Lord's Supper if you're not a Christian. You don't come to the supper and you don't come to baptism if you're not a believer.
It is for believers. This has a covenantal context. In the prophet Jeremiah, 31 to 34, Jeremiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, defines for us what the New Covenant community will look like. The New Covenant community will be those who know the Lord.
The New Covenant community will be those whose sins are forgiven. The New Covenant community will be those who have the law of God internalized in their hearts and in their minds. And when we get to the book of Acts, who gets baptized? The New Covenant community!
It's a beautiful thing. It's very simple. It's very glorious. So Philip tells him, if you believe with all your heart, you may.
And then notice what the eunuch says. He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. So when Philip preached Jesus to him, By the power and the operation of the Holy Spirit, the eunuch now lays hold of this. He may not know the entire system of revealed, propositional Christianity, but this much he knows.
I was lost, and now I'm found. I was dead, but now I'm alive. I was blind, but now I see. This is the common confession of God's people.
This is what Jesus commends God for when Peter himself speaks it in Matthew 16. When Jesus says, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man am? Peter says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
This man makes the good confession. This man has passed from death unto life in this roadway from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert. Maybe there's a contrast set up. Nothing grows, nothing lives, nothing is moving and vibrant in the desert except God's Spirit.
There may be allusions here to the prophets as well. I think in the book of Acts what we're seeing is all the prophets coming into fulfillment and into fruition. It's really a beautiful thing. But he says, if you believe, and this man makes the good confession, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Verse 38, so he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him. Our beloved John Calvin says, here we see the rite used among the men of old time in baptism, for they put all the body into the water. Now, as you know, he did not maintain that as the due way to administer the sacrament.
But he understands. Page 1320 in the Institutes, the Battles edition, he says, the word baptism means to dip, immerse, to plunge the body. And then he goes on, of course, to say, but we don't need to do it that way. We can sprinkle or pour.
What? If it means to immerse, if it means to dip, get a bigger hole, put more water in it. This was a glad day for the eunuch. This was a happy occasion for this man who had been on the outside.
I've mentioned the prophet Isaiah 56. Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak saying, the Lord has utterly separated me from his people, nor let the eunuch say here I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me. We'll give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
That's been brought to fulfillment in the baptism of this man. The prophet Isaiah not only foretold the suffering servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53, but he also foretold the blessed benefit and effect of that servant's mission in Isaiah 56, and now this eunuch has participated in it.
The Doctrine of Baptism
Now, a couple of thoughts, and then we close. First of all, Perhaps I'll save this one for another time. First of all, the doctrine of baptism. The doctrine of baptism.
Notice in this passage, we learn something specifically about the simple act of baptism. First, it takes place after conversion. The eunuch confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The eunuch confesses his place in God's kingdom by God's grace.
Secondly, baptism is conditioned upon faith. You see, Philip isn't interested in just filling the church rolls. Which, by the way, this does not take place in the church. Our confession is very conspicuous that speaks of baptism as being an ordinance of the New Testament unto the party baptized.
The most important elements in baptism are the persons baptized. Well, not the most important. God's grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, gospel blessing, benefit, redemption, all of that's the most important. But if none of us were here, Fraser, Brad, and Katie could be successfully baptized.
We just get to watch. We just get to see it. We just get to participate. We just get to witness it.
But it's unto the party baptized. So it takes place after this man's conversion. It takes place conditional upon the fact that he has faith. Philip doesn't just say, I want to baptize people indiscriminately and add them to the church.
That's not the point. If you believe in your heart, if you've come to the Savior, if you've come to Christ, then you may. Thirdly, baptism is the external sign of God's internal grace. We had a young man visit our church one time when we had a baptism.
And this young man comes from a different tradition in terms of church background. And for them, water was holy. And when we're completed with our baptism today, we'll just pull the plug on the water and it'll drain in the parking lot. And this particular young man said something to the effect of, you're wasting, what are you doing with all that holy water?
It's going all over the parking lot. It's not holy water. There's nothing magical in that tank. There's nothing spiritual or ethereal that's going to take place in that tank.
That tank is a visible, tangible, physical element or picture or symbol of what God has done inwardly. The real work has been done by the Spirit in the hearts of Fraser, Brad, and Katie. He has effected that blessed change. He has brought them out of darkness into marvelous light.
He has given them the gifts of faith and repentance. They have believed on the Lord Jesus. They have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God. This tank simply expresses that in a visible way so that God may receive the glory.
As I've already mentioned, baptism is primarily for the person being baptized. Our confession says it is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection, of his being engrafted into him, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. And then, fifthly, it is an occasion of affirmation that you and you and you will always be able to look back on and say, I have given myself to another. You know, I count my wife and I married right now.
But there's something about reviewing. Maybe not in our particular instance, but in most people's instances, there's something about renewing or remembering those vows initially made. I had this discussion one time with somebody. I won't get into polemics here.
Sometimes people kind of lose their minds a little bit, don't they? I'm sure none of you married couples have ever had any rough roads. I'm sure that when you wake up in the morning, whether it's a cloudy day in Chilliwack, the sun shines in your room. Your spouse never has bad breath, they never have a blemish, they never raise their voice, they never say anything untoward, and you guys just skip around the home, kissing and gently nuzzling one another and having nothing but joy and pleasure.
There's some of us, however, that need to be reminded Go to God and to one another. I think baptism functions that way. I think that's how Paul employs it in Romans 6. When some Christians need to be reminded that they're not to let sin reign in their mortal members, when they're to put to death the deeds of the body, what does Paul remind them in Romans 6, 1-4?
You were baptized. You were dead and buried and raised with Christ. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness. Brad and Fraser and Katie, remember that tank and remember this idea contained in our confession.
It says, and of his or hers giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. The day you first believe the gospel has a priority above all days in your lives. But this day is the symbolic. This day is the representation.
This day is the public affirmation of that one. And one that hopefully you'll be able to recall. When you start to wander, and you start to go untoward, or you start to engage in conduct that is not godly, Remember, you died with Christ, you were buried with Christ, and you've been raised with Christ. And for all of us baptized people, let it have that effect on our minds and on our hearts.
Shall we live in this world like the world when we're baptized? Shall we who have been marked by the Spirit of the living God Himself, those who died and buried and raised with Christ, go and live like the world? Shall we engage in lawlessness and godlessness and wickedness and evil and let down our guard day in and day out? Remember your baptism.
This is a way I think this tank will function as a means of grace for everybody else. Remember when you were baptized. Remember your commitment. Remember those things that you stated when you made the good confession in front of many witnesses.
How is that going today? Maybe within your own heart of hearts, in your own mind, in your own secret place, you need to say, God, forgive me, I've not lived consistent with my baptism. I'm not lived as a man who's dead and buried and raised with Christ. I'm not lived as a woman who's dead and buried and raised with Christ.
I've lived like the world. I've lived like the devil. I've lived like evil men. God, forgive me.
Grant me grace. Grant me help. Grant me the Spirit. Grant me, not just Fraser, not just Brad, not just Katie, but each and every one of us to give up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
That's what we are to be about in the church.
Lessons on Salvation
And then we learn something about salvation. Paul the Apostle tells us in 1 Corinthians that not many wise, not many noble, come to Christ. He's appealing to the reality that the gospel, as the world sees it, is foolishness. And this is seen in the fact that God has saved Corinthians.
And we can stress that, we can preach that, we must maintain that and affirm that. But it may not be many wise, and it may not be many noble, it may not be many wealthy, but some. This Ethiopian eunuch held a place of authority. This Ethiopian eunuch looked over the treasury of Ethiopia.
This Ethiopian eunuch was a man of prestige. It's this idea out there that we can only preach to one class of sinners. Sinners are sinners. I don't care if they're Ethiopian eunuchs or they're not.
All men everywhere are dead in their trespasses and sins. Our task is to preach the gospel. Notice as well, salvation comes to men in crisis and men not in crisis. There's no crisis situation with this man in this eunuch.
He's riding back from Jerusalem, minding his own business, reading the prophet Isaiah. Now there's some internal turmoil. He wants to come nigh. He understands something about the prophets.
He wants to know more about this servant in 53. But he's not like this man in Acts 16, this jailer that's about to do himself in. It comes at the bidding of a sovereign God. It comes according to the good pleasure and the mind and the will of Him who has purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number.
Our task is to be a faithful Philip. How do you like that for alliteration? Be a faithful Philip and tell sinners about Jesus. That's it.
And dare I say it, let God be God. Our task as the church is to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's task to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto Him through His Son. And I say it with absolute judgment day honesty and certainty and confidence that if you believe the gospel, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved.
You will know the forgiveness of sins and you will receive a righteousness that will bring you to God himself. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, we thank You so very much for Your Word, and we thank You for this account in Acts chapter 8. We pray that You would be glorified in the preaching of the Word. We pray that You would use it to do our hearts good. I pray for Fraser, for Brad, and for Katie, that they would remember this day in a special way, that God, they would be affected, and that they would certainly want to give themselves up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life. how we thank you for your grace, how we thank you for your mercy, how we thank you for forgiveness of sin.
And we pray now through Christ our Lord. Amen.