Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8, we'll be considering this morning verses 26 to 40, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, this man whom Philip came to preach the gospel to and whom God saved by his grace and for his glory. 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 this chariot. 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.
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.
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. Let us pray. Father, we thank You for the written Word, and we pray that You would send now the Holy Spirit, as we are dependent upon Him to guide, to lead, to instruct, to illumine our minds and our hearts.
As Jesus says in John 15, apart from Him we can do nothing. We can't understand the Word apart from divine aid. And we would cry out to you now to help us and to encourage our hearts and to strengthen us as we come to this particular passage. Again, do forgive us for all of our sins and all unrighteousness.
We pray that Your grace would be evident in our minds and hearts. We pray that Your grace would be evident in the salvation of sinners. We pray that in this You would receive the glory, the honor, and the praise. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. Well,
Introduction
Acts chapter 8 is certainly a very wonderful example or picture of God's grace in the salvation of sinners. We never testify and we do not believe that baptism saves people. We believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Baptism is the external sign, a visible representation of what God has done inwardly.
So as we trace through this particular narrative and we see this Ethiopian eunuch baptized, it is a visible expression of what God had done to him inside, by His grace and for His glory. And the same is true with young Abigail this morning. The water doesn't change her, the water isn't magical, the water isn't special. After we complete the baptism this morning, we'll open the faucet, and all of that water will run out into the parking lot.
We once had a young man visit our church, and he was a Roman Catholic boy. And after the service, that was a baptismal service, he saw the water in the parking lot and that quite freaked him out. He said, what's all the holy water doing in the parking lot there? Well, that's not holy water.
It's not special. There's nothing that's been transformed. We don't sprinkle some dust in there and thus invoke God's presence. It's just a visible tangible element, the way that the bread and the wine are visible, tangible elements that represent to us spiritual truths and spiritual realities.
So, I want to emphasize that we believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. Now, let's look at this conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch.
Sermon Overview and Outline
I want to look at three things this morning. First, the contact with the eunuch in verses 26 to 30. Secondly, the communication with the eunuch in verses 31 to 35. And thirdly, the conversion of the eunuch in verses 36 to 40.
Now, I understand that not all the young people, the children, will understand what a eunuch is. You can have that conversation over lunch, but suffice it to say that in the Old Testament Scriptures, God forbid eunuchs from entering into the assembly of the Lord. Deuteronomy 23.1. Isaiah 56, which I read at the outset of worship, foretells a time when the eunuchs will no longer be prohibited from entering into the assembly of the Lord.
It is quite intriguing that in the book of Acts, chapter 8, not only is the eunuch reading the prophet Isaiah, but the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled in the very conversion of this particular eunuch. The Ethiopian-ness of the man is certainly significant. But Luke is going to detail Gentile inclusion when he gets to Acts 8, something else that is given to us in Isaiah 56. Four times, however, the emphasis in our text is on the fact that he's a eunuch.
Again, that should recall to our minds that at one time in the old covenant system, eunuchs were forbidden, prohibited from coming into the assembly of the Lord. But through the prophet Isaiah, God foretells a time when eunuchs will be brought nigh, and that is the messianic age, and that's what Luke is emphasizing. that the dawn of the messianic kingdom has come, that with the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, His ascension to the right hand of power on high, He is now over all things as the Davidic Son, who is building the house for God, and the book of Acts is a record of the power of the risen Lord Jesus. So that's sort of the context in what's going on in this particular section.
Contact with the Eunuch
So of course in verses 26 to 30 the angel bids Philip to meet up with this particular unit. After a time in Samaria, an angel directs Philip toward the south from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip is one of the deacons mentioned in Acts chapter 6, and according to 840, he continues to preach, and he finally settles in Caesarea with his family. He is called an evangelist in Acts 21.8, and an evangelist ultimately is somebody who tells the people the good news concerning Jesus.
So as we look at our text, it says, Arise, go down south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert. So he arose 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 that tells us something about the man that is in view.
Now, particularly, it was common for Eastern kings to utilize eunuchs. They weren't a threat to the king's wives. They weren't a threat to the persons in the harem. Keddie 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.
They were trustworthy men. As well, we notice that he has great authority under Candace. Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul will say, not many wise, not many noble, not many gifted ones are called. But as Matthew Henry points out, some are.
This man had great authority, operated under Candace, was probably a title like Pharaoh or like Caesar, and she was a queen and he had charge of her treasury. Note his spiritual condition. It tells us that he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. This is most likely to be understood as a God-fearing Gentile.
There were those Gentiles outside of Israel that were intrigued by the worship of Israel. Until they were circumcised, until they took on all the particular ordinances of the Mosaic Law, they still stayed outside, but nevertheless they could participate in some of those things. Notice that he is reading the prophet Isaiah, very specifically. And so, then the Spirit commands Philip to run to meet and to contact him.
Now
Communication with the Eunuch
notice, secondly, the communication with the eunuch, verses 31 to 35. The evangelist asks a good question. So I think there's something for us to understand in this particular passage beyond conversion and baptism. If we're about winning souls, we ought to model ourselves after an evangelist like Philip.
Philip's Evangelistic Question
He comes to the man and he asks him if he understands what he's reading. I think, especially in North America, there is this assumption that everybody knows the gospel. Brethren, it's increasingly more of a pagan age where persons do not understand the gospel, many have never heard the gospel, and in some respects it's looking like a third world country in terms of spirituality. It is not as common as it once was for persons to attend church and for persons to understand the message of the gospel.
In some senses, it's tough to find a good explanation of the gospel within the professing church. You hear all kinds of drivel, that the gospel is a good thing, it makes me happy, it's warm, it's fuzzy, it produces emotivity. It is none of those things. The gospel is a revealed message concerning the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, when we believe the gospel by the grace of God, there is emotivity. When this eunuch is converted and this eunuch is baptized, it then indicates that he rejoices. But our rejoicing isn't the Gospel. When somebody says to us, what is the Gospel?
It's not my feeling, it's not my emotions, it's not my well-being, it's not my inner peace. It is Christ crucified, and Christ risen, and Christ proclaimed, and Christ presented the men such that if they believe by the grace of God, they will be saved. So Philip doesn't assume. He asks the eunuch, do you understand what you're reading?
Now note,
The Eunuch's Honest Inquiry
the eunuch answers candidly, openly, and honestly. Again, I think there's a lesson here. How many of you have questions you don't understand, but you're not going to ask? No matter how many times we say, you know, ask Pastor Porter, ask me, text me, call me, write me, you know, carry your pigeon me, visit, whatever it is, you can ask questions.
This man is candid and open enough to ask the questions because he knows what's at stake. Do you understand what's at stake if you don't get the gospel? Do you understand what's at stake if you don't believe on the Lord Jesus? Do you understand what's at stake if you die in your sins?
You go to a Christless eternity forever and ever. You go to hell. The Bible doesn't hide these realities. The Bible tells us it's a place of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
It's a place described as outer darkness. It is a place where God's retributive justice is poured out upon the heads of those who have rebelled against His holy law. So if you don't understand, ask. See the particularness of this eunuch.
He says very specifically, how can I unless someone guides me? Calvin has a comment to the effect that men today are so full of pride they would never admit they don't understand something. If you are so full of pride that you will not admit that you don't understand something, you're going to be a proud sinner ultimately entering into hell. If you don't understand, ask.
Young people or children, if you don't understand, ask parents. If you don't understand, ask the elders of the church. Ask men in the church. Instead of milling about at the end of the service talking about the weather, Ask about the sermon.
Ask about texts. Ask about the gospel. Ask about the realities of heaven and hell. That's what marked this particular eunuch.
It's a humble honesty. How can I, unless someone guides me? He has a desire to know. He asks Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now I submit, since he's reading the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53, I don't think it's a stretch to understand that he might have been reading Isaiah 56. There's not a whole lot of distance there. So this God-fearer, this man outside of Israel, knows Deuteronomy 23. He knows that he himself is barred from access to the assembly of the Lord.
But he has seen Isaiah 56. And he knows that there's a time, or there's a prophecy concerning the fact that the eunuchs are now brought nigh. You see what's welling up in his heart and soul. He's probably saying, how is this the case?
Now thankfully, he's in the answer in Isaiah 53. Eunuchs are drawn nigh, or brought nigh, and so are Gentiles brought nigh, along with Jews, because of the realities of Isaiah 53. The suffering servant of Yahweh, whom Yahweh was pleased to bruise, putting him to grief for the sins of all those who would believe on him. So notice, he has this perfect text.
He says in verse 32 or verse 31, he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 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. Isaiah 53, 7 and 8. Gil says, This prophet, Isaiah, is a very evangelical one, and very delightful and profitable to read. We'd all side with Gil on that, wouldn't we?
Very delightful and profitable to read. Many things are prophesied by him concerning the Messiah, and particularly in the chapters in which the eunuch was reading. Imagine, just for a moment, you're in your daily life, and you're milling about, and you're doing your thing, and you happen to meet someone that seems right for the gospel. And you come to them, and you ask them, do you understand the gospel?
And they say, how can I unless someone explains it to me? And they just happened to have Isaiah 53 opened in their lap. I mean, you couldn't get a better text, could you? Could you?
Could Isaiah, or rather Philip here, have been given a better text? 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 a starting point for presenting the story of Jesus to one who did not know Him? This wasn't lucky, it wasn't an accident, it was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to call His elect, in this case an Ethiopian eunuch, onto Himself through the proclamation of the truth. So the man has this before him.
And then the eunuch, in verse 34, answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of some other man? It's a legitimate question. We've been reared in the Christian tradition.
We have been steeped in the Christian faith where Isaiah 53 has been properly interpreted as referencing the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But in this particular instance, having been in Jerusalem, he didn't get an exposition of Isaiah 53 from a Christian perspective, and there was traditionally many views concerning this personage identified in the prophet Isaiah. Some would suggest it was Isaiah, some would suggest it was the nation of Israel. And before we say, well, that just can't be, yes, in many respects it could be.
In Isaiah 49, it speaks concerning Israel. In what's called the Servant Song of Yahweh, which Isaiah 53 is, in Isaiah 49, the servant is referred to as Israel. Now, that makes sense when we move into the New Testament, because Christ is not only the last Adam, according to Paul in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, but Christ is Israel. Christ does what Israel failed.
God puts Adam in the garden, gives him a probation, and Adam sins. God puts Israel in the wilderness, gives them prohibitions, and they sin. God sends His Son as the second or last Adam, as the fulfillment of what Israel was supposed to be. You see this in Matthew's structuring of his Gospel.
He connects Jesus in Matthew 1-1, both to David and Abraham. And then he shows how Jesus goes into Egypt. And Hosea says that, out of Egypt I have called my firstborn. And then Jesus passes through the waters of baptism, which looks like Israel going through the waters of the Red Sea.
And then Jesus goes out into the wilderness, similar to what Israel did in the wilderness. But instead of Jesus failing, Jesus fulfills. And so the man, the eunuch asks, who's he speaking about? Who's he talking about?
And now
Philip Preaches Jesus from Isaiah
notice what our text says concerning Philip's response. It's beautiful. Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him. Perhaps you've seen that thing of late.
You know, preach the gospel and when necessary use words. That goes back to that folly I was speaking about earlier. You cannot preach the gospel without words. Somebody follows you around all day and watches your virtuous life, they're still going to go to hell.
They need to hear the testimony concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. He opened his mouth and from this text, he preached Jesus to him. He told him the evangel, he told him the gospel, he told him the good news. Brethren, as good as your life may be, it's not that great.
Sinners need to see, they need to hear, they need to understand the truth as it is in Jesus. And by God's grace, they need to believe that truth. That's what brings them to everlasting life. It's not our virtue, it's not our goodness, it's not our happiness, it's not our fuzziness.
It is the message of Christ and Him crucified. So that's a statement that is full of drivel. Preach the gospel, and if necessary, or when necessary, use words. As if to suggest my life can preach blood atonement.
As if to suggest my life can preach Golgotha. As if to suggest that my life can preach the absolute and utter righteousness of Jesus Christ in his law-keeping to the Father's will. No, it can't! We have to tell sinners!
There's a sense where you've got to open your mouth, you've got to speak up, you've got to be a good Martin Luther. Know when to stand up, know when to speak up, and know when to shut up. I think that's a good construct for preachers and as well for evangelists. Notice, he preaches Jesus from this passage.
I've already mentioned, Isaiah 53 is what's called a servant song of Yahweh. There's four of them in the prophet Isaiah. They are found in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and then 52 and 53. They all give us various aspects or facets of the person and the work of the Lord Jesus.
You've all seen a diamond, right? Everybody awake? You're with me? You can nod your head.
It's okay to pay attention and participate and look like, you know, that we're all here on board together. You've all seen a diamond. Well, one of the beauties of a diamond, at least as I'm told, it doesn't really do a lot for me, but you hold it up and you turn it and you see it in various facets of light. Well, that's what the servant songs of Isaiah do concerning Christ.
They give us various facets of what the servant of Yahweh is going to accomplish when he comes into this world. That servant, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. The longest of the songs is 52 and 53, and the focus of that particular song is the suffering servant who dies in the place of sinners and who rises again. Again, I cannot submit to you how much or cannot convince you enough that what the eunuch was reading and what Philip was preaching from was exactly what this man needed to hear.
Because in that servant's song, in the prophet Isaiah, we have the humiliation of the servant. Verses 1 to 3. He's a man of sorrows. He's acquainted with grief, isn't he?
There's no form, no comeliness that we should desire him. He's the son of God. He is heaven's darling and heaven's gem, and yet He comes to His own and His own receive Him not. He is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief in His earthly ministry.
He says the foxes have holes and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. His state of humiliation, wherein He takes on our humanity, wherein He takes on our nature with all of the common properties, or the essential properties and common infirmities associated with that. He leaves heaven above to come into this world clothed in and with, or rather assuming, our nature. As well,
The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53
Isaiah speaks of the suffering of the servant in verses 4 to 6. What happens to the servant, according to the prophet? We could turn there. I suspect that this was all included in Philip's presentation of the gospel to this Ethiopian eunuch.
Notice Isaiah 53, we see the humiliation, verses 1 to 3. Notice suffering, verses 4 to 6. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. See that language there, smitten by God?
It's repeated in Isaiah 53, 11. The Lord, Yahweh, was pleased to bruise Him. Or rather, verse 10. Yes, lawless hands crucified Jesus.
Yes, the Jews cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Yes, the Romans actually executed the penalty of death upon the Son of God. But it was predetermined by the Father. It was predetermined by God.
It was an arrangement made before the foundation of the world that the Son would come, that the Son would obey, the Son would suffer, the Son would die, and the Son would rise again. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." You see, this is why it's good news. See what Isaiah is not prophesying?
There's going to be a time where men come to their senses. There's going to be a time when men exercise their free will. There's going to be a time when men get better. They engage in a bit of moral reform.
No, the prophet says there's a time when the suffering servant will come. And note the language that is employed. It was a solitary thing for Christ. He doesn't go with assistance.
He goes on His own. It is substitutionary. He bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. By His stripes we are healed, verse 6, and He has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. It's comprehensive in nature.
Everything that plagues a sinner, every malady that affects a sinner, our griefs, our transgressions, our iniquities, our need for peace, our healing, the Lord Christ Most High satisfies through His own suffering and death. That's what verses 7 to 9 go on to tell us concerning his death. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent.
So he opened not his mouth. You know those passion narratives where it tells us that Jesus says nothing. Yeah, that's a good example for you to know how to keep your mouth shut when you're in a difficult situation, but that's not the meaning in those narratives. It's not moralistic, it's not therapeutic.
Learn to be a Jesus and don't say bad things in the midst of all. That's not it. Christ is the silent, suffering Lamb of God, in accordance with Isaiah the prophet 53. He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearer's silence, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who will declare His generation? For He is cut off from the land.
He was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. You see,
The Great Exchange and Justification
you're not going to heaven because you've gotten better. You're going to heaven because God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. You're going to heaven because of what Luther called a great exchange. He takes our sin, our wretchedness, our transgression and iniquity, and he heaps it upon the Son of God.
And he punishes the Son of God such that when the Son of God dies, He rises again. And God takes His righteousness and gives it freely to us. 2 Corinthians 5.21 is why you're going to heaven, not because of moral reformation. Abigail's going into those waters of baptism, not because she's a good girl, or the stairs got lucky with a good one, but because God made Him, Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. It is a blessed, divine, forensic transaction where God heaps sin upon His Son, punishes Him in our place, and then takes that righteousness accomplished and applies it to us.
That's why sinners go to heaven. If you think for a moment that I'm going to try a little harder and get to heaven, you don't understand sin and you don't understand the holiness of God. You don't understand the spirituality of the law or the comprehensiveness of the law. Your problem this morning, if you are not a believer, is that you are not a believer!
Yes, you're a sinner and a transgressor and one who is dead in their trespasses and sins. The only hope for everlasting life is to look unto Jesus That's it, isn't it? What if you'd have come this morning and said, okay, you've got to go home and you've got to stop this, stop this, stop this, stop this, get rid of that, get rid of that, and then you'll be commended to God. No.
That's to bring God down to our level and to elevate us, to suggest that a little bit of habit modification is going to commend ourselves to God. No, we need to be saved. We need to be cleansed, we need to be washed, we need to be purified. We need that blood applied to us to cleanse us in totality from all our sins.
But once we're washed, once we're forgiven, once we have been cleansed, we need a righteousness that commends us to God, and that's accomplished by our Lord. We not only need His death, we need His life. When catechism famously asks, what is justification? Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins.
Is there any news better to a pardon sinner than that? If I was a black pastor in Southern California, I'd say, can I get an amen? I mean, come on. We have been pardoned of all our sins.
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. wherein he pardons all of our sins and justification, continuing in the shorter catechism, and he accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. That's the glorious doctrine of justification by faith.
That is what I propose Philip is preaching to this eunuch. So we go back to chapter 8 in the book of Acts. Of course, Philip would have highlighted the triumph of the servant in verses 10 to 12 of Isaiah 53, but we must hasten on.
Conversion of the Eunuch
That brings us to consider, with reference to the eunuch, thirdly and finally, the conversion of the eunuch. Notice in verse 36. 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 suppose that Philip spoke to the eunuch about baptism, or that somehow, in his meanderings around, the eunuch had learned that these Christians, they baptize. I don't think it was divine revelation. I don't think it was some special thing.
It's probably, you know, organic to their conversation as Philip gives him the evangelist. He preaches Jesus to him. He explains what's happening in terms of God's redemptive plan. God's now saving people and those people are getting baptized and they're joining churches and they're continuing to serve the Lord in those communities.
And so the eunuch sees the water and he asks the question, what hinders me from being baptized? Now,
Baptism Without Delay
note the time frame involved here. Does he get converted at, you know, 25, or whatever this eunuch's age happened to be, and wait for 15 years to get baptized? Does he get converted at, you know, the ripe age of 20, and then when he's 40, say, well, I'm going to come around to getting baptized now. No, he gets baptized.
J. Adams, in his book on preaching, indicates that the early church didn't have altar calls, There was no, you know, every head bowed, every eye closed, just raise your right hand. They believed and were baptized. That's the pattern in the apostolic preaching.
They believed and they were baptized. We see the same thing here. The supposition, obviously, which Philip will vet in verse 37, is that he believed that Jesus was the Son of God. But he sees the water, and he doesn't say, well, you know, I'm just going to ponder my move for 30 years.
This could have affected his livelihood. It could have affected him when he went back to Candace and said, I've been baptized. I've been washed in the blood. I'm now a believer in Jesus and I'm, you know, wanting to serve Him.
That could have affected his livelihood. It could have affected his family. But you see, he doesn't care. When persons are conquered by sovereign grace, they want to go into that water.
When persons are saved by the Lamb of God, they want to identify it. They want to stand and testify. They want to be baptized in the singular name of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Calvin made this observation on the quickness of his baptism.
He says, if being instructed but a few hours, he came to this point, how filthy is the sluggishness of those men who suppress the faith which they have conceived, having been taught five, ten, or twenty years. In other words, if you are a believer in Jesus and you have not been baptized, you ought to ask with the eunuch, what hinders me? What's keeping me? If it's your own laziness, if it's your own rebellion, if it's your own sin against God, you need to repent and you need to set up an appointment so we can fill up the tank and dunk you for Jesus.
There is nothing somehow meritorious about putting obedience off. Why do we think that's okay? Why is it in our heads to think, well, I can obey God down the road? No, if God has saved you, if he has conquered you by grace, then you obey him.
This is Jesus' commission in Matthew 28. 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, and teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Isn't it intriguing how the book of Acts follows that specifically, precisely? That the apostles go out, they make disciples, they baptize disciples, they plant churches, and then they instruct those disciples to obey all that Christ the Lord has given by instruction.
It's a beautiful thing. Note, there is an implication here, that there are some things that may hinder one from being baptized. When he says, what hinders me from being baptized, that implies that there are hindrances. If you don't believe the gospel, you shouldn't be baptized.
It's like we say at the supper, if you are not a believer in Christ, do not take the supper. It's not to make you feel bad. It's not to sin shame you. It's not to make you run to your safe space.
Rather, it is to highlight the law of Christ. Christ says that believers get baptized. Christ says that believers go to the supper. So in this instance, he says, what hinders me from being baptized?
Now
The Confession of Faith
notice verse 37. If you have anything other than the King James or the New King James, you're going to have to look at your margin. There's a variant reading, and some suggest that 37 was never a part of the original text. You can consult the authorities on the particular textual question, but it is intriguing. that Irenaeus, in his book Against Heresies, dated from probably A.D. 130 to 200, quotes Acts 8.37.
So whatever we can deduce or conclude, we see that it was a very early reading for Irenaeus to be aware of it and for Irenaeus to quote it in his Against Heresies. Again, A.D. 130-200, dates Irenaeus. So we're going to treat it as germane to the text. Notice, he asks the question, what hinders me from being baptized?
Philip says, if you believe with all your heart, you may. This is what I've just said. This is what I've just suggested. There is something that hinders you.
If you're not a believer, don't be baptized. If you're not a believer, don't participate in the Lord's Supper. Your issue shouldn't be, well, I want to get baptized, or I want to eat the Lord's Supper. No, the issue should be, I want to believe the gospel.
I want to look to Jesus. I want to live. I want to know everlasting life. And once you've come to that place by the grace of God, then get baptized.
Then eat the supper. So Philip lays this down as a particular condition. If you believe with all your heart, you may. I love the answer, the response.
He answers and says, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Isn't that a beautiful statement? So simple, but so profound. This suggests Matthew 16, when Jesus says to the disciples, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
They say, well, you know, some say Jeremiah, some say one of the prophets, some say John the Baptist. Jesus moves from the general to the specific, and he says, but who do you say that I am? And Peter makes that lofty confession of faith. He says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
This is what we have here. He's the Christ, the Son of the living God. When Peter makes that declaration, Jesus doesn't congratulate him for stumbling upon a fact that he had discovered. He says, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven has revealed this.
We must suppose the same thing with this eunuch. He didn't just stumble onto this. God is at work. The Spirit moves his heart.
He sees his sin. He sees the Savior. And by the grace of God, he is saved. And now he wants to go into the waters of baptism.
Philip says, if you believe. He says, I believe. Now notice what the text then indicates. 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.
Now this is suggestive of immersion, which interestingly, the great word baptizo means immersion. Why didn't they just translate it? Why did they transliterate it? Because there were doctrinal reasons governing their decision to transliterate rather than to translate.
Imagine if every time in your Bible, baptizo was translated as immerse, there wouldn't be a lot of questions concerning the mode. Calvin even recognizes this in his commentary. He says, here we see the rite used among the men of old time and baptism, for they put all the body into the water. In page 1320 of the Institutes, he says, baptizo means immerse.
And then, of course, he goes on to explain that we're free to pour or sprinkle. Why? Why, John? Well, maybe one day we'll meet and sit and talk.
Actually, I don't think that's going to be our issue up there. We're going to be in the presence of the Lamb. No more debates about baptism. Isn't that wonderful?
No more debates about eschatology. We'll just be in the presence of the King. We'll just see the Lamb in all His glory. But it is intriguing.
Notice as well.
Rejoicing and Baptism as Means of Grace
They part ways. Philip goes to preach. And as I've already mentioned, the eunuch rejoices. It's always my prayer.
Probably shouldn't say always, because I'm a fallible human. But typically I pray that when persons are baptized here, it would be a memorable day. That their hearts would be filled with joy. That those who love them would be filled with joy.
There will be a time of rejoicing. That tank preaches the conquering grace of God. That tank displays for us the heart of our Father who has saved to the uttermost another sinner through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul appeals to baptism in Romans 6 when he argues for Christians to be holy.
You were baptized. Reflect on that day. Remember that day. You died, you were buried, and you've been raised again.
No longer present your bodies or your members as instruments of unrighteousness. No, you were baptized. Baptism's a means of grace. We ought to be able to look upon it, remember and recollect and consider what God and Christ has done for us.
And as well, we ought to be able to rejoice. to delight, to thank, and to praise our great God. Well,
Application and Conclusion
just a couple of thoughts in conclusion. In this section of the book of Acts, again, I think what we have here is the conquest of a particular sinner to show us the saving grace of God, but there's some other things going on. There's a theological context that we need to locate Acts 8 in. In the first place, we see in the book of Acts the progress of the kingdom of God.
The statement in Acts 1.8 is programmatic. Jesus said, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. That's how the book of Acts is outlined. The ministry first is in Jerusalem, and then when the persecution comes under Saul of Tarsus, they move to Judea-Samaria, and then Saul of Tarsus, by the grace of God, is conquered by God, and he becomes the missionary to the Gentiles.
So from about Acts 13 on, we see the gospel go to the uttermost parts of the earth. Acts 1.8 is programmatic. We see here as well the Gospel goes from Judea to Samaria, and specifically here to Africa. This Ethiopian was a Cushite.
The Psalter proclaimed that envoys will come out of Egypt. Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. And as well, what is signaled here is that the Kingdom of Messiah has arrived. Dennis Johnson makes this observation.
Note specifically in Isaiah 56 earlier, he talked about God's house being a house of prayer for all nations. Johnson says the house of prayer for all nations was not the product of Herod's construction in Jerusalem. That's the second temple that was destroyed in A.D. 70. He says it was located, among other places, at a wadi, or a brook, besides a wilderness road in old Philistine territory, where a castrated Ethiopian was cleansed for priestly service through faith in the Lamb of God, who was led like a sheep to the slaughter." You see, there's Acts 8, the conversion of this eunuch, but it's in a bigger context as well.
The prophetic word is fulfilled, it's mentioned. That what we have in Acts 8 is not simply the citation of Isaiah 53, but the fulfillment of Isaiah 56. The inclusion of eunuchs in the covenant promises of God. This is good news.
This is an evidence that the comprehensiveness of the gospel, it goes forth to all the nations. We'll see in Acts 10, even more clearly articulated, the conversion of Cornelius, who was a Gentile. Isaiah 56 speaks about that as well. You see what Luke, the divinely inspired historian, is doing.
He is not only recording historical events, but under the influence of Paul the Apostle, he is giving us theology, a theology of covenantal fulfillment. He is highlighting to us that eunuchs and Gentiles are included in the covenant promises of God because of the death of the Son of God, the resurrection, and the exaltation at the right hand of God. That One who assumed the throne of David, according to Acts 2, is the One who orchestrates all that you now see and hear. In fact, in Acts 1.1, you can read that for just a second because it's so important that we understand what we have in the book of Acts.
Acts 1.1, the former account I made, O Theophilus. Luke wrote Acts. So when he refers to the former account, he's referring to Luke, the Gospel according to Luke. He says, the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.
So if Luke records for us in Luke all that Jesus both began, or began both to do and teach, we must conclude that Acts is a record of what Jesus continues both to do and teach. So when we get to Acts 8 and this unit comes out of darkness into marvelous light, yes, it's a happy day to be sure, but it's prophetic fulfillment. It's God making good on His promises. It's Isaiah 56, come to pass.
And we reader ought to appreciate that. A third observation I'd like to make before we close. Actually, I've got a couple more. We're going to go to about two.
If you're visiting, you're probably rolling your eyes internally right now. We're not going to two. Some of the brethren here are probably going, don't push your luck. We may go to two.
The place of evangelism. Notice. Everybody wants to evangelize. Everybody wants sinners included in the kingdom of God.
Everybody wants to win souls. Then do it like Philip did. Know your Bible and preach the truth concerning Jesus. Be a Philip.
Dare to be a Philip if you want to win souls to Christ. One man, Gordon Clark, says, If God has decreed happier days for us, and if we may expect a world-shaking and genuine spiritual awakening, then it is the author's belief that a zeal for souls, however necessary, is not the sufficient condition. Have there not been devout saints in every age, numerous enough to carry on a revival? Twelve such persons are plenty.
What distinguishes the arid ages from the period of the Reformation, when nations were moved as they had not been since Paul preached in Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome, is the latter's fullness of the knowledge of God's Word. Yes, you should want to see souls saved, but your want must be in concert with a knowledge of the truth. He goes on, to echo an early Reformation thought, when the plowman and the garage attendant know the Bible as well as the theologian does, and know it better than some contemporary theologians, then the desired awakening shall have already occurred. And then Chrysostom made this observation.
He contrasts the conversion of the Ethiopian with that of Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9. He says, Verily, one has reason to admire this eunuch. For unlike Saul, he had no supernatural vision of Christ. Remember Acts 9?
Jesus appears to Saul on the road to Damascus. Not that that wasn't legit or it wasn't good, but what Chrysostom is saying is that the eunuch didn't have that. What did he have? He had the word of truth.
For unlike Saul, he had no supernatural vision of Christ, yet he believed. So great a thing is the careful reading and the preaching of the Scriptures. We ought to observe, with reference to the place of Christian baptism, it takes place after conversion, after faith and repentance. Calvin makes this observation.
For baptism is, as it were, an appurtenance. That's simply a word that means accessory. You accessorize. Ladies, when you get whatever it is, you accessorize with.
And that's what he suggests, that baptism is an appurtenance. It is an accessory of faith. And therefore, it is later in order. You get that?
Faith, then baptism. Now, on the next page, he goes to argue, doesn't even argue, he assumes infant inclusion. Our purpose here is not to engage in a full-length polemic of infant baptism, but just to highlight the specific order. It is conditioned by Philip upon faith.
Barrett says, there is no racial qualification for baptism, but right belief is necessary. He says, what hinders me from being baptized? He doesn't say, well, you're not a Jew, so you can't be. Oh, you're an Ethiopian.
You can't be. You've got black skin. You can't be. No.
What's important? What's necessary? What's the one thing needful? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
As well, in this particular account, we notice something that our confession touches on with reference to baptism. It's for the party baptized. Now, we, by God's grace, get to participate and watch the event. But notice he's not in a church, is he?
I suspect that he ended up in a church, but he's not in a church. This leads to the Second London Confession to highlight this. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized. Certainly parents rejoice, friends rejoice, pastors rejoice, everybody rejoices, but it's for the party that is baptized. and as well.
It is an occasion of affirmation that you, Abigail Stale, Stare, I don't know why I'm putting an L at the end of Stare, it's an easy name, that you will walk or live and walk in newness of life. For the confession goes on. It is to be unto the party baptized. Listen. 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.
That's what you need to take away from this day. Those baptized, those who are baptized, ought to remember this. I am not my own. I have been bought with the blood of another.
Therefore, I am to glorify God in my body and in my soul. And finally, we see that the power of the gospel comes to the poor, but it also comes to the well-off. The eunuch working for Candace was in a good position. He wasn't down and out.
He wasn't, you know, a bum living on the side of the road. Gospel comes to bums living on the sides of the road, but it also comes to eunuchs that have positions of prestige. Not many wise, not many noble, but some, Matthew Henry says. So we ought not to shrink back from preaching the whole counsel of God to every sinner.
It's always amazed me that churches sort of have this, you know, target sinner demographic. We only minister to prostitutes. We only minister to the down and out. We minister the gospel to anybody who'll listen.
What do we see when we get to heaven? According to the book of Revelation, men from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. different social strata, different economic status, all those things, notwithstanding, it is the power of the Gospel to save those who believe. So we preach it to whoever will listen, by the grace of God, praying that he saves. The Gospel comes to men in crisis and not in crisis.
It comes to men as a result of God's sovereign plan. It comes by the Word of God. You need to consider this reality, this morning, before we leave. Do you understand the gospel?
If you do, then believe it. Do not tarry, do not wait, do not consider your options, but come to Christ by faith. If you don't understand it, then ask. Ask any of the brothers here.
Ask the men in the church. Ask the ladies who understand the truth as it is in Jesus. Say to them, I don't quite get it. So they can tell you that Christ came into this world, sinners to save.
He did so by His perfect life, by His death in our place, and by His resurrection from the dead. And the Scripture says that whoever looks to Him in faith, will have everlasting life. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our God and our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you for this opportunity to celebrate and to rejoice in your saving power demonstrated in the life of Abigail. We just ask our God that this day would be memorable to her not only in terms of her joy and her delight in the things of God, but also as a reminder of what she has become because of your grace, that she has died to sin, that she has been buried with Christ, that she's been raised again, and that she would walk in newness of life, and that she would always be in dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
God, save sinners for your glory. Save sinners for your exaltation and for your honor. And we pray this through Christ our Lord. Amen.