37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.Acts 2:37–41
Immediately, upon reading this, you wonder if baptism is a requirement for salvation. It seems quite clear at first reading. It also seems that it’s the only way to acquire the Holy Spirit.
No, the only way to be saved is to repent, to change your mind about Jesus.
I always think about the thief on the cross beside Jesus. He changed his mind about him, and the other thief didn’t. Immediately, without baptism, only the repentant thief was ushered into paradise. As for the Spirit, his new Savior was by his side.
In a redeemed state, baptism becomes a compelling means to obey God and to testify to your new life in Him. It is one of two ordinances in Christianity, along with communion.
The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit is received at true repentance, and that baptism serves to authenticate to others and to oneself the reality of the salvation experience. For the Jews in Jerusalem at that time, baptism would have been a bold and courageous ostracizing step, truly instigated by a powerful new internal force.
Conveniently, at the temple were large vessels of water (mikvahs) for ceremonial cleansing before entering, making it quite convenient for 3,000 new souls to be baptized.
It is important to note that the roll out of this new faith differed initially in order to limit potential squabbles. For example, the onset of the Spirit was delayed in the case of the Samaritans until Peter and John arrived (Acts 8:14-15). These exceptions were one-offs.
The key has been and forever will be true repentance. Without a sincere change of mind and heart about Jesus, baptism will be meaningless and fraudulent, and the Spirit will not be granted. (See Acts 8:21, more on this story in the days ahead).
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