Don’t Ever Delay Baptism

The New Testament has several accounts showing that we should not delay baptism once it is clear that the believer is repentant and ready.

When Paul (then named Saul) was to be baptized, God inspired Ananias to go perform it. Ananias’ reaction, immediately upon seeing Paul (Acts 22:16) was “And now why tarry you? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Paul never forgot this. Notice, when he baptized the Philippian jailer with his family, it was some time after midnight, and yet Paul baptized him “the same hour of the night”—without even waiting for the next day to come (Acts 16:32-33). The reader will recall that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized immediately after Philip counselled him (Acts 8:1-40).

It is important to note that sometimes it is not possible for a baptism to be performed as soon as is best or ideal. When Peter gave his sermon in Acts 2:1-47, all the original apostles were present with him and were able to immediately assist in 3,000 baptisms (Acts 2:39-41). While this is clearly the best way to do it, circumstances do not always permit this.

When is a Person Ready for Baptism?

At what point should one decide to go forward with baptism? When is he or she ready for this step? How and by whom is this determined? These are all-important questions that must be considered. Some groups believe that a certain “probation period” should take place in order for a person to demonstrate that he has gained a great deal of knowledge toward readiness for baptism. Certainly some basic knowledge is required, but we have already shown that Christians “grow in grace, and in the knowledge” for the rest of their lives (II Pet. 3:18). Therefore, perfect knowledge is not something they are required to attain or achieve before baptism. Actually, by far the greatest amount of knowledge that will come to a Christian will come slowly but surely after baptism!

We have already read in Matthew 28:19-20 that repentance, belief of the gospel and being taught all things that Christ has commanded are essential in preceding proper baptism. Then, upon receiving the gift of God’s Spirit, Christians strive to grow through the guidance of that Spirit. It reveals truth and cleanses, corrects and renews the mind, while continually teaching people more and more about how to let Christ live His life in them.

The Bible says that God’s Law is “holy, just, good” and “spiritual” (Rom. 7:12, 14). While most people believe that the Law of God was kept by Christ for us—that He did away with it—the true Christian comes to understand, ever more deeply throughout his life, that the Spirit of God is essential to be able to keep the “spiritual” Law of God. It is through God’s Spirit that we understand His will, His mind. Yes, God grants repentance to a carnal mind (Rom. 8:7) before He actually converts that mind (John 14:17). But the next step should always be to move forward toward baptism so that a physical mind can be begotten and become one that is Spirit-led—though that initial amount of God’s Spirit is very small, leaving newly converted people still 99.9% carnal!

How does someone know that he has been given, or granted (Acts 11:18, II Tim. 2:25), the gift of repentance? As soon as he has been truly convicted about the depth of the sins in his past, then he has come to repentance. Of course, he must know what to repent of. The two verses preceding the command to repent and be baptized, Acts 2:36-37, depict an audience of listeners who were moved—even stunned—by the words of Peter’s sermon. They had just been told that “you have crucified” Jesus Christ. That was a shocking statement and the Bible records that they were “pricked in their heart” at this understanding. The Greek word, from which this phrase is translated, is katanusso and it means “to pierce thoroughly, agitate violently or sting to the quick.”

These are all stronger phrases than the one the translators chose, and they connote people who were torn up about what they had done! They were shocked and sobered that their own actions—SINS—had actually played a direct role in crucifying Christ. (Remember, these disciples were not the Roman soldiers who did the physical nailing of Christ to the cross [stake].) This caused them to ask, “What shall we do?” Peter’s answer was to “change.” If Peter were speaking today, he would no doubt use this word (change) instead of the old King James English term repent, which, as previously explained, has the same meaning.

Near the end of his book, Job came to see a deep need to repent of his self-righteous attitude. The scripture records that he “abhorred himself” and “repented in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). The Hebrew word used here, maac, means “spurn, abhor, cast away, condemn, despise, disdain, loathe, refuse, reject, reprobate, utterly vile.” These terms create a powerful word picture of how the soon-to-be Christian should feel when he has been given the gift of repentance. Together with Acts 2:38, the picture becomes even clearer.

The word “convert” means the same thing, in that it literally means turn from. A Christian is one who turns from—changes from—a way of life of sin to God’s way of righteousness through the power of His Holy Spirit. The repentant mind is ready to do this for the rest of its life.

In addition to coming to repentance, the person seeking baptism should ask himself some important questions.

HAVE YOU ABSOLUTELY PROVEN THAT GOD EXISTS? Hoping, suspecting, feeling, believing or thinking that He exists is not the same as proving He does! You should set out to prove this to yourself beyond any shadow of doubt!

HAVE YOU PROVEN THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD’S INSPIRED WORD? Do you believe that it is His Instruction Book for mankind—or merely a nice book filled with good thoughts and helpful ideas? Have you proven that there is authority behind the Bible? Are you determined to “not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4)?

HAVE YOU PROVEN WHERE HIS TRUE CHURCH IS? Well over 2,000 different denominations exist in the United States alone. While some would say, “they can’t all be wrong,” the truth is, “they can’t all be right.” We saw that Christ built His Church—and it is not divided (Matt. 12:25; I Cor. 10:13). We saw that it stands on and teaches the truth (I Tim. 3:15; John 8:31-32). It does not mingle it with error (Gen. 2:17). Christ (not men) rules His Church. Have you satisfactorily proven to yourself where this Church is?

For answers to the above questions, read our free booklets Does God Exist?, Bible Authority...Can It Be Proven? and, once again, Where Is God’s Church?

Christ spoke about “counting the cost” of becoming His disciple (Luke 14:25-30). Before you buy a house, a car, or even a wristwatch, you would consider the cost. Many people make purchases that they are not prepared for. They over-extend themselves and do not properly plan for unexpected hard times that can make meeting their regular payment responsibility more difficult. Improper financial planning can cause homes to be foreclosed and cars to be repossessed.

True Christianity works the same way. God offers you a salvation so glorious and wonderful as to defy description. However, it does not come without a personal price. Friends and relatives may view you differently or shun you. Cherished traditions must be left behind. You may be misunderstood or have to endure persecution. Are you willing to trust Christ and possibly lose your employment to follow Him? Are you prepared to always put God first, no matter the personal price?

Many question how they can know for certain that God is calling them. A calling from God means that you understand the truth when you see, read or hear it. (Read our article “Are You Being Called?” to be certain if this means you.) God is giving you—exposing you to—knowledge that you did not have before. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knows [has knowledge] to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” This becomes extremely serious because Hebrews 10:26 says, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins.”

If God is calling you, you actually have no choice except to answer all of the above questions with “Yes!”

When a person has been counselled to fully understand the principles of repentance described in this booklet, he is ready to be baptized. Such a person should then proceed to be baptized just as soon as a true servant of God can become available to perform it.

Carefully read the following passages. In preparing for baptismal counselling, they will help you better understand whether, and to what degree, God has granted you repentance. These verses take a thorough look at human nature—something you will come to see in yourself in abundance if God has given you the gift of repentance. Study these carefully—even praying over them one at a time. Ask God to truly show you yourself. Isa. 55:7-9; Jer. 10:23; 13:23; 17:9; Ezek. 14:4, 6; 33:14-15,36:31; Job 42:6; Psa. 39:5-6; Mark 7:20-23; Luke 16:15; Rom. 1:28-32; 3:10-18; 7:18, 21-23;8:7; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:5-10; II Tim. 3:1-5; Titus 3:3; I Pet. 4:1-4; I John 2:15-16;Rev. 21:7-8; 22:14-15. (You should also read our booklet Did God Create Human Nature?)