Acts 8:26-40
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
I was sitting at my desk early one Sunday morning preparing for Bible Class and worship. The phone rang and I learned that the doctor wanted to speak to us about our newborn son. He needed more advanced medical attention than could be provided at the local hospital. Diane and I went to the NICU where Stephen was being cared for. A styrofoam cup of water, the Lord’s Prayer, and the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and I knew something very important and good had happened.
When Philip explained the Good News about Jesus to the Ethiopian official part of that explanation must have included baptism. The man was so impressed and delighted to learn about Jesus that he asked to be baptized. He knew that baptism seals the deal between God and man. Baptism is the thing you do to cement the relationship of faith, and be attached to the promises of God.
We don’t know the baptismal liturgy that Phillip used. We don’t even know how far “down into the water” they went. We don’t know whether the water was scooped up in Philips hand, or the Ethiopian was submerged. But we do know that the man wanted to be baptized. We know he went on his way rejoicing after being baptized.
I was once part of a major evangelism project to distribute the Jesus Film to as many people as possible in the zip code we lived in. The Jesus Film is an evangelistic tool that presents the life and teachings of Jesus together with the accounts of his life, miracles, suffering, death, and resurrection. It is used with great impact in missionary work world wide. It ends with an altar call as such, inviting people to put their faith in Jesus as Son of God and Savior.
At the meeting of pastors who were spearheading the project one of the pastors remarked, “I could care less if someone prays the Sinner’s Prayer. I want to see them baptized. I suspect his was a conviction about what one is supposed to do to be saved (cf. Acts 2:42). I agree with this pastor’s concern about Baptism, but might want to say it a bit differently.
When a man or woman comes to faith, baptism is God’s gift to seal the promises of forgiveness and eternal salvation. We have been saved through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Baptism connects us with that gift.
God seals the deal with us in Baptism. Because we have been baptized, we live a new life, daily repenting of our sins and recommitting ourselves to follow Jesus. That’s why baptism is so important to me.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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