The One Evangelist

Once again, let’s note that Philip is the only person in the Bible specifically called an evangelist (Acts 21:8). If the only person God in his Word calls an evangelist used baptism as his method, then every true evangelist should use baptism to evangelize too.

But that’s not happening in Christianity today.

Furthermore, Christians misuse the term evangelist. They do not use the term the way the Scriptures use it. For example, none of the people famous for being “evangelists” today dare call sinners to be baptized. Some call people to repentance. Others preach salvation by faith alone, and lead people to make a profession of faith, but leave baptism out.

And then there are some who baptize in water, and they give it importance, but they baptize incompletely. That is, they only baptize people in water and do not guide people towards the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The full message must be our Gospel. We can't preach half a Gospel. So, what is the complete message of salvation? It's calling sinners to repent, to wash away their sins in baptism, to be born again of the Holy Spirit!

The only man God’s Word calls an evangelist (Philip) preached a message which demanded baptism. That’s why the eunuch said he wanted to be baptized after having heard the Gospel from Philip. The eunuch heard the Gospel from an authentic evangelist, and his response was the right one: to request baptism.

Why did the eunuch respond that way? Quite simply because Philip concluded his presentation of the Gospel with an invitation to be baptized! Do you? When you evangelize someone, do you wrap it up with "And now, you must be baptized to wash away your sins"?

In his evangelism, Philip guided the Ethiopian towards baptism.

They Came to Some Water

It says about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch: ‘They came to some water…’

The eunuch was very excited to see a pool of water. He had just heard from Philip about Christ’s death—and he heard about how he could die with Christ, so the Ethiopian exclaimed...

Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized?

Philip’s response was not “nothing.” He didn't say there is nothing that would impede a person from being baptized because there are indeed things which would prevent a person from being baptized. Do you know what those things are?

1. To be baptized, a person needs to have manifested the fruit of repentance. They have to show that they are done with sin.

   
   

2. They have to demonstrate that they believe with all their heart in the Jesus of the Bible! 

   
   

   That's what it takes to qualify for baptism.

Philip did not respond to the eunuch by saying that salvation was by “faith alone” like most pastors say today. Neither did Philip push the eunuch towards a prayer to “receive Jesus Christ in his heart as his personal Lord and Savior.” Instead, Philip challenged the Ethiopian eunuch to examine himself.

He challenged the Ethiopian to look into his own heart.

Philip asked the eunuch whether he had wholehearted faith--complete surrender. He tested the eunuch to gauge his level of commitment. Was the Ethiopian "all in" or not? Did the eunuch have the kind of faith that qualified him for baptism? Philip asked that question and phrased it this way:

If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized!

The Message

But let's not worry so much about Philip. Do you challenge people? If we are true evangelists, our message will be the same as God's evangelist's message. For anyone seeking the forgiveness of sins, and decides that they want baptism, we need to ask them what Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch: "Do you believe with all your heart?"

Then, after you've said that, wait. Wait for their response.

Don't rush it. Let the Holy Spirit do his work. The challenge of baptism is inspired by the Holy Spirit--doesn't it come from the Bible the Holy Spirit himself inspired? The call to salvation includes baptism in water. Salvation lowest common denominator: repent, believe, be baptized in water, and the Spirit.

You will be tempted to think it's "loving, kind, and compassionate" to demand less than God demands, but you have no authority to cheapen the Gospel. Who authorized you to change the message of salvation? It's not your message.

The Demands

The Gospel of the Kingdom is a powerful, life-changing message, and in it God demands full commitment. God determines the demands, not you. A person must surrender all that they are to God, or God does not accept them, and will not save them. What he is offering is too great for half-hearted seekers.

So let the Gospel be what it is. Tell people that if they have genuine and wholehearted faith in Jesus, the only way to demonstrate it is by "dying with Christ" in baptism. Tell them that only in baptism will they be washed of their sins.

Tell them that if they get baptized, they will be saved from sin. Reinforce that, and make sure they hear this clearly: That to be saved from the power of sin, they must be baptized in Jesus' name.

Then, baptize them if they are ready.