Summary Keywords: Believer baptism, early church, new member classes, church discipline, Acts of the Apostles, faith and baptism, command of Christ, obedience, public proclamation, means of grace, assurance of faith, infant baptism, baptismal requirements, discipleship, baptismal series
Speakers: Pastor Jim Butler, Pastor Cam Porter, Wim Kerkhoff
Introduction
If you’ve trusted in Christ but haven’t yet been baptized, what’s holding you back? For many believers, the delay comes from uncertainty, family concerns, or simply not realizing how urgently Scripture speaks to this question. In this episode of Ask FGBC, Pastor Jim Butler and Pastor Cam Porter open the book of Acts and show that the pattern of the early church was clear: believe, then be baptized — without delay. Far from being an optional ritual, baptism is a command from the risen Christ, a public declaration of union with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, and a genuine means of grace that strengthens the faith of those who obey.
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Transcript
When Should a Believer Be Baptized?
Wim Kerkhoff: A simple question, but can be very nuanced. When should a believer be baptized?
The Sooner, the Better
Pastor Jim Butler: The sooner, the better. You know, believe and be baptized. I don’t know why persons wait. I don’t know why persons don’t jump into the water.
I remember, I think it was Jay Adams. He was mentioning, you know, in the early church, there were no altar calls. There were no “raise your hand, every eye closed, every head bowed. Raise your hand if you want to be a believer.” What he points out is that after receiving the gospel message and believing on it, people were baptized. There wasn’t this long span of time.
I understand some churches have new member classes where they, you know, for a month or two or three or four or five or six will take new believers through things. And I don’t, you know, at a fundamental level, have a problem with that. I think there needs to be a recognition of Christian faith and truth. But I don’t know that that’s required by Scripture either.
The Pattern in Acts
And I think that when you survey the book of Acts, they didn’t wait. They got baptized. Believe and be baptized. And I think that while it’s good to perhaps have those classes to make sure persons know what they’re getting into, it seems to me that we want to do a lot of work on the front end to make sure that the church is kept pure. And I respect that we should want to keep the church pure. However, God’s given a tool to keep the church pure, and that’s church discipline.
So you know, if we do baptize somebody and they turn out not to be the real deal, the issue isn’t — at least as I reflect on Scripture — “Oh man, we shouldn’t have baptized him.” No, we should exercise discipline. You’ve got that case with Simon the magician in Acts chapter eight. Peter doesn’t lament, “Wow, I shouldn’t have baptized you. Your profession of faith was fake.” No, he tells him, repent, believe, be saved.
Scriptural Examples of Immediate Baptism
So when we look at the book of Acts, which is, you know, descriptive — what’s going on — but I think as well, in certain instances, prescriptive — what should go on — the response to the gospel is baptism. Well, belief, then baptism.
So in Acts 2:38, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Verse 41: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day, about 3,000 souls were added to them.”
You see it in chapter eight. I’ve already mentioned Simon the magician in Acts chapter 8, but in Acts 8:12-13, when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
You see it in Acts 8:36 with the Ethiopian eunuch. And there, there is an examination. Philip asks him, “Do you believe?” So the eunuch says, “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.
So there wasn’t this long span of time, and it wasn’t, “Hey, I got to get out my confession and make sure you’re good on the decree.” Not that Philip wouldn’t want the Ethiopian eunuch to be good on the decree and what the confession says. But the question is, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” I understand this is a variant reading, but this variant reading has ancient pedigree in church fathers very early, and I accept it as scriptural.
Baptism Is a Command
In Acts 9:18, what happens with the Apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus? “Immediately, there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and was baptized.”
The household of Cornelius in Acts 10:40-48: “Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized.
I think we sometimes gloss over that. For the person that’s waiting or contemplating — you’re not obeying a command. Peter didn’t say, “Well, if you think about it and feel like it and the mood is right.” No, it was a command. Jesus says, “Go make disciples, baptize those disciples.”
So there is a responsibility on the part of the believer to be baptized, to publicly identify with the Triune God of Holy Scripture. And incidentally, all of these texts indicate faith and baptism. It’s not paedobaptism. It’s not infant baptism. They believed and were baptized.
We could continue on — Acts chapter 16, the Philippian jailer. What happens? They baptized him. So on and on, over and over, both descriptively and prescriptively, I would argue, for the latter — the book of Acts demonstrates not a long time between a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and baptism.
So if there are listeners, there are questioners, or there are persons that are kind of on the fence — this isn’t one of those things you should be on the fence about. It’s a command by the exalted Christ, with reference to the church, with reference to those who believe the gospel. So, you know, take the plunge.
What About Family Pressure?
Wim Kerkhoff: Yeah. I think some people forget — from my experience, right, in the background — people get hung up with what is family going to think, or “I was baptized as an infant, and that’s enough.” So that has to get out of the way first.
Pastor Jim Butler: Yeah, and that’s an unfortunate reality. “What will family think? What will my co-workers think? What will the church that I grew up in think?”
Do you know, when you look at the history of the church, it cost people their lives in time past. It costs people their lives presently. So I get not wanting to unnecessarily offend a family member, but what’s the alternative — not obeying Jesus? I think that trumps not offending a family member. And if somebody’s conscience is bound by the Word of God, you know, say with Luther, “Here I stand” — or in this case, “here I jump” — and get plunged into the water.
Don’t Heap Requirements God Never Intended
Wim Kerkhoff: Cam, is there any other reasons you’ve seen that people hold back from it, even not from a paedobaptist or Catholic background?
Pastor Cam Porter: Yeah, I think the reasons are captured in what’s been discussed already. But one thing to add, going back to some of what Jim was discussing — one of man’s many problems is that man seeks to heap requirements upon things where God, if we could use the language of Jeremiah 7, “it never entered into the mind of God.”
I think very often, whether it is the party who should be baptized or whether it is the party who will be doing the baptizing — the ordained officer of the church — there are too many things that get heaped upon the requirements for baptism that should never be heaped on any pile. Whether it’s, “Hey, you need to go through a six-month membership course and understand every jot and tittle of the church’s tradition,” or “I need to feel it. I need to be in the mood. I need to go through a particular period of whatever it might be.”
The Scriptures are very gloriously simple in their presentation: believe and be baptized. To put it off is to put off a blessed sacrament, a blessed ordinance that Christ has commanded, wherein we’re declaring and demonstrating our union with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. And so what a glorious thing — not to put off, but to do according to the command of Christ, and to do soon.
Why Don’t Believers Feel Convicted About Delaying?
Pastor Jim Butler: Yeah, and it’s interesting, because typically most believers — I hope most believers, I’d like to say all believers, but I’m not quite that optimistic — just kidding. When we’re not obeying commands, if God commands us to do something — say, not commit adultery, and we’re committing adultery — we’re not obeying a command. Or God tells us positively, “You should do this,” and negatively, “Don’t do this.” Most Christians get convicted.
Most Christians, many Christians will say, “Boy, I haven’t been reading my Bible as I ought, and I know that God commands me to…” Okay, well, God commands you to be baptized as well. I don’t know why that doesn’t perplex the mind or bring conviction the way that disobedience to other commands does.
So it isn’t just a religious rite, or it’s not just a religious practice without any basis, foundation, or divine imperative. It’s from the risen Christ. This is what you do. You believe and are baptized. And I don’t understand why there’s a delay.
Joy in Obedience
I think back to when I was baptized. I was sprinkled as an infant, of course, in the Roman Catholic Church. But then when I got converted, born again, saved by God’s grace — wanted to get baptized. It was wonderful. It didn’t hurt. It wasn’t ice cold water or scalding hot water — which, either way, that’s fine, if that’s what it needs to be.
But there’s nothing in the ordinance, there’s nothing in the experience, there’s nothing that is contrary to joy, happiness, and thanksgiving. It’s a public proclamation that “I’m dead, I’m buried, I’m risen again with Christ Jesus.” And Paul uses that in Romans 6 as an argument for us to pursue holiness and righteousness — think back on your baptism.
So again, if anybody’s out there puzzled or perplexed, read Acts and see what they did when they believed the gospel.
Baptism as a Means of Grace
Wim Kerkhoff: It’s a means of grace. It’s a strengthening of faith.
Pastor Jim Butler: That’s right.
Wim Kerkhoff: I think some of these people are in doubt, like, “Am I really saved?” or just lacking assurance. But this, ironically, would actually strengthen their faith, right?
Pastor Jim Butler: Yeah, obedience to God is definitely a help in terms of confirmation. Disobedience never helps in terms of confirmation.
Further Resources
Wim Kerkhoff: Excellent. Before we go into the next question — Pastor Cam did a four-part series on baptism. It’s on SermonAudio, and we answered a lot of questions in there as well — different objections, concerns about the theology, the practice, different things. So highly recommend those. I’ll link those into the description.
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