Acts 8:12
Philip proclaims Christ in Samaria. The crowds pay attention to Philip’s preaching and to the (miraculous) signs which he performs. The people proclaimed that “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” Probably the first big revival since Jesus visited in John 4 occurs as the people (1) believed the good news about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (2) and were baptized. Even a certain sorcerer by the name of Simon believed and was baptized. Word reached Jerusalem about their reception of the Word of God and Peter and John came up to pray for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit for He had not fallen upon them. The text specifically stating that “they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16). They began to receive the Holy Spirit via the laying on of the apostle’s hands. Simon, wanting the Holy Spirit tried to pay cash and he was called on as being in the bondage of iniquity. Was he saved? Don’t know…Luke doesn’t give us more details but the words are pretty condemning. Where was regeneration in this scenario? Was it at the baptismal waters? Was it on the laying on of hands? Were they already regenerated and now receiving the Holy Spirit in power? When were the people saved?

Acts 9:18 and Acts 22:16
Young Saul, an up and coming Pharisee is found zealously persecuting the Christians. At one point even holding the coats of murderers. With some highly charged letters in hand and the power to start arresting the Christians within his grasp, he is met by the resurrected Lord. After revealing to Saul that he was actually persecuting God, Jesus Christ sends him to continue to Damascus to meet a certain Ananias. Instead of going to the synagogue he goes to Ananias who tells him of God’s plan for his life as well as a message of the filling of the Holy Spirit plus the return of sight(Acts 9:17). The message also consisted of a command which was to “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” (Acts 22:16) After regaining his sight he got up and was baptized. When was the Holy Spirit received? When he regained sight or after his baptism by water? What did Ananias mean by “wash away your sins” in conjunction with “be baptized” or are they two separate thoughts? And could Paul actually wash away the sin of persecuting the risen Lord? Was that even his call?

Acts 10:47
I spoke about this peripherally in my other articles. Basically, after a series of miraculous visions, Peter winds up preaching the gospel starting first with “the man who fears [God] and does what is right is welcome to Him”(Acts 10:34) and climaxing with Jesus of whom the prophets testified “that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43). The Holy Spirit decides to prove the point as Peter is still speaking and falls upon those who are listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who are with Peter are amazed at what is going on. Peter, realizing how these Gentiles were speaking in tongues and exalting God and remembering the word of the Lord (who said “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” Acts 11:16) requests some water to baptize them in the name of Jesus Christ. He readily acknowledges that He could not stand in the way of God but specifies that this Spirit was given to them after believing in Jesus Christ (Acts 11:17). When did regeneration happen? After they were baptized? After they believed? Or is this different from regeneration? Why did Peter’s message to these Gentiles only consist of “Believe in Him” with the result of receiving the forgiveness of sins? Why did the message not consist of the same words as in Acts 2 or Acts 22: Repent, Believe and be Baptized?

Acts 16:15
A woman named Lydia, very well off and several hundred miles from her home town is marked out as being a worshipper of God. On a certain Sabbath, where the women gathered to pray by the riverside, Paul and company preached the gospel. The Lord opened her heart to respond says the text. Subsequently she and her household were baptized. No mention of the Holy Spirit but we do see the Lord opening her heart to respond although she was already a “worshipper of God”. What does this mean? What did the baptism mean? It says her household…does this mean her children or babies? Would a business woman travel several hundred miles with babies in tow?

Acts 18:18
Staying at the house of a certain Titius Justus, a worshipper of God who lived next door to the temple, Paul had the opportunity to preach in and around the synagogue area. The leader of that synagogue, Crispus, believed in the Lord with his entire household.

Indeed many of the Corinthians “when they heard were believing and being baptized”. Paul settled there for a year and six months, teaching to word of God among them. When did these people get baptized? The text says that it was as “they heard and were believing”...but according to Peter’s words earlier they would have received forgiveness of sins without the water. And why is there no mention of repentance? Indeed, the earlier part of the chapter shows us very unrepentant people Acts 18:5-6.

Acts 19:2-5
When Paul arrives at Ephesus he found some disciples who had not received the Holy Spirit. Paul asks them into what where they baptized to which they responded the baptism of John. Paul points out to them that John’s baptism was of repentance but John’s message was to believe in Him who was coming after Him…Jesus. Hearing this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and when Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came on them and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. Initially we would say that the right baptism was necessary for their receiving of the Holy Spirit but we could easily argue that Paul’s laying on of hands was necessary. Also we would have to come up to Paul’s initial question which had nothing to do with water, namely “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” To this they answered that they had not even heard whether there was a Holy Spirit clueing in Paul in the deeper issue at stake. These believers were repentant and baptized yet they did not have the Holy Spirit? Why? What was missing in their situation? Why was the gospel spoken to them a redirection away from John and onto the One of which John spoke?

General questions: why don’t we see Jesus’ formula of “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”? why do we only see baptisms “in the name of Jesus”? How do we reconcile those two things? Why do the Jews in Acts 2 receive a message of “Repent, Believe and Be Baptized” while whenever we see Gentiles the message consists of “Believe”? Why does the Spirit decide to enter without water or with water or by “laying on of hands”? What message is being proclaimed by these scenarios? Some of these questions may not have answers…but the point is to diagnose the text and see how they react to those questions.

-r-