In Acts 8, the message about God’s acceptance of the entire word in Jesus Christ spreads to Samaria, the region north of Jerusalem and Judea.

The Samaritans

The Samaritans were viewed by many Jewish people as half-breeds and religious deviants. Originally, the region that was now Samaria was part of the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel, but after these northern tribes were conquered in 722 BC, the region had been resettled by Assyrians. The Israelites that remained in the region intermarried with the Assyrians.

The Samaritans were the descendants of these Israelite-Assyrian marriages, and over time, had also lost many of the Israelite beliefs and customs. For example, they only accepted the first five books of Hebrew Scriptures, but nothing else. They did not travel to Jerusalem to worship, but instead, built a rival temple on Mt. Gerazim (cf. John 4:20). For this and many other reasons, the Jewish people disdained the Samaritans, and believed that they were no better than Gentiles, fit only for the destruction and judgment of God.

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The baptism of the Jewish people on the day of Pentecost was identical in symbolism and significance to the baptism of Jewish people three years earlier as part of the ministry of John.

This is not a “Christian baptism.” It is still a Jewish baptism. Everyone who was baptized this day was Jewish, and every one of them continued to be Jewish.

They were just now trying to be more fully Jewish by turning away from the corruption that had come upon Judaism of that day, and were turning toward a Judaism which accepted and believed that the Messiah had come in Jesus Christ, and the new order of God’s Kingdom had arrived on earth.

Baptism Leads to Life Change

The fact that the people who were baptized had made such changes in their lives is indicated in the following verses, where Luke writes that the people who were baptized shared their possessions with one another, took care of those who had need, and lived joyfully with one another in gladness and simplicity (Acts 2:46-47). These are some of the post-baptismal changes they undertook.

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On the Day of Pentecost, Peter invited the Jewish people who responded to his message to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.

What does this mean, and is this how people get saved today?

What is Repentance?

Repentance (Gk. metanoia) literally means “to change the mind.”

It usually refers to changing the mind regarding your former beliefs and behaviors, and turning to a new way of believing and behaving. This change, of course, is exactly what John’s baptism represented for the Jewish people. When they came to be baptized by John in the Jordan, they were turning away from the corrupt forms of religious Judaism, and turning to a new way of living according to the loving and forgiving ways of God. In this way, repentance and baptism have nothing to do with receiving eternal life, or even receiving the forgiveness of sins. Both are just a way of turning away from the past and turning toward a new life for the future.

What is the Remission of Sins?

The term “remission” (Gk. aphesis) does not refer to “forgiveness” but is closer to “liberty” or “freedom” (cf. Luke 3:3; 4:18-19; 25:47).

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Prior to the events in the book of Acts, most Jewish people believed that God was the God of Israel only, and that if the Gentiles wanted to worship the one true God, and enjoy the benefits and blessings of being the people of God, they needed to convert to Judaism and follow the Law of Moses. Even the disciples of Jesus believed that this was God’s plan for worldwide redemption.

The Hebrew Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus, however, reveal that God is the God of all people, and that all are welcome within their own nations and their own cultures to join the universal people of God. This idea is one of the primary truths that the book of Acts attempts to reveal. God is not the God of Israel only, but is the God of the entire world.

The book of Acts reveals that the Gospel invitation is for people of every tongue, tribe, and nation to fully participate in the Kingdom of God.

This theme is presented by Jesus to the disciples during the forty days after His resurrection and before He ascends to heaven. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which would be different than the baptism of John (Acts 1:5). When they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, they would receive power to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the world (Acts 1:8).

The Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

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Baptism plays a crucial role in the story and plot development of the book of Acts. We will look at some of the critical passages in future posts, but first, we must make a few preliminary observations about the role of baptism in the book of Acts.

Baptisms in Acts

The difficulty with discussing baptism in the book of Acts is that the book refers to numerous different types of baptism. Take Acts 19:1-6 as an example. Within the span of six verses, three different types of baptism are mentioned, though in the passage, only two are called “baptism.” There is the baptism of John (19:3-4), the baptism into Jesus Christ (19:5), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (19:2, 6). This third type is not specifically called “baptism” in Acts 19, but other passages do refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit as a baptism.

So as we look at the subject of baptism in Acts, we must recall that not all references to “baptism” refer to dunking somebody under water.

Decreasing Baptism

One other curious aspect about baptism in the book of Acts is that the number and frequency of baptisms decreases as the book progresses. This decreasing emphasis on baptism continues throughout the rest of the New Testament, until at one point, Paul specifically declares that he is glad that he baptized so few people because God didn’t send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel (1 Cor 1:14-17). Paul elsewhere indicates that the real washing occurs with the water of the Word (Eph 5:26), and even Peter himself seems to disregard water baptism as having any real significance (cf. 1 Pet 3:21).

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Yesterday I suggested that Matthew 28:19-20 is not talking about water baptism at all, but is instead talking about being immersed into and fully identified with the teaching about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This is a shocking idea to some.

Baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

But let us assume then that the “traditional” reading is right, and that Jesus was teaching to the apostles  how new converts should be immersed under water as soon as possible, and that this baptism should be done in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This is an easy assumption, since this is how most baptisms are performed today. When I was baptized as a teenager, my father (who is a pastor), before he plunged me under the water, said these words: “Jeremy, based on your confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Sploosh!

When I was a pastor, this is how I baptized everybody as well. It is a common formula and most of us are familiar with it.

How the Apostles Baptized

And yet, I think that if one of the apostles were present at such a baptism, they would tilt their head quizzically and say, “I know I’ve been dead for almost 2000 years, so please forgive my ignorance… But why are you baptizing someone in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit? The Son, Jesus, I understand. He died and rose for us, and baptism represents that. But why the Father and the Holy Spirit? Neither one died or rose. Why are you baptizing in their name also?”

We would stare back at them and say, “Weren’t you there when Jesus told you to do it this way? Isn’t this how you baptized also?”

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In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus instructs His apostles to go and make disciples, and then says this: “baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Since this is the statement that immediately follows the main command to “make disciples” people assume this means that the first step in making a disciple is getting them baptized.

But now that we have learned something about the meaning of the word “baptism,” is this really what Jesus is saying? Remember, whenever we see the word “baptism” in Scripture, we must not immediately think about dunking somebody under water, but must first remember what the word means, namely, “to be immersed, overcome, or fully identified with” something or somebody else. Then with this definition in mind, we must read the verse again.

In the case of Matthew 28:19-20, we end up with this:

Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them and fully identifying them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you…

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