The Bible embraces the beauty of new things.
And Jesus makes possible the greatest of new things: new birth, new Jerusalem, new life, new covenant, new testament, new heavens and new earth, et al. With every trip around the sun, inhabitants of the earth rejoice in a new year.
Thanks be to God for the order of His design and the organization of time (cf. Genesis 1:14–15). New days, weeks, months, and years are great benchmarks for the accomplishing of goals, reviewing accomplishments, endeavoring for growth, and changing where changes are needed.
However, do we only wait until a new day, new week, or new year to begin something or change something? What if the beginning of something or changing of something demands urgency? Don’t wait until a time that is new. The time is now. A few such urgent circumstances are revealed to us in Scripture. The first we will consider is the need for conversion.
In Acts 16, we read of Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveling to and working in Philippi. It was there that they would meet Lydia, whose whole household was converted to Christ and whose house would become their base while they continued their efforts in that region (Acts 16:13–15). When the work of the gospel interfered with the ill-gotten gains of locals, Paul and Silas were imprisoned (Acts 16:16–24). An act of God led to the prisoners being loosed and the jailor ready to take his own life (Acts 16:25–27). Being assured by Paul that none of the prisoners had escaped, the jailor inquired: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:28–31).
Many in the religious world stop reading and teaching at this point; however, the gospel had not even been preached. If we continue reading, what do we find?
“And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:32–34).
We find three important details often contradicted:
(1) Baptism is part of believing in Jesus.
(2) Baptism is an urgent need, not a scheduled event for some special day or later time.
(3) Salvation and rejoicing do not precede baptism.
Do you have an urgent need?
Clifton Angel preaches for the Coldwater church of Christ in Coldwater, MS. For free Bible Correspondence Courses and In-Person Bible Studies, Emailus@coldwatercofc.com, or call us at 662-622-7951
