1. “He who believes and is baptized” (Mark 16:16).
Who can be baptized? Who is qualified to be baptized? Only a person who believes is qualified. This is because the Lord said, “He who believes and is baptized.” This is a principle that does not and cannot change. Those who have not believed are absolutely not qualified to be baptized; only those who believe can be baptized. This believing must be a receiving of the Lord from the heart and must be a believing into the Lord—a receiving of the Lord into our being, allowing Him to enter into us and be mingled with us, and an entering into the Lord to be joined with Him, as we saw in chapter 5. This is not a mere mental belief in doctrines or an act of the will to enter a religion. A person who merely believes a doctrine or enters a religion does not believe in the Lord and does not contact the Lord, receive the Lord, enter into the Lord, or have a direct relationship with the Lord; therefore, he does not have the true and proper faith spoken of in the Bible. Faith in the Bible means to receive the Lord from one’s heart, to use one’s spirit to contact the Lord Himself, to enter into the Lord, to be joined to Him, and to enter into a life relationship with Him; it is not merely understanding some doctrines. Many understand gospel doctrines and many have received these doctrines, but they have not touched the Lord in their spirit to receive Him, so they cannot be considered as having believed in the Lord; thus, they are not qualified to be baptized. In contrast, some do not understand many doctrines, but they have prayed to the Lord from their heart and spirit and have received the Lord as their Savior. They have truly believed and can be baptized.
An infant, who does not even know the difference between his right and left hand, does not have the capacity to believe and is not qualified to be baptized. According to the principle of “believes and is baptized,” infant baptism is absolutely not allowed. It is very much against the Bible.
2. “When they believed...the gospel...and of the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized” (Acts 8:12).
In Samaria the ones who were baptized first believed the gospel and the name of the Lord Jesus. They did not only believe the gospel but also the name of the Lord. The gospel says that the Lord died for our sins, was buried, and rose on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4); that they believed the gospel means they believed that the Lord died for them and was buried and rose again. The name of the Lord speaks of His person and represents the Lord Himself. That they believed in the name of the Lord means they believed in the Lord Himself and received the Lord Himself (John 1:12). Since they believed in this way, they could be baptized, and they were.
3. “What prevents me from being baptized? And Philip said, If you believe from all your heart, you will be saved. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:36-37).
The conversation between the evangelist Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch shows that if a person believes from all his heart, nothing should prevent him from being baptized. However, we must note that it says, “Believe from all your heart.” It does not tell us to believe with the mind or with the brain but from all the heart. This means our entire heart must believe; we cannot believe half-heartedly or with doubts. We must believe from all our heart before being baptized.
This shows the object of our faith. What do we believe? We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. A person must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in order to receive life in His name (John 20:31). Therefore, one must believe this from all his heart before he can be baptized. As soon as he believes in this way, he can be baptized; he does not need to wait until he understands many doctrines or wait for anything else.
4. “They heard, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8).
This word refers to the early Corinthians. They believed and were baptized. They had to believe before being baptized, but once they believed they could be baptized. We cannot be anything less than a believer, and we need not be anything more.
Note: First Corinthians 15:29 speaks of being “baptized for the dead.” This is not God’s ordination but a practice that some of the Corinthian believers made up. In this verse the apostle Paul based an argument upon this practice with those among the Corinthians who did not believe in the resurrection but who were practicing being baptized for the dead. He pointed out that their beliefs and actions were contradictory since they did not believe in resurrection but were practicing being baptized for the dead. God calls for only believing, living people to be baptized; He never asks someone to be baptized for a believer who died without being baptized. The saved criminal on the cross is an example of a believer who died without being baptized; his case is an example and proof of this point.