There is a fifth reason I want to identify in this continuation of last week’s article. That reason is that the rest of Jesus’ New Testament after the gospels shows us that His apostles carefully and specifically followed the pattern of work He laid out for them.

In Acts chapter two we see Peter preaching Jesus to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. He tells them how Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected and that upon His resurrection, God the Father made Him Lord and Christ, 2:22-36. Luke records that Peter’s words pierced many to the heart who were then provoked to ask, “Brethren, what shall we do?” , 2:37.

Since they had come to believe what the apostle said about Jesus, we can deduce that they then had the right to become children of God as per John 1:12 as formerly mentioned. That they would not actually become children of God until they were born again by water and the Spirit of God is evident from Peter’s response, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” , 2:38. We are then told three verses later (2:41) that those who gladly received the word were baptized.

Thus, Jesus’ pattern of faith in Him as God’s Son and the new birth by water and God’s Spirit, was both preached and practiced being recorded here in Acts chapter two. The pat-tern, however, does not end here, but continues throughout the rest of Acts.

See Acts 8:12... “But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike” . We are specifically told again in 8:13 that a man named Simon believed and was baptized.

Farther down in the chapter we read of the Ethiopian Eunuch as he was taught by Philip from the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. The Eunuch, having come to faith in Jesus and seeing water along the way they were traveling, asked, “What prevents me from being baptized?”, 8:36. Luke here tells us that they stopped the chariot and went down into the water where Philip baptized him, 8:38. Once again, Jesus was preached and the one who heard and believed was then baptized.

Chapters nine and twenty-two tell of the conversion of Saul the persecutor of the church, who would later become Paul the apostle. He testifies as well that upon being taught of Jesus, having encountered Him on the road to Damascus, he was baptized to wash away his sin, 9:18 & 22:16.

Likewise, the first Gentiles to enter the kingdom were taught of Jesus and then baptized when they believed in Him, Acts 10:1-48. Peter again presided over this occasion asking, “Who can forbid water for these to be baptized?” (10:47) implying with his question that baptism was the entry point into the kingdom of God, just as His Lord had taught in John 3:1-5.

Read for yourself other accounts such as Acts 16:14-15, 27-34, 18:7-8 & 19:1-5 to see that Jesus’ pattern for salvation was clearly taught and practiced by His apostles. What pattern will you follow?