Acts 8v36

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

This verse is in the same chapter as the previous verses regarding the salvation of the Samaritans. While Philip had been in Samaria, the angel of the Lord had spoken to him (Acts 8v26), leading him to join the eunuch, the treasurer to the Queen of Ethiopia.

As they journeyed, Philip had preached Jesus to him, starting from the book of Isaiah, as seen in the verse prior to this one. This preaching had lead to the point where we find that the eunuch had requested baptism. No doubt Philip’s message had not changed from earlier in the chapter, where the Samaritans had been baptised in the name of Jesus, and then received the Holy Spirit. The difference this time was that Philip now had the confidence in God to lay hands on the eunuch himself, rather than wait for Apostles to come so that he would receive the Holy Spirit.

Philip’s response to the question posed by this verse was “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest” (Acts 8v37), to which the response was “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” in the same verse. Clearly Philip saw that belief was very important in the process of salvation. This wasn’t a belief in something merely natural, for instance that a certain man existed, but a complete belief in something supernatural. In other words, the belief had to be in the things that God has done for us through the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus, and the things that this has won for us in the supernatural – such as forgiveness of sins, receiving of the Holy Spirit, and all of the other blessings that flow from this.

We can also see that Philip would be reluctant to baptise without such a belief – clearly he saw that belief is a major factor in making baptism of any use at all. The eunuch’s belief included that Jesus was the Messiah – Saviour – of the world, and the Son of God. His belief extended to the point where he knew that he could rely on baptism in the name of Jesus to bring him remission of his sins, and also rely on the Holy Spirit to lead him through the rest of his life.