Question 7
The Correct Answer Is: TRUE
Acts 8:38: "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."
The English word 'baptism' really isn't an English translated word at all. It is transliterated from the Greek, meaning that instead of translating the Greek word's meaning into English, the Greek word was slightly changed and made an English word. That means in order to understand what the word baptism means, we need to know what the Greek word meant when written in the 1st century, the time period the scriptures were written in. The Greek word is 'baptizo' which means to immerse. So sprinkling or pouring is not baptism, it's simply getting wet. And from the context of Acts 8:38, knowing that baptism means immersion in water, helps explains the actions of Philip and the eunuch. If sprinkling or pouring were acceptable methods of baptism, why then would these two men go down into the water. Why not simply stand on the shore, and have Philip pour a little water on the eunuch's head? The answer is of course, because baptism is immersion in water. Sprinkling and pouring for baptism is a man-made invention and a perversion of the scriptures. We must therefore abandon it, if we are to obey God.