Acts 8:35-38 says, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 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? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”
This is a fantastic evangelical passage where we see Philip preaching about Jesus Christ (35), the eunuch believing in and accepting the divinity of Christ (37), and the following baptism (38).
The importance of verse 37 cannot be overemphasized. It is vital to our salvation. Paul essentially repeated this concept in Romans 10:9-13.
Unfortunately, many of the “modern” translations remove verse 37, thereby removing salvation from the eunuch (grab yourself a King James Version as soon as possible).
Without the belief and acknowledgement that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, merely repeating words from “the sinner’s prayer” or getting baptized is not going to lead anyone to salvation.
During these trying times, we should be witnessing as often as possible. We should be confident in our knowledge of the Gospel so that we might share the “good news” to the lost regardless of the perceived social cost. Fear and Faith cannot co-exist, and we, as Faithful believers in Christ, should stand strong like boulders in a raging river offering safety to those caught in the rapids.
So have Faith, because Jesus is LORD, and he gives us strength (Philippians 4:13) to go into all the world and preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15).
Simmons' Opinions 