Baptism

Paul (formerly known as Saul) recounts the story of his conversion three times in the book of Acts in chapters 9, 22 & 26. In the first two accounts the Bible associates the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the removal of sins with baptism.

17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; (Acts 9:17-18 ESV)

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ (Acts 22:12-16 ESV)

The Bible teaches that we transition from lost to saved when the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. 

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Rom. 8:6-9 NIV)

Although he doesn’t use the phrase “born again,” Paul describes the process of rebirth when says that we are “buried with Him in baptism.” We know that being born again is somehow related to the work of the Holy Spirit, but what is the Spirit doing during a person’s conversion? 

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Rom. 6:1-7 ESV)

Is Paul paralleling our conversion to that of a proselyte conversion? That is certainly possible. In embracing Judaism, the proselyte dies to his pagan ways and undergoes circumcision and immersion. The community considers him to be born again and is in every way a Jew.

What does the Holy Spirit do in our conversion? Perhaps the best place to begin answering this question is in John 3:5 when Jesus said, “You must be born again.” If we are to understand any New Testament text, we must know how a first century Jew would have understood it. In this passage, Jesus (who was a Jew) was talking with Nicodemus (a Jewish rabbi). 

Knowing that the phrase “born again” might refer to a conversion to Judaism gives insight into the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus wondered, “How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (John 3:4).  From his Jewish perspective, Nicodemus essentially asked, “How can I convert to Judaism if I am already a Jew?” Jesus answered, “A man must be born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). He was explaining to Nicodemus that he could not rely on his family tree to enter the kingdom of heaven.