《聖經》里有一個人名叫保羅。保羅成為基督徒以前，他逼迫基督徒。但是，當保羅發現耶穌基督已經從墳墓里復活了，在他面對這個他不可否認的事實的時候，他不但改變了他的想法和行為，並且立刻奉耶穌的名受洗，洗去他的罪。
保羅成為基督徒不說，他自己還往外傳講耶穌的真理。保羅決定接受他原先所逼迫的信仰成為基督徒的時候，有一位名叫亞拿尼亞的基督徒向他說：“現在你為什麼要耽延呢？起來！求告耶穌的名受洗，洗去你的罪”（使徒行傳22:16）。
從這句話里我們得知，叫自己的罪得到神的赦免，受洗洗去自己生命的所有罪惡，成為基督徒（神的兒子），領受神所賜的聖靈，是一件“刻不容緩”的決定；受洗是一件“勢在必行”的事。我為什麼這樣說呢？
保羅醒悟過來了，發現他所逼迫的耶穌真的是神的兒子，耶穌真的從死里復活了。保羅領悟了他過去所逼迫的基督教的確是真理，是屬神的，是對的，他馬上就明白了他所走的道路是錯的。
保羅當機立斷地下了決定回頭，轉向他原先所逼迫的基督教。所以亞拿尼亞告訴保羅說，“現在你為什麼要耽延呢？起來！求告他[耶穌]的名受洗，洗去你的罪”的時候，保羅刻不容緩的接受了洗禮。
有些決定我們可以“慢慢地做決定”；有些事情我們可以“慢慢地去辦。”但是也有一些事情是“刻不容緩”的。受洗就是這種事情。
你我領悟的那一刻，也就是我們明白耶穌基督是神的兒子，領會耶穌為我們捨命復活，承認我們身上有罪，請求上帝赦免我們的罪，讓我們成為基督徒的那一刻，就應該“勢在必行”的受洗。亞拿尼亞所告訴保羅的話，也是上帝給我們的邀請：“現在你為什麼要耽延呢？起來！求告他的名受洗，洗去你的罪。”
【洗禮】十一：刻不容緩
“Baptism” 11: Delay Not Allowed!
作者：謝德華 ©By Edward Short
Delay Not Allowed!
Acts 22:16
In my study of Chinese, I have found that there are some four-character phrases that emphasize how quickly something should be done, and show how delay is not appropriate. “Ke bu rong huan” (the Chinese title of this article) for example, means that not a moment of delay is allowed; “shi zai bi xing” means that a situation is such that one must act. Unfortunately, my wife and my friends know me too well and know that sometimes I “chi yi bu jue,” that I hesitate to make decisions. I think everyone admires someone who “dang ji li duan,” who makes a decision quickly as the situation demands, but we don’t appreciate the person who “dang duan bu duan,” who fails to make a decision when one is necessary.
In the Bible, there’s a person named Paul who persecuted the disciples of Jesus. Later, however, Paul realized that Jesus Christ had indeed been resurrected back to life, and once he faced this fact, he changed his life. Not only did Paul become a Christian himself, he even traveled to far away places and told others about the gospel of Jesus. Once Paul decided to accept the faith he once persecuted, a Christian named Ananias told him, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).
From this statement we learn that becoming a Christian is the kind of matter where “not a moment of delay is allowed;” when confronting the decision to be baptized, the “situation is such that one must act.”
Why is this the case?
Paul came to his senses and realized that this Jesus whom he had been persecuting really was the Son of God, and that Jesus really had been raised from death! When Paul realized that the Christianity he had persecuted was God’s truth, he quickly saw that the road he’d been walking was wrong. Paul made the “decision quickly as the situation demanded,” and determined to change direction and to become a Christian. Consequently, as soon as Ananias told Paul, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name,” Paul received baptism “without a moment’s delay.”
Not all decisions require immediate attention, and there are some actions we can put off. There are other decisions, however, that should be made “without a moment’s delay.” Baptism is one such decision. Whether you or I or anyone else, as soon as we awaken to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, understand that Jesus gave his life for us and was resurrected, confess that we are sinful people and want to ask God to forgive our sins and allow us to become Christians, we should realize the “importance of the situation and act accordingly”—we should be baptized. The very words that Ananias told Paul are also God’s invitation to us today: “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”