Lesson 386

(Lesson 386)(09-04-12) Acts 16:12-15, "And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."

For those who believe water baptism is required to achieve salvation, close attention should be paid to what is said here. Lydia, a woman who was by the river when the disciples came to pray, overheard them and was called by the Holy Spirit to hear Paul's message, and subsequently obeyed his teaching.

Lydia,"whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."

This passage very clearly demonstrates that Lydia had already done what was required of her by Paul before she, and her family, were baptized in water.~