Acts 8:37

“And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest, etc.] Intimating, that if he did not believe, he had no right to that ordinance; though he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, a serious and devout man, and was employed in a religious way, when Philip came up to him, and was very desirous of being instructed in the knowledge of divine things; and yet notwithstanding all this, he had no right to the ordinance of baptism, unless he had faith in Christ, and made a profession of it; nor would Philip administer it to him without it; from whence it appears, that faith in Christ, and a profession of it, are necessary prerequisites to baptism: and this faith should not be a…”

“And Philip said ... - This was stated by Philip as the proper qualification for making a profession of religion. The terms are: “Faith,” that is, a reception of Jesus as a Saviour; yielding the mind to the proper influences of the truths of redemption. See the notes on Mark 16:16. (2)There is required not merely the assent of the understanding, but a surrender of the “heart, the will, the affections,” to the truth of the gospel. As these were the proper qualifications then, so they are now. Nothing less is required; and nothing but this can constitute a proper qualification for the Lord’s Supper. I believe ... - This profession is more than a professed belief that Jesus was “the Messiah.”…”

“If: Act 8:12, Act 8:13, Act 8:21, Act 2:38, Act 2:39; Mat 28:19; Mar 16:16; Rom 10:10 he answered: Pe1 3:21 I believe: Act 9:20; Mat 16:16; Joh 6:68, Joh 6:69, Joh 9:35-38, Joh 11:27, Joh 20:31; Co1 12:3; Jo1 4:15, Jo1 5:1, Jo1 5:5, Jo1 5:10-13 Acts 8:38”