Question:
I am a new convert. I converted about 6 months ago, but I have been always curious in God and learning about Jesus. The only problem is that I'm not baptized through the waters yet. I still know that the Holy Spirit is with me and I can carry (at least to me ) a good communion with God, hopefully even better after baptism. I just wanted to know if I could be baptized with the Holy Spirit (speak in tongues, etc) even though I'm not baptized through the waters yet.
Also, just to note, I'm not baptized yet because I'm the only convert in my family to an evangelical church. I desire that they will, in Jesus' name, convert also and that we will all be baptized together.
Thanks a lot!
Answer:
You might be convinced that Christianity is the only way to live, and I'm glad of it, but until you are baptized:
- You haven't had your past sins washed away (Acts 22:16), forgiven (Acts 2:38), or saved from your sins (Mark 16:16; I Peter 3:21).
- You haven't entered into the covenant of our Lord (Colossians 2:11-13).
- You haven't entered the kingdom of God (John 3:5) or into Christ himself (Galatians 3:27).
It is great that you want the rest of your family saved, but to put off your own salvation until they join you isn't going to help you. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). God doesn't want to hear excuses about why you think you need to delay. He wants your heart and that means your obedience.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit only occurred twice in the history of the church (Acts 2 and Acts 10). It is not something the person chose to do but what the Holy Spirit did to the person. See: Cornelius Received the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit did give gifts to the early Christians, but it wasn't always by baptism in the Holy Spirit. Most of the time, it came by the laying on of hands by the Apostles. But God said that miraculous gifts, such as speaking in other languages, was coming to and end. "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away" (I Corinthians 13:8). The gifts ended in the first century as the Apostles died. For more details see: What is it that I'm doing, if it is not speaking in tongues?