Answer: 1) When the crowds heard Philip and saw
the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what
he said, (verse 6); and 2) when they believed Philip as he preached
the Good News of the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized, both men and women, (verse 12).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
The fact that the people in this Samarian city "paid
close attention to what he [Philip] said" is very emphatic in
the Greek. The Greek tense shows that these people KEPT ON
giving heed to, giving attention to, Philip's
preaching. They kept on "holding the mind on" the
message, the Good News of the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus
Christ, that Philip preached.
There are just two responses to be made as the result of
hearing/studying the preaching/teaching of the Good News of the
kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ. Christ Himself
said that, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark
16:16). If one truly believes the message of Truth,
the Good News, he will do what the Lord commands and submit to
immersion. The unbelieving stand condemned already:
John 3:16-18: [Jesus said,] "For
God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal
life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever
believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of
God's One and Only Son."
1 John 5:6-13: "This is the One Who
came by water and blood--Jesus Christ. He did not come by
water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit Who
testifies, because the Spirit is the Truth. For there are
three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and
the three are in agreement. We accept man's testimony, but
God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God,
which He has given about His Son. Anyone who believes in the
Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not
believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not
believed the testimony God has given about His Son. And this
is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have
the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to
you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may know
that you have eternal life."
