Russell Brand has defended himself against criticism for performing a baptism in only his underwear.

In a social media post on September 27, the 48-year-old actor and comedian shared a photo of himself and another man performing a baptism in an outdoor location wearing only their underpants.

He captioned the photo: "It might seem a bit soon to be baptising people, but the Apostles did it on day one, so here we are."

The post drew a mix of supportive comments and criticism. 

One of the more critical posts said: "Moved by your faith, but bro maybe more modest."

Brand addressed the comment in a follow-up post a few days later in which he conceded he may not appear so modest but said that if it comes across like he is showing off, then he is showing off for the Lord.

"I suppose lookin' at it now, it does look a bit immodest, me doin' a baptism in underpants like that. But the truth is, I took off my clothes and my underpants is all I'm wearing underneath my clothes ... it wasn't a planned photo shoot."

He went on, "Anyway, some people thought it was a little immodest and me showing off, judging from the comments. "You know, I read the comments below. But what I'd say is this — and I'm a little bit of a show-off — the Lord made me a little bit of a show-off, but it is for Him that I am showing off now, not for me."

Brand read Philippians 1:15-18, in which Paul says that everything is for the glory of Christ, and linked to the passage with the caption, "Are these tighty-whities satanic?!?"

He said that as someone who has come out of the entertainment industry, he found the passage "beautiful".

"I'm so grateful I've been saved, chosen, that He has found me," he said. 

"But I've still got the attributes of a showoff. I suppose if I didn't have [them], I wouldn't even post a thing like that. But the reason I'm in them underpants, cause them's my underpants, and the reason I'm doing that baptism — because I love Jesus. Praise Jesus Christ! [sic]"

He concluded by saying, "As long as we are directing people to our Lord and Saviour, how can we fail?"

Brand was baptised by TV adventurer Bear Grylls and a friend in the River Thames in England in April. He regularly shares videos about his thoughts on Christianity and the Bible.

Recently, he posted photos of himself visiting the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, where he said "it felt as if I was partaking in a visceral encounter with God".

Earlier in September, during an event with Tucker Carlson in Phoenix, Arizona, Brand knelt on stage and prayed against what he called the "dark and demonic forces" in government and corporate America.

"I call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our heavenly Saviour," Brand prayed. "Lord, I humbly [ask] in this great congregation in Phoenix, Arizona, with my host, Tucker Carlson, in deference to him, but in ultimate deference to you, our Lord and Saviour, to whom we are all your younger siblings and your children."

Brand is facing multiple serious allegations of sexual misconduct. He has denied these "very serious criminal allegations" and said that while he was "very, very promiscuous" in the past, his sexual encounters were "always consensual".