<TITLE>05. Par -</TITLE>L-64-33 See, I think that baptism... Oh, I do say it's essential; I wouldn't want to say it isn't essential. But it is essential because it's... Every commandment of God is essential. Don't you think so? It's essential that we must be baptized. Jesus give this statement in St. Matthew, or St. Mark 16; He said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." And when He was talking to Nicodemus, He said, "Except a man be born of water and Spirit he will in no wise enter the Kingdom." It must be baptized. I believe in immersing, in the baptism, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be raised again in newness of life, to walk after the commandments of God.
But you say, "Brother Bill, did you ever baptize anybody over, who'd been baptized when they was a little fellow and then be rebaptized?" Many times.
So there--there's a Scripture over in Revelations the 2nd chapter, speaking to the church, He said, "Repent and do your first works over again." And many of them interpret that Scripture to say this, that that means you'd have to go right back and do the same thing over. Well, if you'll notice, dear Christian friend...

L-64-36 Now, I'm not disagreeing with this now (See?), 'cause we've got the baptistery filled up. We're ready to baptize anybody that wants to be baptized at any time. But we're not disagreeing. If you want to be baptized, if that's something that's standing in your way and you feel like you should be, you go do it. That's right. You go do it. Don't let nothing stand in your way; you make yourself perfectly clear.
Just like if--if you'd taken something years ago, and you feel like you should go make that right, you go make it right. No matter what it is. You keep everything clear. 'Cause you'll come up to that thing, and you can't go any farther till you get that out of the way. You see? You've just got to lay aside every weight and the thing that so easily besets you.

L-65-38 And if you want to be baptized again, go ahead, that's the thing to do. I've baptized many over.
But now to that Scripture that you're referring to, that wasn't talking to an individual; that was to the church. See, the church, what they had done, they had lost their first love (See?), the real cream that they had in the beginning. And he said, "Lest you repent and do this first works over again," start right back and get the thing. He's talking to the church, "Unless you repent and go back again," well, then, He was going to move the candlestick.

L-65-40 But if you want to be baptized, and if you was baptized when you was thirteen, or whatever age, why, you--you be baptized if it's in your way.
But now to say that Scripturally I could say that you should be baptized again, there's only one Scriptural way that I could--could announce that people was rebaptized. There's only one Scripture in the entire Bible that people was rebaptized, and that was those who was baptized by John the Baptist before the Holy Ghost came. Paul, in Acts 19:5, told them that they had to be rebaptized again in the Name of Jesus Christ in order to receive the Holy Ghost. See?


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