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SERMON
by
BISHOP SHELTON RAPHA CHABASH LUKE
We greet you in the name of Jesus Christ and once again, to the precious people of God, we say Peace be unto you and praise the Lord.
Truly once again, it is an honor and a privilege to come before you one more time to tell you what thus saith the word of the Lord. We want to let you know that you must repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and tarry until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance, and we want to let you know that without water and without Spirit, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Today, we are here to let you know that there is but "One Lord, one faith and one baptism." [Ephesians 4:5] The name of the "One Lord" is Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us, " ... they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine ..." [Acts 2:42]. We take the name of The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, because that is taking the name of the doctrine that was preached at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Therefore, there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism. The "one baptism" is the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
We are here to let you know that all things must be done decently and in order: that God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Knowing that, if you keep the whole law and yet you offend in one point, you are guilty of breaking the whole law. This means that if you think you are worshipping the Lord and it is contrary to His word, it is the one thing you are doing that is not in accordance with the doctrine. It is not in accordance with godliness, and you have offended in one point. Therefore, you are guilty of the whole law. No matter what you do, if you do one thing wrong, you will not get any credit.
If you are out there and you have been baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," you will not get any credit with Jesus Christ. So many times today, individuals do not seem to understand when you talk about the water baptism. The Bible says, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Let God be true, but every man a liar. The Bible says, "one baptism." Now, today many say, "water baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." But, what is the name of the Father? What is the name of the Son? What is the name of the Holy Ghost? Peter and the rest of the apostles, on the day of Pentecost, they obeyed the Scripture, Matthew 28:19, by baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore, one Lord, one faith and one baptism.
Today, we want to tell you about that one Lord, one faith and one baptism. We want to let you know that except you obey every word of Jesus Christ, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. God is a God that cannot lie. He will not lie. He swears to His own hurt, but He changeth not. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away.
Always, we want to honor the Lord, to praise the Lord, to thank Him; to glorify Him; and to magnify Him because, we know that there is no other God other than He, and that His name is Jesus Christ. He is still on the throne. Today, many people speak about love. They even preach about "love." They say, "Oh, we have a lot of love." The Bible says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." [John 14:15] Therefore, if you love Jesus Christ, you will keep His commandments. You will repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Without any delay today, we would like to tell you about the "One Lord, one faith, and one baptism." Let God be true, but every man a liar. Today, so many people believe so many things. They believe in, "accepting Christ as their personal Saviour," but they do not have any Bible for that. They believe in "sprinkling," but they don't have any Bible for that. They believe in making the "Hour of Decision," but they do not have any Bible for that. There are so many things they believe that are contrary to the words of Jesus Christ. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." [James 2:10] So, what must you do? You must obey the words of the Lord. How is it today, that there are so many faiths--people believe so many things. But what does the Bible say? "One Lord, one faith, one baptism."
Why is it that some believe in water baptism in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost and we, here in The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ--we believe in water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins. The reason we believe in water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is because we are following the precepts and practices of the holy apostles. Jesus Christ died on the cross and came back on the third day. He went to the apostles whom He had chosen and opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. He led them out as far as to Bethany, He then ascended back to heaven. When He went back to heaven, His apostles went forth from that day, preaching water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Their understanding was opened that they might understand the Scriptures. So, you have to let God be true, but every man a liar.
EPHESIANS 4:5
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
That is what it is all about. It is only one Lord. There are not two gods. There are not three gods, or more gods than that. There is not more than one faith. There is only one faith. There may be many faiths that exist today, but God said, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." What faith do we find in the Holy Scriptures? "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine ..." [Acts 2:42] That is the faith that they continued stedfastly in -- the Apostles' doctrine. Let God be true, but every man a liar.
Today, some may kick and some may holler. They do not want to hear it. "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" [Romans 3:3] Why is it that people cannot understand the baptism? The Bible says that it is one baptism. Some are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost--and there is no Bible for that. They like to read Matthew 28:19, not understanding the significance of the Scripture. The Bible says, "in the name" -- not "in the names" --in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Ghost. That is what Peter and the rest of the apostles did on the day of Pentecost. They gave the name. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ ..." [Acts 2:38] They gave the name of the baptism: One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
We must obey every word of the Lord. They say today they are worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth. That is what they say. They say, "I love the Lord. I believe God." But the Scripture says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." [John 14:15] They are not keeping the commandments of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. But, they say many, many things, that are contrary to the words of Jesus Christ. You hear them today say that if you would just confess Christ with your mouth and believe in your heart, you shall be saved. But, what did Jesus say? He said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned." [Mark 16:16] Therefore, if you do not get baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, you are going to be damned. You do not have to worry about it.
Every eye is going to see the Lord. Today, some people say that God has already come. They say that He has come and gone. The Bible says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, ..." [Revelation 1:7] When God comes, everybody is going to see the Lord. What we are telling you today is Bible-right, and it is Bible-sound. It is sound doctrine that cannot be condemned. We can condemn every one else that preaches contrary to the word of God, but, they cannot condemn what we say, because we are preaching the Apostles' doctrine. This is the one faith that God, Himself, taught His apostles.
Once again, Ephesians 4:5 states: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." What does the sixth verse say? "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." How many gods? One God! "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." [Romans 15:4] This was written so that we would know how many gods there are. ONE GOD! How many lords are there? ONE LORD! How many faiths? ONE FAITH!
Some might say, "Well, I belong to the Baptist church, or Lutheran church, or Methodist church, or Episcopal church, or any variation of churches out there." Well, indeed, you may belong to that. But, what does the Scripture say? ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM.
Look in your Bible and see where anyone ever continued stedfastly in the Baptist faith; in the Lutheran faith; in the Episcopal faith; in the Methodist faith, in any other faith other than they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine.
What is our point today? The point is that you always must let God be true, but every man a liar. Today, so many people want to believe so many things. They say that they are worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in truth. That is what they say, but, they do not mean that. They do not mean that at all. How can they believe what Jesus wants if they are going to fight against it. Why? Because, His words are true. One Lord. How many faiths? One Faith. How many baptisms? One Baptism. There is only one baptism and that baptism is the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Everyone's words will not work--only God's words will work. God is the only One that created heaven and earth. He is the only true God.
Today, many people try to worship the Lord the way they think they should. What do they do? They add a little bit here and a little bit there; and a little more here and a little more there. The next thing you know, it is different. It is not the same. It is like anything you do. When you start cooking, you might have a recipe that works for you; then someone adds a little of this and a little of that--and if they add too much, the next thing you know, you will not recognize the dish. You may have even created the dish. But, the dish has been so badly tampered with, you would not recognize it.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." [Proverbs 14:12; 16:25] If you want to know what is right, you had better believe what the Bible says. Anything contrary to what the Bible says is damnable doctrine. When you start dealing with damnable doctrine, you cannot worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. If you know that, for example, there are six people outside waiting to talk to you. Someone asks you, "How many people are out there to speak with you?" In your heart, you know that there are six, but you reply, "Well, there are seven, or two." Then, you have not told the truth. You did something that was not in accordance with the word of God. You told what is called, a "lie."
This is what the religious world has done to Jesus Christ. They have told lies on God Almighty, Himself. The Scripture tells us how to be baptized. If you believe in being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, how is it that you can find no reference for that? The Word of God--the Scripture cannot be broken. One Scripture cannot condemn another. If you read one Scripture and you read another Scripture, and your interpretation of those two Scriptures is a contradiction--you do not have the right interpretation of those Scriptures. God is a God that cannot lie. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His word shall never pass away.
If you read about water baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" in Matthew 28:19 and then you go to Acts 2:38, and you read "water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ"--if you cannot ascertain that the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is Jesus Christ, you have the wrong interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. This is what it is all about. Constantly changing the words of Jesus Christ; trying to make a way for man to do what he wants to do. What have they done? When you add a little here and a little there, that is not the commandment of Jesus Christ. That is the commandment of men; and by the commandment of men, they have made God's words of none effect.
Jesus told His disciples how they should baptize. This is why they obeyed Him. The disciples that God Himself came and taught, they went out teaching and preaching the name of Jesus Christ--water baptism in His name. Do you think that God came back from the grave and opened His apostles' understanding, and they did not understand? [See Luke 24:44-53] Jesus let them know that He was the Father. He let them know that He was the Son. He let them know that He was the Holy Ghost. When you let God be true, every man has to be a liar.
What does man do today? They have thoughts of trying to do many things. "Well, we can sprinkle. The women don't have to wear hats." The Bible says, "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: ..." [I Corinthians 11:5] At any time, it may be necessary for a woman to pray. This is why our women keep their heads covered. This is not a trick Bible that some churches do not know about. This is the same exact Bible that all the other hypocrites and false prophets use. It is in there! If you want to know, seek, ye shall find. The words of God were written for our learning aforetime so that we would not have any excuse.
What does man do? He will make a way to do what he wants to do. They will say: "We will call this the Baptist church." They will believe a little something else and say: "Let us call this the Pentecostal." Someone else will believe something else and say: "We will call this the Lutheran." But these churches are not in accordance with the words of Jesus Christ. They have made their own commandments by their own ways and their own thoughts.
What did Jesus say? Jesus' ways are not our ways; neither are His thoughts, our thoughts. How do we know? We will let God be true, but every man a liar.
ISAIAH 55:1-9
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Now you know, that is a good thing. To buy wine and milk without money? Without price? What wine and what milk? Eternal salvation. The words of Jesus Christ! Water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ: tarrying until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives you utterance. That is that wine and milk that you can buy without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
The Scripture tells us to come and buy wine and milk without money and without price.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We have to obey God's way. That is why today, so many people have so many different faiths--so many different things that are contrary to the words of Jesus Christ. Why? Because their ways are not God's ways and their thoughts are not God's thoughts. Man, in all his infinite wisdom, reads Matthew 28:19: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" "Ah, that is it. That's it! Right here in the Bible. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Now, how are you going to get out of that? It is written in the Bible! But man, in all his infinite wisdom, never searched to find who got baptized that way. In all his infinite wisdom, man never searched to find the name of the Father. What is the name? It says to be baptized "in the name of the Father. What is the name? What is the name of the Son? Now, today, people say "Jesus." The Son has the name of Jesus; the Father does not have a name? That does not make much sense--in the name of the Father; in the name of the Son; and in the name of the Holy Ghost. Now, if they will search the Holy Scriptures, no one was ever baptized even by mistake--in the "name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost," because "Father" has a name; and the "Son" has a name; and the "Holy Ghost" has a name.
When Peter and the rest of the apostles baptized--they baptized in the "name." "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." [Luke 24:45] Who is the "He?" Jesus Christ. God, Himself. God came back from the grave and opened His apostles' understanding. When they received their instructions from God, they went out on the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem. They preached water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, because, "Jesus" is the name.
Why do they preach so many things contrary to the words of God? Why are they baptizing today in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? Why are they telling you that you can accept Christ as your personal saviour? They do not have any Bible for that! You just confess Christ with your mouth, and believe in your heart--but the Scripture says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; ..." [Mark 16:16] I, even I, Bishop Shelton Rapha Chabash Luke, say that you have a counterfeit baptism. You have a baptism that is not ordained by God, Himself. Why, because the name of the Father is Jesus; the name of the Son is Jesus; and the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is one person--three manifestations of one person. Here is an example: Harry, the carpenter; Harry, the electrician, and Harry the plumber. It is still one Harry--the same Harry. It is the same with Jesus Christ. If you want carpentry work done, let Harry do it. You might say, "I want electrical work done." Well, let Harry do that, too. "I want some plumbing done." Well, Harry can do that, too. It is the same Harry.
There are three manifestations of the same God. God is Father in creation--because He created all things. God is Son in redemption, because He came here as the Son of God to redeem man from his sins. There is only one God--God with us. [Matthew 1:23] He came here in the flesh as the Son. He died on the cross, went on back to heaven and is now Holy Ghost in The Church. [See John 16:7, 14:26] That is why the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is none other than Jesus Christ.
One Lord, one faith and one baptism. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." [Acts 4:12] What name? The name of Jesus Christ.
ACTS 4:8-12
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set as nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
What is that name? That name is Jesus Christ. There is none other name. Why is it that the only way and the only name you can be saved by is Jesus Christ, but yet, you are baptizing "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." It does not make sense. Why? Because, they are all ignorant. They are blind. They are all dumb dogs, loving to sleep and loving to slumber. [See Isaiah 56:10,11] They cannot understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:" [II Corinthians 4:3]
God's ways are not our ways; neither are His thoughts our thoughts. What God hath in store for us, eyes have not seen; ears have not heard; neither has it entered into our hearts the things that God has prepared for them that love him. That is the key. If you love someone and you really love them, should they ask you to do something, you would try to do it. If your love is severe enough, you would not stop until you got it done. "I am not going to stop until I get it done." If you love the Lord, you would keep His commandment--not commandments--commandment.
What is the commandment of God? Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues, as the Spirit of God gives you utterance. You must have water and you must have Spirit. God said these things and He cannot lie. He swore an oath. So much so, that it repented God, at one time, that He made man. He was sorry He did it. He made man and wickedness abounded on the earth. So God said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; ..." It repented Him; He was sorry He did it. [Genesis 6:7]
Before the foundation of the world, God made a promise; an oath--and He swore by Himself that He could not lie. He said that He was going to drown everything living--whoever did not get into the ark that He commanded Noah to make. God gave Noah a commandment. Noah went out and condemned the world. Yes, he did! The false prophets say that one should not go around condemning. [See Hebrews 11:7]
The only way you are going to get people to turn from their evil ways, you have to condemn that. You have to show them the ways of their errors. If they are honest, they will turn around and return unto the Lord. That is the only way. If you are doing something and you do not know it is wrong, how can you do what is right? A lot of people do things and they know they are wrong. However, as long as they do not hear that voice crying out, telling them to do right--they are not going to do right. Many people are like that. If you have not been told what is right, how can you know what is right? If you continue to walk in wickedness, then you cannot worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth.
You have to know what is right. You have to rebuke them sharply. You have to let the people know that God's ways are not your ways--that our ways are not the Lord's ways. When they tell you, "Come on up and make the Hour of Decision;" millions of people will get up and come forward. They can have satellites all around the world--millions of people will get up and come forward. Where are they going? They are making the "Hour of Decision." But by the commandments of men, they make the commandment of God of none effect. God has never told us to make an "Hour of Decision." He said, "... Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." [Acts 2:38] That is God's commandment.
Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into our hearts what God hath in store for them that love Him. If you love Him, this goes back to doing what a loved one asks you to do.
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." [John 14:15] This is the only way we are going to meet the Lord in peace. Neither is there salvation in any other--what other? Jesus Christ! For there is none other name! Now, do you believe this? Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe what the Bible states so clearly in the 4th chapter of Acts? "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Do you believe that? If you want to know what the name is, two verses above tells us that the name is "Jesus". Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ what? Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified. The one that you killed. Neither is there salvation in any other, other than Jesus Christ.
So what must you do? You must repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and tarry until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. God is a just God. He is the only true God. When you hear things that are not of God, you should be able to have the Spirit of discernment. You should be able to discern the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. What must you do? You must do like they did on the day of Pentecost. You see, they that gladly received His word, they were baptized. How were they baptized? Not "Father, Son and Holy Ghost," because the apostles' understanding was opened. Jesus opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. That is why they baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, because they understood. Obviously, Jesus understood that there could be a contradiction and there could be a misconception with water baptism in the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. That is why He opened His apostles' understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. He opened their understanding and the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. You have to be a severe hypocrite to want to continue baptizing "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." You have to obey the words of Jesus Christ.
ACTS 2:29-42
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Jesus Christ came through the House, the seed of David--in the flesh.
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Now, I submit to all those who preach water baptism "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" that this was the time that Peter and the rest of the apostles should have told them to be baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." This was the time that Peter and the rest of the apostles should have said, "Accept Christ as your personal Saviour." This was the time that Peter and the rest of the apostles should have said, "Make the Hour of Decision." This was the time that Peter and the rest of the apostles should have said, "Come and shake hands with the preacher." You know why they did not say any of that? Because none of this existed at that time. The Lord's words taught the apostles what they knew. What did they know?
ACTS 2:37-42
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
This is what we are saying to our readers: Save yourselves from this untoward generation. This generation is "untoward." Where is it going? It is only going one place--straight to Hell. This world is on its way to Hell. It is an untoward generation. It is not going any place but the wrong place. You must save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
He that believeth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Here, in Acts 2:41, it shows where about three thousand souls - you know, that is a decent number--about three thousand souls got baptized that same day in the name of Jesus Christ. You cannot show where one made a mistake and fell down in the water or slipped and fell in the water, and someone said, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." You do not have any Bible where anyone baptized in the name, "Father, Son and Holy Ghost." But we have Bible for "the name of Jesus Christ. "
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Ephesians 4:5: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." This is what you must do. You must obey the words of Jesus Christ.
If you have not been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, we say this to you:
ACTS 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Now, I must say this. There are hypocrites who said, "Water, H2O, will not wash away your sins." That is what they say. However, Acts 22:16 says, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Let God be true, but every man a liar. You must have water and you must have Spirit. Except you have water and except you have Spirit, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. You just cannot do it!
JOHN 3:5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
You must have water and you must have Spirit. We know that water baptism is baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt about that. There is only one baptism. You mean to tell me that about three thousand souls got baptized the same day and they got baptized the wrong way? Here, you are baptizing "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost;" you have no Bible for that and you are right? You had better let God be true, but every man a liar. Every word of God is pure. "Add thou not unto his words, less he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." [Proverbs 30:6] "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." [John 3:5] If you are not sure--it is that same baptism where about three thousand souls got baptized the same day--that baptism!
You must have the Spirit. What is the Spirit? The Spirit is speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives you utterance. How do we know? Let God be true, but every man a liar.
ACTS 2:1-5
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Out of every nation under heaven, none of the princes of this world knew that Jesus was the Lord; that Jesus was the Christ. For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. [See I Corinthians 2:8]
Finally, we would like to let you know and have you consider what we say. We want you to consider what we say. Consider that and let the Lord give thee understanding in all things, because He is the only true God. His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts and whatever you do, remember that there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
II TIMOTHY 2:7
Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
May the Lord bless you; may the Lord keep you; may the Lord maketh His countenance to shine upon you to give you hope and give you peace; give you the blessed assurance that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; that you must repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and tarry until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives you utterance. For without water and without Spirit, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism.
May God bless you and God keep you. Peace be unto you!
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