LWB Newsletter - Questions & Answers

“‘I was baptized at thirteen. Shall I be baptized again?’ If you've been a Christian all along, since you was thirteen years old, a believer in Christ, I--I'd just remain like you are. I wouldn't now, if God has blessed you and give you the Holy Spirit since then.”[Questions And Answers 54-0103m]

“And the baptism is only a--a--a form; it's just to--to show the world (or the congregation that you're--you're with at that time) that you, before witnesses, prove that you have believed that God sent His Son and He died and rose again on the third day, and you was buried into Him and have risen to walk in newness of life. And them same people that watched you when you was baptized will meet you at the judgment. See? And then along, if someone, a stranger, says, "Was--was you?" "Yes, I have been baptized with my--unto my Lord's death and burial.”

“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 Saint Matthew, or Saint 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 had 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...“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. 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.

“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?

“Now--now, you don't have to be baptized to receive the Holy Ghost, because you can receive the Holy Ghost when your heart's right. See? Because on Acts 2 Peter give a formula to--a formula to "Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." But then, in Acts 10:49, God turned around and give the Gentiles the baptism of the Holy Ghost before they was ever baptized at all. You see? So, you see, it's the condition of your heart.

“Then said Peter, "Can we forbid water, seeing that these has received the Holy Ghost like we had it at the beginning?" You see? So then he--he constrained them that they must be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. Then Paul, in Acts 19, said... Paul, having passed through the upper coasts of Ephesus, he finds certain disciples, and he said unto them, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" They said, "We not know whether... know not whether there be any Holy Ghost." He said, "Unto what was you baptized?" They was. They said, "We were baptized unto John." He said, "John baptized unto repentance, saying that you should believe on Him to come, that's on the Lord Jesus Christ." And when they heard this, they were baptized again in the Name of Jesus Christ. See? So then that's...Now, on this, it's...

“But just saying that you were baptized in Christian baptism at the age of thirteen, and you've lived a Christian life all the way along, or if you've backslid a few times...I don't know whether they got a... On backsliding, I wish somebody would go to ask--ask me that. But on backsliding, remember, you backslide every day. There's no way at all for you to keep out of it. All right. But you backslide to the people in the church, but not before God... See? You backslide on Christ, but you don't on God. 'Cause, if you--when you sin, you're gone. But you're constantly falling. Paul had to die every day. Is that right? He had to die every day, repent every day, and just constantly repenting all the time. See? And if Paul had to do that, then I'm going to have to too. Aren't you? That's right. So we...But now, if--if you've been--if you've been redeemed and you feel that the--the Blood of Jesus Christ cleansed you from sin, then I--I... and you've lived a Christian life, I--I wouldn't think it'd be necessary. But if you want to, all right, it'll be fine, we'd be glad to do it.” [Questions And Answers 54-0103m]

“But, to me, I must be faithful and true to the Bible. Therefore, Paul commanded people that had been baptized some other way besides the Name of Jesus Christ, and constrained them to come and be rebaptized again in the Name of Jesus Christ. To preach that same Gospel, I've got to do the same thing, to restrain and to persuade people.” [Water Baptism 59-0329M]

“Therefore, Lord, I am as the servant of Yours in days gone by, constraining them to come and be rebaptized again, that I might say that at that day, that "I have done all that I know how to do in the face of criticisms and what more, but tried to live true to this Bible." [Water Baptism 59-0329M]

“This is Sister Downing, also from Memphis, Tennessee. God has been good to this family: how he has--has been to her mother, who's had a long sick spell. This is one of my wife's best friends. And she comes today, not because of persuasion, she comes because of conviction, that she wants to be rebaptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. God, bless this woman.” [Water Baptism 59-0329M]

[Answers provided by Bro. Ken Andes, Minister/Editor, Lynden, Washington]