Now, you get to chapter 10, and chapter 10 is one of the main places in the Book of Acts. Now, so far, it’s going to come in Acts 2, and Acts 7, and Acts 10. Those are the stopping-off places. And Acts 10 is a crucial place in the Book of Acts. Acts 10 is the second use of Peter’s keys to the kingdom, and Acts 10 is the second time anybody talks in tongues. They talk in tongues in Acts 2 when Simon Peter preaches; they talk in tongues in Acts 10 when Simon Peter preaches, and both times it’s Simon Peter preaching. In Acts chapter 2, his audience is all Jewish, or Jewish proselytes. And in Acts 10 his audience is all Gentile.
And Acts chapter 10 is a major turning point, because in Acts chapter 10 you are told for the first time in the New Testament that water baptism has nothing to do with salvation. Now, you gathered it from Acts chapter 8 when the Ethiopian eunuch didn’t get baptized till after he believed on Christ, but there isn’t evidence of it. Now, in Acts 10, the Lord publicly demonstrates that you do not receive the Holy Ghost when you’re baptized in water.
That’s why all heretics like to stay in Acts 2 instead of Acts 10. Because, in Acts 2, the receiving of the Holy Ghost is connected with water baptism. “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” And you get to Acts chapter 10, and nobody has to be baptized in anything to get the gift of the Holy Ghost.
So Acts chapter 10 is a revelation that God is bestowing the Holy Ghost by faith and not by water baptism. And it catches Simon Peter completely off-guard.
10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
All right, 10:1: “There was a certain man in Caesarea.” That’s a seacoast town named after Caesar.
“Called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.” Now, if you ever have to deal with a Catholic and only have a few minutes and only have one place in the Bible to turn to, Acts 10 is the place to turn. Ten is the number of the Gentiles. And in Acts chapter 10 is a perfect Gentile. He’s an Italian. He’s a Roman. And he is as good a Roman as you ever saw. Look at verse 2:
“A devout man,...” like a lot of Roman Catholics “...and one that feared God with all his house,...” like a lot of Roman Catholics “...which gave much alms to the people,...” like a lot of Roman Catholics “...and prayed to God alway.” Like a lot of Roman Catholics!
And saw a vision! Like a lot of Roman Catholics!
Twenty-two: And he’s “a just man,...” like a lot of Roman Catholics “...and one that feareth God,...” like a lot of Roman Catholics “...and of good report...” like a lot of Roman Catholics.
Fine fellow, wouldn’t you say?
And when the “vicar of Christ” comes in, he bows down in front of him, verse 25. See that? The “prince of the apostles” comes in, and he bows down and worships him. See that? Now there’s your Catholic, see?
There’s just one thing about him. He’s lost.
Look at chapter 11, verse 14. Simon Peter was sent there to tell that guy words whereby he could be saved. Acts 11:14; see that? He was lost.
All right, back to Acts 10. Then Cornelius is a picture of the Gentile who follows his conscience. And Cornelius is a picture of a Gentile like in Romans that seeks after immortality and honor, and the Lord is going to get the word to him because he’s following his conscience. Therefore, the Lord is going to give him a chance.
And, dealing with Catholics, you’ll find that’s how they are. Any Catholic that’s following his conscience really, and really trying to get saved, the Lord will get the gospel to him. It’ll happen. I mean, all the Lord’s got to do is turn him in on Billy Graham. Turn him in on Charlie Fuller, you know. All the Lord has to do is just, you know, get him someplace near the word.
QUESTION: Could God show him the truth through the Catholic church?
ANSWER: Yes, He could. He sure could. As a matter of fact, that’s how the Lord showed it to me. I was going to a Catholic church, was a good Catholic. But I was a good Catholic; I was really trying to get saved. And I mean, I was trying. I ticked-tacked-toe, three-in-a-row, you know, and crossed myself everytime the anthems rang, and tithing, and taking the palm leaf home on Sunday, and taking the ashes and putting them on my forehead on Good Friday, and all that. I kept all the rules and regulations. I mean, gave alms to beggars above the tithe. All that kind of business.
But I couldn’t find what I was looking for. And I went on there, just for months and months, losing weight, and about to have a crack-up. And during that time, I found in one of the radio stations an old Protestant hymnal. I’ll tell you what it was, one of those brown paperbacks there in the radio station. And I got to thumbing through that thing, and I found something I liked real well. The next time I went to mass, I took that Protestant hymnal with me and hid it under my raincoat where the priest couldn’t see it. And when I got to mass, you know, genuflecting up and down, up and down, the bell ringing, and all that stuff, the next time I knelt down I opened that hymnal and read it. And the thing is, in the missile — I had me a Catholic missile — but I couldn’t find anything in the missile that expressed my feelings. And the thing that I found in that Protestant hymnal that said what I wanted to say, it said: “Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry; While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.” And I fell on that thing there, and that thing went on and on and on, and then one Monday morning, Hugh Pyle led me to Christ in a radio station. And the last time I prayed was after that was in the Catholic church, on a very stressful situation, some trouble, and I was in there praying. And a very peculiar thing happened, which I don’t tell about anywhere and don’t go in detail about anywhere, because you get to telling about those things, you know, and people, they try to imitate your experience. They try to get an experience, you know. So there isn’t any use in discussing it. I just don’t ever say what it was. But it was rather unusual.
And that happened in that Catholic church after I received Christ, and it happened while I was kneeling in a Catholic pew praying in a Catholic church. I mean, the Via Dolorosa all around, man! The statues all over the place.
There’s enough in there, if a man is sincere, he can see that Christ died for him, and he can see that Christ was buried, and rose from the dead, and he can see that Christ is coming again.
But the problem is, to see that to where it gets you with all the other junk around. And the Bible said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” If any Catholic wants to know God’s will, God is obligated to show him His will.
Now, the problem comes up when the Catholic gets light. That’s the problem. When he gets light, then what he does with the light — that’s the problem.
I’ll bet you in America there are two million Roman Catholics that saw the light and went right back in the church they stayed in and never poked their heads out again. I’ll be there are two million of them. And a chance to be saved, and knew what to do to be saved — and turned back from it because they were afraid. Went back in the Catholic church.
QUESTION: I have a situation, something I’m going through. But the thing of it is, I’m not sure the person is closely involved with the Catholics. How should I do, should I keep banging?
ANSWER: No sir.
QUESTION: Or just back off, once the light’s been shown?
ANSWER: That’s right. Back off awhile, and put a lot of prayer on him, and wait. And hit him just occasionally — once every two months, once every three or four months. And if you’re close enough to him to contact him, leave literature lying around — “accidentally.”
One of the best ways in the world to win people that you have a hard time with, like Jews and Catholics and like your own kinfolk, is get a bunch of good, hard, evangelistic stuff and leave it lying around “accidentally on purpose.” And not always in an open place. But just like you dropped it on the floor or something. And I’ll guarantee you, they’ll read it. I’ll guarantee you, brother. They may be afraid to have to talk to you and instead let you know that they’re thinking about it, but if God’s dealing with them, they’ll pick it up and they’ll read it.
QUESTION: Oh, OK, so leave your stuff around “accidentally on purpose”? Yeah! OK, that’s good, that’s what I’ll do.
ANSWER: Yeah, but my stuff’s pretty rough, brother. When I said “leave stuff lying around,” I didn’t mean “The Mark of the Beast!” No, I mean, no, get something like, you know, something like John R. Rice’s book, you know, one of those little paperbound books on Our Roman Catholic Friends,” you know. You know, one of them, see. Boy, if you start with “Mark of the Beast,” that’s like hitting ‘em with a double-bladed ax, man!
QUESTION: If there were no other church but the Catholic church, would you go there and worship God?
ANSWER: If there was no other church but the Catholic church? No, I wouldn’t. No, there must be some better way than that. I’d have it in my own home, in my own backyard, or I’d get together a bunch of Christians and meet outdoors.
All right, 10:2: “A devout man,...” “devoted” is our word “...and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.” That’s a good man! A religious man.
“He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day.” That’s the next thing you have to remember. We keep limiting God. If God wants to show a man the truth, He can warn him. He didn’t look through a Bible for that warning; gave him a vision. The Lord still can do that.
I’m not a strong one on dreams. I’m not sure every dream you have is of God or of the devil. But I’ll tell you what right now; there’s been many a man who’s been converted through a dream. If a guy goes to bed at night and dreams about a burning hell, hewake up in the morning and get converted before breakfast. It might be a good thing to pray about, if you have a loved one. Just pray and ask God to let him dream about hell a few nights. I mean, Isaac Newton was converted — the guy who wrote “Amazing Grace.” He was converted by dreaming an angel giving him a diamond to take care of in a ship, and he threw it up in the air, and it fell over the side of the ship. When it fell over the side of the ship, the whole ocean turned into fire. And he began to scream and holler, and the angel dove down in the water and picked up the diamond and gave it, put it back in his hand again, and the whole ocean turned back to a regular ocean again. That’s how he got saved.
He woke up and said, “I know what it is! That diamond is my soul!” And he said, “I’ve been careful with it. I just about lost it.” And he said, “I’ve still got another chance.” So he got saved.
I know a preacher who got saved. He dreamt that he climbed up a ladder and got to Heaven. When he got up to Heaven, he got to the top of it; he climbed all night long, a couple of hundred thousand miles climbing up that ladder, and got to the top just exhausted. When he opened up the door, the keeper of the door said, “Get out!”
And he said, “But I’ve worked my way up here!”
And he said, “If any man climb up any other way, he’s a thief and a robber!”
He woke up, and he got saved.
I know another guy who got saved by dreaming about the rapture. A guy named Nabors. And he dreamt the rapture came, and his mother was called up and his father was called up, and his brothers and sisters were called up — and he wasn’t called up.
I think E.J. Daniels had that same kind of a dream, too. And he’s running along around there screaming, and screaming so loud he woke up his parents downstairs. And they came up and got him out of bed, and led him to Christ up there in the bedroom.
And the Lord can, He can reach you, now — if the guy is open.
Three: “He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord?” You understand, he recognized the angel of the Lord is the appearance of the Lord.
“And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” Now, that’s God’s way of determining which of the heathen are ready for the word, and which aren’t. And nobody knows how much has to come up. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what a heathen has to do; I say, follow your conscience; no man follows his conscience a hundred percent. But there’s some place there, where God looks at what a man does and it piles up in front of the Lord. It’s like coming to a house and dumping boxes in front of them. And after awhile, this stuff piles up to where the Lord says, “Well, that guy means business.” And then sends somebody after him.
Now, that’s the Lord’s way of dealing with the heathen. And as to how much there has to be, I have no idea. And how far a man has to go, I have no idea. But that’s what happened here.
“And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” Compare this with 11:14: “Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.”
All right, back to 10:7: “Acts 10:7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.” Now, the way this thing goes, it comes out with a Gentile number. In 7, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier. All right, that thing is three of them. There are three Gentiles going to get him. So, when Peter has this vision, do you know how many times that sheet comes down? It comes down three times — once for each Gentile. And there isn’t any commentary you’ll pick up that don’t even believe in taking a bat at it. They say the Lord did it three times to enforce, or did it to confirm His word, or some other fool thing. He did it three things because three unclean animals were coming to see Simon Peter.
All right, then, Peter goes with them, and when he goes with them, look at chapter 11, verse 11, and in chapter 11, verse 11: “And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me.” Six, one, and three — that’s ten. That’s then in chapter 10. That’s your Gentile number.
The commentaries and Boisure say it’s the number of completion. No, that’s nonsense. It’s a Gentile number. The tenth from Adam is Noah; he’s the father of the Gentiles. The list of the Gentiles is in Genesis 10. The missionary call to the Gentiles is in Romans 10. The Gentiles are here in Acts 10, and the other sheep not of Christ’s fold are in John chapter 10. In Luke chapter 10, ten lepers get healed, and one of them is a Gentile — he’s a Samaritan. And the time to leave the earth is in Romans 10. And Gentiles count to 10.
10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,
18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
All right, Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10, verse 9: “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.” That’ll be noon. Jewish day will start at 6 in the morning; six hours later is high noon, lunch time.
“And he became very hungry.” Time for dinner. As brother Leroy Wright said over there at the fellowship, he said he had a meeting up north, and they invited him over to dinner. And he said he went by there at 12 o’clock before he realized what a mistake he’d made. Dinner up north is 5 and 6 in the evening. Down here that’s supper. So he went over there at 12 o’clock noon. They said, “What do you want?”
“I’m here for dinner.”
Oh, were they ever embarrassed!
He said his suitcase got lost when he went down to Miami or something, and he didn’t have a change of clothes for four or five days. He said using that 24-hour Right Guard or Deodor-o-no, or Body Guard, or something! He said he’d drive along the car, and these people he was driving with kept saying, “What’s that smell?” Said they rolled down the window, and one of them said, “We must have gone by a cabbage field!”
Oh, boy! All right, Acts 10. I wish you could all have gone over to the fellowship Friday. You’da heard two good sermons; you’da heard two of the best examples of lousy preaching you’ll ever hear in your life. I wish every ministerial student could have heard two of those sermons. Aww, two of those sermons were an abomination to God, man. They were without form, and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep, man!
All right, Acts 10. Acts chapter 10, verse 9: About the sixth hour. And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready,...” gettin’ dinner ready — or lunch, if you’re up north, “...he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him.” A vessel is anything that contains anything in the Bible. “...as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners.” So it’s like a handkerchief let down — it’s a parachute upside down. It’s a thing like this, like a handkerchief, with the ends up like this on it. And then tied up here — oh, that thing don’t fold right! Uhh, it would be like this, coming down, and then strings attached onto these corners. And then all the four-footed animals and stuff in here. The thing is coming down like this — like an inverted parachute with all this stuff in it.
Verse 12: “Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.” They represent Gentiles! Gentiles are animals — dogs. “Without are dogs.”
“All manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so.” One of the most peculiar characters, strangest characters in the Bible — always arguing with God! Anytime the Lord comes, he’s got something smart to say back. The Lord said one time, “I’m going to go up to Jerusalem and be crucified, and they’re going to betray me in the hands of men, I’m going to crucified and die, and come up the third day from the dead.”
“Farbeit from thee, Lord!” you know.
And about a day later the Lord’s saying, “I’m gonna wash your feet.”
“You’re not gonna wash my feet!” you know.
Then about four hours later, “You’re all going to be offended in me.”
“Though all men be offended, yet not me!”
“And now rise, Peter...”
“NOT SO, Lord!”
I mean, you’d think the guy’s unsaved to hear him talk. But Peter’s motive is always right, you see. The idea is, he wasn’t going to violate the Law. He loved the Lord and is going to keep the Law.
“Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord;...” P.S. Did you ever hear any of these hyper-Calvinists say, “If He’s not Lord of all, He’s not Lord at all.” Boy, isn’t that a bunch of stuff! Do you think the Lord wasn’t Simon Peter’s Lord? The Lord was Simon Peter’s Lord. He calls Him “Lord,” but he was arguing with him. He wasn’t Lord over all of Simon Peter, but He was still his Lord.
“Not so, Lord, for I have never...” You going to say Peter is unsaved because he is arguing with the Lord?
“Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten...” Some of the saintliest people in the Bible, they say the toughest things about God you ever saw, man! Go to hear David: “All day long I’ve been plagued and chastened every morning, and why I’m in trouble, and the wicked are never in trouble, and the ungodly don’t have any problems. Every morning I get up, I’m plagued from morning till night. It’s too bitter forme to know; I thought about it; I couldn’t think upon it!” David said he’s going to quit thinking about it.
Job says, “Get away from me, depart from me, let me swallow down my own spittle. And what shall I do to you, O preserver of men? If I’m guilty, why do I labor in vain if I’ve sinned? If I wash myself and make myself ever so clean, you plunge me in a ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.” Job said, “What’s the good of cleaning up and getting right? You’ll just dump me in a ditch and get me all dirty again!” Talking to the Lord, man! Talking to the Lord. He says, “It’s your fault. When I clean up, I got clean; He’s going to get me dirty again in five minutes.” Talking to the Lord that way!
And those are the men in the Bible that love God. See? They’re moving in there, and coming to grips, you see. The Bible says in one place, if a fellow wants to come near, let him come near and take hold of my strength. Boy, you get in close there, man, it’ll make your hair stand on end. And those guys that come in there, see, they’re tangling with the Lord. And I’ll tell you, when they come out, they come out, they come out weeping and scared and broken — but they come out right, and they come out blessed. The Lord likes that kind of thing. I guess it’s kind of a challenge to Him! “Oh, you think you’re tough, are you? OK, come on over here, and just try me out.” It isn’t like trying out the devil, see. I wouldn’t take on the devil like that. Because the devil hates your guts. See, the Lord loves you. That’s different. But you don’t carry on with the devil like that.
All right, verse 14: “For I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” Now, back into verse 12, if he said, “all manner,” that’s all those unclean animals in Leviticus 11. In that sheet are cats and dogs and lion and lobsters and catfish and clams and shrimp and everything — “all manner.” And he says, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
“And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” And what he’s saying there, is he’s saying, “The Lord said I’m to sanctify these Gentiles.” Did you read that passage over in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 that says, “Else were your children unclean, but now they’re holy”? Remember that thing over there? Talking about a saved person married to an unsaved person? And it means this. It means that when God hasn’t honored the marrage for any reason, the people involved in the marrage are just a bunch of unclean animals mating, that’s all it is. And when a saved person marries an unsaved person, for the sake of the saved person, the Lord sanctifies the marriage and honors it. It doesn’t say the children are saved — like the Covenant theologians are — but it’s “cleansed.” The Lord honors the marriage bed and honors the family for the sake of the saved person.
Now, these Gentiles that have come here, they’re not saved yet. But the Lord said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” He’s taking that bunch and setting them apart; they’re getting ready.
QUESTION: What would a Seventh-day Adventist do with that verse?
ANSWER: What verse?
QUESTION: That one where the Lord says, “What God hath cleansed, call not thou common.” I mean, they don’t eat shrimp, they don’t eat pork, they don’t eat because they’re trying to keep the Law.
ANSWER: Oh. Well, I didn’t know they did that, too. They do that too, huh? Well, whoever keeps the whole and offends on one point is guilty of all. Adventists were told a lie. It’s stupid. It’s stupid.
All right, verse 16: “This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.” Now, if Peter had eaten any of that stuff, he’da been all right. When was that handwriting of ordinances taken out of the way? At Calvary. Any apostle could have eaten pork and lobster twenty minutes after Christ died on the cross — and nobody knew about it until Acts 10. What’s the date on Acts 10? 41? Anybody got a different date? 38. All right, somewhere between 38 and 41 — now 38 is six years after the crucifixion. And 41 is — what? — eight years? nine years? Thirty-eight is six years after the crucifixion? No. Thirty-eight is five years after the crucifixion. Forty-one is eight years after the crucifixion. All right, somewhere between five to eight years after the crucifixion, nobody knows that when Christ died, you could eat pork. Now, the reason why that’s so important to notice, when you’re dealing with these Bullingerites, those knuckleheads could never get it through their stupid skull that something happened at Calvary that nobody knew about until Acts 9. Now, if nobody knew that it was right to eat pork in Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, why would anybody know anything about the Body mystery in Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9? They wouldn’t. But that wouldn’t mean it wasn’t there. When Christ died on the cross, pork-eating was there. So, so is the Body.
So, because a thing isn’t revealed, that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
All right, verse 17: “Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean.” I mean, it would kind of bug you, you know. What if you’re an orthodox Jew, and never eaten anything unclean, and you’re out there praying before dinner, and they’re downstairs getting dinner ready for you, and you can smell the stuff cooking — down comes this sheet, and there’s a lobster and a hog in it!
And you say, “I never ate that stuff!”
And the Lord says, “What I’ve cleansed, don’t you call common.”
So you wonder, “What in the world was that about,” you know. I mean, did the Lord lie in Leviticus 11? We can have pork for supper?
“Behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.” It’s three unsaved Gentiles — the dogs, unclean.
“And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.” Peter never did get the lesson too well. You remember what happened in Galatians 2? Galatians chapter 2, he went up to Antioch, and got up there, and they had a big ol’ barbecue out there, and all of them sittin’ around and having pork barbecue, you know, and corn on the cob, and chittlins and rudibaga and cornbread and ice tea and everything, and watermelon, and having a big time.
And about that time somebody says, “Hey, Pete, there’s some Jews coming up from Jerusalem.”
And he said, “Jews?! Good night nurse! Pardon me!” And got up and left the table.
Barnabas said, “Where are you going?”
He said, “Some Jews coming up!”
Barnabas said, “Well, what of it?”
Peter said, “You want to have them catch you eating with these Gentiles? These unclean Gentile dogs?”
“Well, I better go too!” And Barnabas was drawn away with his dissimulation.
And when Paul got ahold of him, Paul said, “Listen! What are you doing getting up from the table? Leaving that bunch there? Are you trying to tell those Gentiles they ought to live like we Jews live?” He said, “Don’t you know we Jews couldn’t keep the law? We had a burden too big. We couldn’t keep it. Now, you’re trying to put them back under the same thing?”
And he bauled Peter out and set him straight — “the first pope”! Paul straightened out the “first pope” to get his doctrine right. The “first pope” was a heretic; he didn’t have the right doctrine.
And so Paul straightened him out. And the idea was, if God had saved those Gentiles and put them in the Body of Christ, it’s all right to eat with them. All right to eat with them.
If you went to Africa as a missionary, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with you sitting around with a bunch of black folk out there and having dinner with them. Saved people — your brothers in Christ.
Now, see how that thing goes? See? I mean, anybody who’s saved knows any black person is their brother and sister in Christ if they’re saved. But this movement you people are dealing with — it isn’t a movement about the Body of Christ. It has to do with racial mixing for purposes of international socialism. It has nothing to do with Christian. It’s litigation — a bunch of people trying to tear up your culture. If you don’t believe it, talk to schoolteachers.
All right, Acts chapter 10. It’s so pitiful. I picked up a newspaper the other day. “Educators are startled!” “Educators are upset!” “They can’t figure out what happened!” “Why, if statistics had seen that American education has taken a downward plunge since 1964. Many solutions have been suggested. Many problems have been discussed...” Blah, blah, blah! Half a page of a bunch of Ph.D.s and M.A.s trying to figure out, “What happened in 1964?”
The Civil Rights Law, you blind fool, happened in 1964!
What happened in 1964 was you put a bunch of people in the schools that couldn’t keep up with the standards in the school, so you had to drop the standards to pass them! That’s all that business is. When you did that, why, they got up to high school and couldn’t read and couldn’t write.
QUESTION: Somebody issued a test to them given back in 1905, and they couldn’t pass it.
ANSWER: I wouldn’t doubt it. I wouldn’t doubt it. I hear college educators complaining all the time in college of people they’re teaching can’t read. They should have learned how to read before they got out of sixth grade.
Verse 18: “And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.”
10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
21 Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
33 Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
“While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him.” Notice direct dealing before the New Testament was written. “The Spirit said unto him.” Just like the Lord talking to him.
“Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I...” the Spirit. The Holy Spirit. That’s the Lord. A verse on the deity of the Holy Spirit. “For I have sent them.”
“Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man,...” that’s good “...and one that feareth God,...” that’s good “...and of good report among all the nation of the Jews,...” that shows he’s interested in the synagogue and Judaism “...was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.” Now, here’s an ideal audience. Here’s a captive audience. I wish I could get called in a place like that. Wouldn’t that be something?
I’ve heard of that happening. Let’s see. Who was it? Somebody was telling me recently — aww, there wouldn’t be any way to get that thing sorted out. I couldn’t sort that thing out anyway any more. But there’s some pastor I’ve been somewhere in the last three years, there’s was something about getting a phone call from a rich architect there in town. And this architect, he was up there, you know — not a millionaire, but up there pretty close to it. And he was living a worldly, godless life, and had a beautiful wife — she was godless — and a bunch of children, and they were godless.
And he phoned up and said, “Preacher, I’ve been listening to your radio program, you’ve been on the radio now for about a year.” And he said, “I’m under conviction.” And he said, “I’ve got a notion to get saved. Would you come out tomorrow night and tell me and my family how to get saved?”
And that guy drove out in that big ol’ rich district of town, the biggest district there, mostly rich folks, and came up in the driveway, a three-car garage and all this and that, went in there, went in the house. That guy had his wife, and his sister and her family, and his brother and her family, and his daughters and sons and a couple of neighbors in that living room, and the kin were all sitting around in chairs waiting for the guy to speak.
The guy got up to preach. I think it was something like fifteen of them there, and eight of them got saved — half of them, just like that. The guy and his wife, one of the children, and a couple of the others.
That thing only happens once in a lifetime, man! But, boy, you talk about opportunity, boy! My goodness, man!
All right, he went up to go, and that’s the kind of audience he had. Twenty-five: “And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.” There’s the old Roman, boy! Kiss the ring on his finger! Bonnera got sara, you know, yanowago. Perri como tona pizza, you know.
“But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.” That isn’t much like a pope, is it? Why do you suppose that pope lets them lie down there and grovel? Peter says, “Get up!” Peter’s not a very good pope. Not very many popes are commercial fishermen, you know. And not very many popes have a mother-in-law, like Peter had. And not many popes tell them to get up when they bow down.
“But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man —” nation to nation “— common or unclean.” It’s that sheet with animals on it.
QUESTION: What do you do when they call you “Reverend”?
ANSWER: Oh, uh, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it, unless you get a chance to talk about it. Now I’ve had them ask me about it. And if they’ll talk with you about it, say, “I’d rather not be called that. Just call me Brother So-and-So.
QUESTION: What about the unsaved people calling you Reverend?
ANSWER: Well, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Up North, especially, they got in the habit of doing that from Catholic priests. And I’ve been up there hundreds of times, and they say, “This is the Reverend,” you know. “We’re gonna have the Reverend over to our house.” They do it all the time up there. And don’t lie about it; I don’t know if you can just stop and get the big doctrinal bull session about it, because they don’t understand it. But, if they ask you about it, I’d tell them “No.” Of course, if you couldn’t say “Brother,” then I’d just say “Mister.” “Mister.”
QUESTION: Has that verse been omitted in the modern bibles?
ANSWER: No, it’s all in there. Any bible has enough truth in it to where you can prove it’s a lie — except the King James. I mean, any bible has enough truth in it, so you can teach anything that’s so from any bible. The devil has to have it that way to counterfeit it. I mean, the other bibles are not real bibles, but any one of them has enough truth in it so you can lead a guy to Christ and ground him in the faith, and even prove that his bible is wrong before you get through. Even enough in there to prove that. But that doesn’t mean they’re Bibles; they’re counterfeit bibles.
But lookie here, now. Suppose I give you a tract. Yeah, here’s a — not a very good example, too many pages — but suppose I give you a tract with six pages in it. All right, you can lead a man to Christ with what’s in that thing right there. That doesn’t mean that’s a Bible.
So, when these fellows say all the fundamentals are found in these bibles, that doesn’t mean they’re bibles. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t use them; you can still use them.
Now, you take any Catholic in the world. You can sit down with him and his bible — I’d do it that way, if I was in a Catholic home. I’d say, “Have you got a bible?” And if he brought his bible, I wouldn’t open my mouth about a King James. I’d take his bible and say, “Lookie here. There’s one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” It’s there. And, “Call no man on earth your father; One is your Father which is in heaven.” And right on to Hebrews chapter 10, “By one sacrifice hath he perfected forever, by one offering hath he perfected forever.” Run him down with his own bible; get him saved. Get him saved. And then say, “When you get some time, and get some money, go to a bookstore and get you a Bible,” and show him your King James Bible, and say, “This is a good one here; you might get a copy of this. It might read a little bit easier.”
QUESTION: Are you missing anything from the other bibles if you know your King James Bible? Do you know the other bibles?
ANSWER: Well, no, brother, if you know the King James, you know any other bible. Yes, sure. Sure will be. There will be a difference in the numbering of the Psalms, and there will be some footnotes there you’re not familiar with. But as far as the chapter and verses go, the King James sets the pace. If you know it, you have the key to any other book.
QUESTION: What if you were visiting with someone who had the Living Bible?
ANSWER: The Living Bible? I’d take the Living Bible and show him the passage. I’d say, “Look over this thing here. It says, ‘For God felt so kindly disposed toward unsaved people, that He delivered up His Son to die on the cross, that they might not die without hope, but live forever.” And so that means this. That means that God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that...put it to him, brother! Put the word of God to him.
All right, Acts chapter 10, verse 29: “Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying.” That is, not asking for money, trying to get gain.
“As soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?” All right, we’re going to have to close there and go over our material now for the test.
10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
All right, 34: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” Now, nowhere does he say “of races.” He says “persons.”
“But in every nation he that feareth him.” He’s talking about individuals. That verse often is used to prove there shouldn’t be such a thing as racial discimination. The Bible is very strong on racial discimination. The Samaritans couldn’t get the Holy Ghost till they had a hand laid on them; how’s that for racial discimination? Now, the passage here doesn’t say “God is no respecter of nations.” He obviously is a respecter of nations; He’s a respecter of the Jews; they’re His chosen people. But He’s no respecter of individuals in a nation. Notice verse 35: “But in every nation.” See? Now that’s the thing. God hasn’t got any more respect for an individual Jew than an individual Gentile, as far as spiritual things are concerned. The individual Jew will go to Hell just like anybody else, if he rejects Christ. And an individual Hamite gets saved just like anybody else if he accepts Christ; there’s no respect of persons. And the same is of rich and poor; there’s no respect with God as far as income is concerned.
“But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness,...” now notice this: “...is accepted with him.” But the guy is unsaved! Now, that’s a famous Campbellite verse to prove that a man can be saved by works. Well, Cornelius has only been accepted in the sense that he’s been given a chance. He hasn’t been saved — which is perfectly apparent from Acts chapter 11, verse 14. In Acts 11:14, Peter was told to go and tell him words, whereby he and his household could be saved. So obviously he was not saved, but he was accepted.
All right, Acts chapter 10, verse 35: “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Now that Gentile is under a covenant there, of conscience, to follow his conscience, and where he does, God gets the gospel to him.
“The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem.” It was all evident from Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.
“Whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God.” Five hundred of them.
“Even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.” Back in Acts 1 — forty days.
“And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
Now, 43 is the rough place. Notice it doesn’t say, “Repent and be baptized for the remission” — in which case they’d already been forgiven. This is future. “That through his name whosoever believeth in him SHALL...” He’s not talking to Jews who’ve been forgiven for the crucifixion, like Acts 2. He’s talking about Gentiles who have not yet received Christ. So it’s the future.
Now, John R. Rice uses verse 43 to prove that the church began with Adam. And John R. Rice uses verse 43 to prove that everybody in the Old Testament was saved by receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour. Which is nonsense. But you see how you can get messed up in verse 43: “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” I’d like to have you find that in any three prophets anywhere in the Old Testament, that whoever believes in Christ shall receive remission of sins. Nothing in the Old Testament says if you believe you’ll receive remission of sin — not even in Isaiah.
QUESTION: That verse in “The Inspired Version” —
ANSWER: “The Inspired Version”?
QUESTION: Yes.
ANSWER: Oh, boy!
QUESTION: It says that whosoever believe in the Son of Man shall be saved because it’s in the old Bible.
ANSWER: There you go. Well, that’s good Mormon doctine for Brother Rice. Now, Obadiah doesn’t even mention Christ. And Nahum doesn’t mention Christ. And Jonah doesn’t mention Christ. And Jeremiah mentions nothing about believing on Him or in Him. And neither does Zephaniah, and neither does Haggai. So, to say that all the prophets are saying that is nonsense.
But, to get it right — we’ve got to get it right — so it must mean this: “To him give all the prophets witness.” Period! That is, all the prophets bear witness of Christ. Then the additional statement must be Simon Peter’s statement. Simon Peter is saying that “through his name whosever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” That had to be Simon Peter’s addition to what he just said. It can’t be a reference to the prophets, because it isn’t in the prophets.
All right, Peter said, “To him give all the prophets witness.” Now he adds this. And he says, “That through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
Now he’s getting ready to say it! He’s getting ready to say, “Repent, and be bup-tized in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost.” He’s getting ready to say it!
And before he can open his mouth, the Lord messes up that sermon! And when the Lord messes up that sermon, He messes up every Campbellite and Roman Catholic who ever lived. Because, in the next verse, verse 44, we see the Gentile receives the promise of the Holy Spirit by faith — without water baptism! That’s what messes everybody up.
So, you can always tell a heretic. A heretic will never fool with Acts 10. He’s always messing around in Acts 2. He’s always fooling around with “Repent, and be bup-tized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” — and you won’t! You won’t. If all of you right now repented and got baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and repented of your sins, you wouldn’t receive nuthin’. And if you’re unsaved, you’d go to Hell on top of that. It won’t do you any good.
10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
All right, now, Peter is about ready to say, “Repent and be bup-tized,” and look what happens! Forty-four: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” Now, come to 11:14 and look at this. 11:14: “Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” What’s that a reference to? It’s Acts 2. But it’s not Acts 2:38! It’s Acts 2:1-4. The apostles weren’t “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” The apostles got the promise of the Spirit through faith — just like the Gentiles did.
That’s another thing to point out to a Campbellite. Some of these dumb Pentecostals keep quoting Acts 2:38. Point out to them that no apostle was EVER baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. NONE OF THEM! Paul wasn’t. Peter wasn’t. James wasn’t. John — there’s no apostle who was ever baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Not a one of them.
But they received the gift of the Holy Ghost. And they received the promise of the Spirit by faith. And Peter says in Acts 11:15, “The Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.”
Now, let’s go to Acts 15 and watch Peter say this again in the council at Jerusalem. Acts 15:7. Acts 15:7: “Acts 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by..” water. NO! NO! By what? “By faith.”
All right, back to Acts chapter 10. Then all the Campbellites die at Acts 2:38 with the Pentecostals, and that’s the end of them. And never get any of them saved. If some of them are saved — I imagine some of them are — why, praise the Lord. But I’ll guarantee you right now, if they’re counting on Acts 2:38 to save them, they’re just as good as dead in Hell with the door shut. Because it isn’t going to save them.
All right, Acts 10:44: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” Now, “faith cometh by hearing.”
“Them that heard the word.” “And they of the circumcision...” there’s a Jew “...which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.” They say, “How in the world can that be? A bunch of uncircumcised Gentile dogs getting the Holy Ghost without laying of hands (Acts 8) or without water baptism (Acts 2)?” They can’t believe it!
And they wouldn’t have believed it except for one thing. The Jews seek for a sign, and here it comes, verse 46 — tongues are for a sign. “For they heard them speak with tongues.” Now those tongues are always for Israel, to an Israelite who doesn’t believe something. Come to 1 Corinthians 14, and nowhere in the New Testament does anybody ever speak with tongues that isn’t a sign to Israel. First Corinthians 14. In this case you have a bunch of Jews that don’t believe Gentiles have the Holy Ghost. So God has them speak in tongues to prove they do. And those dumb Pentecostals pick up that thing and say, “Do you see there? The initial evidence, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, is talking with other tongues, Acts chapter 10.” What would be the point in that, if there weren’t any Jews around that didn’t believe it? What would be the point in doing that?
First Corinthians 14, verse 21: “In the law it is written,...” Old Testament “...With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people;...” Israel “...and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.” There’s the passage.
All right, back to Acts chapter 10.
QUESTION: Now, the Gentiles weren’t speaking in tongues, where they?
ANSWER: Yes.
QUESTION: They WERE speaking in tongues?
ANSWER: Yep.
QUESTION: I thought the twelve apostles were the only ones who could speak in tongues.
ANSWER: No, 1 Corinthians 14 says “with other tongues,” other people. Verse 21: “With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak to this people.” The Lord said He could even use a Gentile to do it.
QUESTION: Then what was the difference when Gentiles spoke in tongues?
ANSWER: There’s no difference as far as I could see. Oh, “unknown tongues” — they’re all foreign languages. These Gentiles get up and speak, they’re undoubtedly speaking in Hebrew. The Jews understand the language.
All right, Acts 10, verse 46: “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have —” past tense — “received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Received the Holy Spirit before you’re baptized, not when you’re baptized, not after you’re baptized.
QUESTION: You ain’t got no interpreter here in verse 46, do you?
ANSWER: No, you don’t. That interpreter was for the local assembly in 1 Corinthians 14 when they met. If they got to talking in tongues then, they had to have an interpreter present. Because the people — there were all kinds of languages there — wouldn’t understand the language. In this case here, it’s a supernatural act of God, and nobody needs an interpreter because they understand the tongues.
QUESTION: It looks like a Gentile doesn’t know what he’s saying, but a Jew does.
ANSWER: Yep. That would be about it. Yep. The Hebrews know that.
All right, 47: “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Now, if any man puts Acts 2:38 on you, put Acts 10:47 on him, and say, “How come you die way back in the Book of Acts and didn’t keep on moving? You’re supposed to act, not go to sleep.”
Forty-eight: “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
QUESTION: You know, all they do is run you around about being baptized in Jesus’ name, in His name, and all that, and here’s someone getting baptized in the name of the Lord.
ANSWER: Yep, so naturally, to back up the Pentecostals and the heretics, all the new bibles have added “Jesus” to the verse. Has anyone got an ASV with them tonight? See how it’s done? The devil is at work in that book 24 hours a day. And just to make sure you get it all screwed up, they just quietly put the other word in there that doesn’t belong in there. That’s what is known as inventing your bible to teach a heresy. That’s what is known as inventing a bible — is it in there or not? It’s there.
{ Someone in class reading aloud} : “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry...”
See that thing right there? See? If the Bible won’t say what you want it to say, you make it say what you want it to say, understand? And those new versions are bibles where the fellow is trying to make a bible that will teach what he believes. It has nothing to with the truth. If I were looking for truth, a new bible would be the last place on God’s earth I’d ever look for it. I’d look in the sewer for it, before I looked for it there.
All right, now here’s the thing about this thing. In Jewish baptism in Acts 2, they’re baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus because Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. But in Matthew chapter 28, you are told not to baptize the nations in the name of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28 He said “baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” And the thing said, simply, “name.” Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It didn’t say “names.” So, some people say, “I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Ghost.” That isn’t true. That verse didn’t say that. It said, “Baptize them in the name { singular} of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Whatever name it is, you’re gonna have to match all three of them.
Now, the way the Pentecostals get around that is speak what they call “holiness, oneness, habablubbba, hastashantai, tie-a-bowtie” doctrine. And they’re trying to tell you the name of the Father is Jesus, because “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father”; the name of the Son is Jesus, and the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. Now, of course when they get down to that last one, they begin to slip the hitches, because, once they said the Holy Ghost is Jesus, then they got to get around that thing where you receive Christ and get His Spirit but don’t have the Holy Ghost, you talk in tongues, see? So, you just — { whistle} — just go off like a— Did you ever see a rocket go off with no tail on it? That’s what that biblical exegesis is.
Now, the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is “Lord.” That’s the name of the Father, and that’s the name of the Son, and that’s the name of the Holy Ghost. And you can’t beat that thing with a stick, and I’ll show it to you. You don’t have to be showed, of course, the Father is Lord, you know — well, I’ll show it to you anyway. Turn to Jude. The one Name that matches all three of them is the Lord. And the name “Jesus” will not match all three of them. The Holy Ghost is not Jesus. Now, the Holy Ghost is the Lord Jesus Christ in the believer. But the name of the Holy Ghost is the Paraclete, or the Comforter, or the Spirit of truth, or the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of Christ. That’s His name. And the name of the Father is not Jesus Christ. The name of the Father is Jehovah. And Lord. And Lord God.
Now, it’s true that Jesus was the Father manifest in the flesh, and Christ shall be called the Everlasting Father. But that isn’t His name. His name is Jesus. That’s His name. Jesus is the name of a man.
All right, Jude. The Book of Jude. We’ll first take the Father. Jude verse 5: “I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt.” See? “The Lord.” Talking about God back in the Old Testament. “The Lord.”
All right, look at Jude verse 17. It’s obvious Jesus is Lord. “The Lord Jesus Christ.” I mean, obviously, Jesus is Lord. “Every tongue shall confess Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
Now come to 2 Corinthians, and notice the Holy Ghost is Lord. Second Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 17. Second Corinthians 3:17; he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is that Spirit.” Capital L-o-r-d. “The Lord is that Spirit.” So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Ghost is Lord. You baptize folks in the name of the Lord, you baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You baptize folks in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, you baptize them in the name of the Lord. And that’s a Gentile baptism. “Baptize all nations.” So, when I baptize them, I baptize them that way.
QUESTION: Jude 4 is better than Jude 5, because it says, “Lord God,” and then it says, “Lord Jesus Christ.”
ANSWER: Yeah, there’s both of them together. “Lord God the Father,” “Lord Jesus Christ the Son.”
All right, that’s an interesting study in Bible perversion, isn’t it? I’ll tell you, a man who would change the word of God to prove something that he wants to prove, I wouldn’t trust his business ethics or his social ethics, or his domestic ethics for 15 cents. I don’t care how godly he was. If he’d make a liar out of God to prove something, he’d shoot his grandmother for 25 cents. Under the right impulse. I mean, if he needed 25 cents bad enough and could shoot her and get away with it, he’d do it! He’d do it.
QUESTION: Those Pentecostals who keep putting “Jesus” before “God,” you know, I think the book they run it up on is Revelation 2:8, that he was saying, “the first and the last,” and they were trying to make Jesus before God. He’s a heretic, isn’t he?
ANSWER: That’s really a oneness. They get to saying “Jesus only” and all that stuff.
All right, Acts chapter 10, verse 48: “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.” Now this shows the utmost importance of one word in the King James Bible. One word there is the difference between Gentile baptism and Jewish baptism, and between correct Bible theology and incorrect Bible theology — one word.