Listen to this. "Baptism is very important." This is a quote from October 1999.
This is an interview with the press in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Post dispatched the name of the newspaper.
"Baptism is very important because Jesus taught that we are to believe and to be baptized,
but that is up to the individual and the church that they are to believe and to be baptized."
I'm sorry, let me read this again. I messed up.
"Baptism is very important because Jesus taught that we are to believe and to be baptized,
but that is up to the individual and the church that they feel led to go to."
The churches have different teachings on that.
I know that in the Lutheran or the Episcopal or Catholic Church it's a very strong point
and in the Baptist Church, but there are some churches that would not insist on baptism.
So I give them the freedom to teach what they want.
Well, thank you. Thank you so much Billy Graham for giving me the freedom to teach whatever
I want. I appreciate you allowing me to do that.
I'm not a professor, this is Billy Graham speaking. I'm not a theologian. I'm a simple
pro-claimer. I'm announcing the news that God loves you and that you can be forgiven
of your sins and you can go to heaven.
My job from God is not to do all these other things. I'm not a pastor of a church, that's
not my responsibility. My responsibility is to preach the gospel to everyone and let them
choose their own church, whether it's Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox or whatever it is.
Choose your own.
You ever seen these stickers on the back of a, sometimes a truck, like a trucker, you
know, going down the road? It'll say, "Attend the church of your choice this Sunday." You
ever seen, who's seen that before? I've seen, you know, why doesn't it say, "Attend
the church of God's choice this Sunday." Oh, whatever church you want. You like the rock
band, huh? You like the girls up in the miniskirts swinging and swaying and jamming for Jesus,
huh? Is that what you like? Well, don't come here. You know, go choose the church of your
choice. Go choose the church where they preach out of the NIV and the ASV and the RSV and
the HIV and the ABCDEFG. Go to whatever church you want. Hey, go to the church of your choice.
No, I'm going to go to the church that God chose, huh? They say, "Well, I think all churches
are good all religions are good you must have learned that from Billy didn't you
you and Billy figured that out didn't you but God says no no no no it's this
word it's this God it's this Jesus Christ it's this Bible it's one way of
salvation it's faith in Jesus Christ