THE LINE DRAWN
Save your ink cartridge and paper! Copies of this booklet are available at a reasonable price. Order the THE LINE DRAWN and share a professionally printed edition! PREFACE In 1965, we wrote a book, intended primarily for Christian leaders, concerning the errors of the Pentecostal baptism and tongues. Entitled THE RED LETTERS, that [hardcopy] book is now out of print. [Click on the title to go to the e-version]. Since the charismatic movement has advanced to the very door of every Christian home and church (and entered, in many cases), it is time to give a more explicit word of warning. Hence we are seeking to share, with both leaders and led, the doctrinal and experiential explanations of the onrushing charismatic four horsemen--the baptism, tongues, healing, and demonism, so-called. The stampede is on, and none can remain neutral. Each of us must seriously consider the line drawn by the Word of God. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 12:2). Miles J. Stanford CONTENTS III. The Filling with the Spirit IV. True Tongues VII. Tongues in the Corinthian Church VIII. Signs Retired IX. Baptism in Error X. The Seed Bed of Pseudo Demonism XI. God Sovereign -- Satan Servant CHARISMATIC QUESTIONS THE PROBLEM -- Like many Christians today, you may be confronted by the following questions:
Or perhaps one of your family or friends have had "the baptism," and it seems to make a drastic difference in their life. You are impressed. Another may have continued for a time at fever pitch, only to lose the experience. This situation resulted in depression and despondency, with the individual feeling forsaken by God. Hospitalization may have become necessary. You are shocked. Perhaps you have heard of those both in liberal and even Roman Catholic churches who, though not professing to be born again, suddenly receive "the baptism and the gifts." Immediately they seem to have a more effective testimony than you do, confidently confronting other Christians. This causes you to question whether or not you really have the Spirit. Perhaps you have been strongly urged to seek "the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the gift of tongues." Although you have a fear of not receiving all that God has promised, and your heart is hungry for His best, you question the scriptural basis of this experience. You may have been repelled by what you have seen and heard of in Pentecostalism. However, you are drawn by those who are intellectual and claim to enjoy "the baptism and the gifts" in a more quiet and refined way. You are impressed by the stories and testimonies of many who have had "the baptism"--tremendous healings, signs and wonders, multitudes of souls saved (mostly "recycled"). You are disturbed by the seeming contrast between this and your own life and church. Perhaps a Christian leader whom you have respected and admired for his exemplary life and service is reported to have had the baptism and to speak in tongues during his private devotions (never in public). You find it difficult to understand how anything of this nature could be wrong. You may have confided in a friend concerning a personal problem such as discouragement, pride, or envy, only to be confidently informed that this is the work of discouragement, pride, or envy demons. You are told all will be solved when the demons are "bound and cast into the pit of hell." You don't know what to think about such claims. This brief list is typical, but by no means exhaustive. If you are being confronted with or encountered any of these questions and don't know the answers to them, you can be sure there is a snare on your pathway. "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird" (Proverbs 1:17). This book is shared in order to provide clear biblical answers to these errors, so that the carefully laid snare may be seen and avoided. We cannot remain neutral. Error is aggressive. We have a responsibility to others, as well as to ourselves. BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM -- Before moving into the scriptural explanation, we should understand how and why the so-called baptism, so-called tongues and healing, and so-called demonism have welled up in our midst and become a critical issue today. The word charisma means "divine gift." We will therefore refer to those who claim to have these gifts as "charismatics."
THE LINE -- The line must be drawn, here and now. For too long the protective barrier between self-centered experience and Christ-centered experience has been down trodden. It is time to draw the line double, uncrossable, and to abide and grow on the scriptural side. On that ground of growth there will be spiritual fulfillment and increasing maturity in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, there will be no need whatsoever to so much as look in the direction of self-centered experience. In the following pages, we are seeking to deal not with Pentecostal-type people, but rather with the errors they hold and so aggressively promote. Our responsibility is to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). The issue is truth versus error. "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.... Hold fast the form of sound words...in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 1:7,13). THE BAPTISM BY THE SPIRIT A POSITIONAL TRUTH -- "A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem" (Zechariah 1:16). If the line is to be drawn against the present-day charismatic errors, we must begin at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). That is where the true baptism by the Holy Spirit took place, and it is from that event that the charismatic errors regarding the so-called "baptism in the Holy Ghost" have evolved. The key to understanding the baptism by the Spirit is that it is a positional truth. It is not an experience; it has nothing to do with feelings. The baptism is an instantaneous work comprised of many simultaneous acts of the sovereign God. The following comments deal with but five of these acts which concern us here.
Hence each believer from Pentecost to this day has been, by the Holy Spirit, regenerated, indwelt, baptized into Christ, sealed and anointed--all apart from feelings. These are separate acts, but simultaneously wrought--and non-experiential. Faith in these scriptural facts is absolutely necessary if the believer is to be invulnerable to the siren call of the charismatic claims. The baptism by the Spirit involves more than being "immersed" into the Body of Christ. It means to be brought into organic union with that which is capable of bringing about a change. This baptism is the sovereign act by which the believer's position is changed from death in the first Adam to life in the Last Adam. The Christian becomes a completely new creation in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17). "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3, 4, ASV). CHARISMATIC ERRORS -- None of these facets of the Spirit's work were true of anyone prior to the day of Pentecost. No, not one! Charismatic teaching is that the Spirit had been previously given, and that Acts 2:4 records a "second blessing." "Any error may be founded on part of Scripture; the truth alone is based on the whole." Let us examine some of the verses on which their claim is made. JOHN 20:22 -- "He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit." By this symbolic act the Lord Jesus was preparing the disciples for the soon-coming day of Pentecost with its baptism by the Spirit. At that time they did not receive the Spirit in the full New Testament sense. "For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39). Some time after breathing upon them, the Lord Jesus told the disciples, "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). The baptism by the Spirit was still future. It was to be the first, not a second, blessing. The Word gives no command to be baptized by the Spirit. He was given as a Gift of God, sovereignly and right on schedule--fifty days after the resurrection. It was not the disciples who asked or prayed for the Spirit, but the Lord Jesus. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter" (John 14:16). When was that prayer of our Lord answered? On the day of Pentecost, at which time Peter said, "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:32, 33). LUKE 11:13 -- "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" In the first place, there is no record in the Word that anyone ever did ask Him. If any had, they would have received the Spirit on the basis of the Old Testament economy. That is to say, He would have come upon them or temporarily indwelt them for a specific purpose, just as He did in a sovereign way with Bezaleel (Exodus 31:1-3). ACTS 5:32 -- "And we are his witness of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him." Peter was addressing the unbelieving Sanhedrin, telling them that if they obeyed God in trusting the Messiah, they would be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. In the next chapter (6:7), it is recorded that a great number of priests obeyed and were saved--they were "obedient to the faith." In Hebrews 5:9 there is the same principle: "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." The obedience of faith brings salvation; salvation includes the gift of the Holy Spirit. THE LINE -- The Word is very clear concerning the baptism by the Spirit. It is a once-for-all act of God, never to be repeated, asked or prayed for, nor to be subjectively experienced. The scriptural line has been drawn; there is to be no crossing over to any experience such as a subsequent "reception of the Holy Ghost", a baptism "into" Him, speaking in tongues, a "second work of grace", or "entire sanctification." Any and all of these erroneous extras nullify the completed first work of grace by which the believer is recreated in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, fully accepted by God in all the glorious fullness of His beloved Son, and thereby made safe and secure for time and eternity. It is on this all-important doctrine of the baptism by the Holy Spirit that the charismatics seriously err. This error is the basis for the other excesses that characterize the movement, including its stand against eternal security. Such a doctrinal lack forces them beyond the truth into the false realm of "second blessing" experience. What they lack in objective position (faith), they seek to gain by subjective condition (feelings). By contrast, the position-oriented believer does not lack experience; his is the life-long progress of growth "in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18). THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT VITAL DISTINCTION -- "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). The line has been drawn at Pentecost. Nowhere must this line be more fully maintained than between the baptism by the Spirit, and the filling with the Spirit. Failure at this point has compounded the charismatic errors that are devastating so many lives today. First of all, it is important to note that the disciples were simultaneously baptized by, and filled with, the Spirit at Pentecost. Nevertheless, these are two distinct aspects of the Spirit's work in the believer. THE BAPTISM BY THE SPIRIT -- The baptism is non-experiential, instantaneous, and concerns our position. The only condition for receiving the baptism is to believe and repent. Each believer is placed by the Spirit into living union with the risen Lord, as a branch in the True Vine. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body." "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27). Having been baptized into Christ, one can never be out of Him, since this eternal position is the result of Christ's finished work on the Cross and His risen life--not our human merit or condition. Grace! THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT -- On the other hand, the filling with the Holy Spirit has to do with the believer's condition--his walk. It is repeatable, and is the basis of spiritual growth and service. For example, the disciples were initially filled with the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), but Peter was filled anew when he subsequently addressed the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8). Still later, he and John were again filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31). While we find no command to be baptized by the Spirit, the Word very definitely does command us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). The present tense of the verb denotes a continuous filling--a walk in, or by (in dependence upon), the Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit. This control consists of His dealing with our old nature, and developing our new nature. The result of this growth is power in service, and the progressive manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit--the very characteristics of Christ who is our life (Galatians 5:22. 23; Colossians 3:4). CONDITION FOR FILLING -- For the filling with the Spirit, there is a condition. The condition is to walk in dependence upon the Spirit, rather than in dependence upon the flesh. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Faith's Response -- What is faith's response to this exhortation? As we learn that the old nature has been condemned at the Cross, we are able to count ourselves as having died unto that old life, and as being new creations in Christ. Our reckoning upon the finished work of the Cross gives the Spirit freedom to progressively hold the old man inoperative, in the place of that death. At the same time we are also able to count ourselves as alive unto God in the risen Lord Jesus, thereby giving the Spirit freedom to develop fruit, the life of the True Vine, in our lives (Romans 6:11; John 15:5). This dual reckoning is the faith aspect of our walk in the Spirit: (a) He deals with the old life by means of the already accomplished death of the Cross (Romans 6:6); (b) He develops the new life, the divine nature, from the source of our already completed life in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). FELLOWSHIP FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH -- The very heartbeat and foundation of our spiritual growth is increasingly to know the Lord Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Fellowship with Him fosters the healthy process of growth: death to the old, step by step; life in the new, from glory to glory. "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10). Inworking -- The inward development of this "not I, but Christ" life is also based on the principle of fellowship with Him. We go to the written Word, our source. We depend on the indwelling Spirit to reveal Christ, the Living Word, and we feed on Him. This vital fellowship is the means of conforming us to His likeness. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18). Outworking -- The outworking of these principles of growth also flows from our fellowship with the Lord Jesus. The process of development is slow, thorough, and life-long--even eternal--with no room for evasions or short-cuts. The Holy Spirit is ministering the very life of the Lord Jesus within, therefore it could not be otherwise. "For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you [others]" (II Corinthians 4:11, 12). CHARISMATIC ERRORS REGARDING GROWTH -- The above scriptural principles are absent from the present-day charismatic movement. One does not find there, the willingness to grow at the Spirit's thorough pace, nor to be taken into His process of life out of death. The focus is on a spectacular experience, and it must be received right now! When one experience "totals", another must be worked up. To the altar! On and on it goes, spinning, spinning, but ever failing to produce growth "in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18). Charismatics are thrilled about a "Jesus" who is not necessarily the risen Lord Jesus Christ at all. These dear people aren't even sure they’re saved! This amounts to "another gospel, which is not another" (Galatians 1:6, 7), not really the Gospel which positions one in the risen Lord Jesus Christ at the Father's right hand, eternally safe and secure. By contrast, their excitement is centered in a "Jesus" who is other than the sovereign Savior. "But [now] I am fearful lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning [Genesis 3:4], so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For [you seem readily to endure it] if a man comes and preaches another Jesus than the One we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the [Spirit] you [once] received, or a different gospel from the one you [then] received and welcomed" (II Corinthians 11:3, 4, Amp.). THE LINE -- Many Christians who are choosing to walk in the Spirit and to accept the path of the Cross are mystified at seeing those with little or no interest in the things of the Lord, suddenly fill the scene with their enthusiasm over this new-found experience. They wonder at their claims of such supernatural gifts as the "baptism in the Holy Ghost", tongues, interpretation, prophecy, healing, casting out demons. Ever remember the line drawn, fellow believer! Do not be tempted to cross over into the downgrade realm of experience-centered error. The positional baptism by the Spirit into our risen Lord Jesus makes Him the source of spiritual maturity and fruitful service. On the eternal foundation of that once-for-all baptism, we learn to walk in the Spirit for the experiential filling with, and manifestation of, the victorious life of our risen Lord. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way" (Psalms 37:7). TRUE TONGUES "And [they] began to speak with other tongues [languages]" (Acts 2:4). It is extremely important to draw the scriptural line very carefully at this point. The tongues spoken at Pentecost were: (a) known languages; (b) spoken to God, not man; (c) a sign to the Jews. TONGUES WERE KNOWN LANGUAGES -- "The multitude came together, and were confounded, because every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, asking one to another, ‘Behold, are not all these who speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?’" (Acts 2:6-8). Here was God's miraculous sign, given through the unlearned disciples in the dialect of each of the sixteen countries and provinces represented at Jerusalem. A concise definition of New Testament tongues would be: the miraculous ability to speak in an unlearned language. Notice the two elements: (a) the word tongues means actual known languages; (b) these languages were unknown to the speakers. TONGUES WERE SPOKEN TO GOD -- The Jews from other countries said, "We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11). The disciples, having been baptized into the Lord Jesus and filled with the Spirit, were praising and thanking God for all that He was to them and had done for them in Christ. In their own dialects, the multitude heard of the wonderful works of God. The drawn line must ever be maintained. Tongues were spoken to God, though a sign to unbelieving men. "For he that speaketh in an unknown [foreign] tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God" (I Corinthians 14:2). The fact of the foreign tongues was the sign, not what was expressed by that means. What was said was not a message to men, but to God--praise and thanksgiving. Paul said that the content of speaking in a foreign tongue was the giving of thanks (I Corinthians 14:16, 17). TONGUES WERE A SIGN TO THE JEWS -- When the Holy Spirit came from the glorified Lord Jesus and filled the disciples on the day of Pentecost, a multitude of devout Jews gathered about them (Acts 2:5). Although Israel stubbornly rejected the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, God in mercy--with judgment pending--gave them a tangible sign, as prophesied in Isaiah 28:11, "For with...another tongue will he speak to this people." In reference to this same prophecy Paul wrote, "In the law it is written, With men of other languages and other lips will I speak unto this people; 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" (I Corinthians 14:21 22). This is a significant statement, as it is the only mention in Scripture of the purpose of the gift of tongues. As a nation, the Jews believed not at Pentecost, although many individuals responded to the sign. With patience and love God gave His people every opportunity to turn to their Messiah. "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; for with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:10, 11). THE TRUE BAPTISM EFFECTS POSITIONAL ONENESS -- In His mercy God extended the sign beyond Jerusalem for a time after Pentecost to include the Samaritans, the Gentiles, and some disciples of John the Baptist, thus gathering representatives of all to be baptized into the Body of Christ. "And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). As has been cited, our Lord's prayer for the baptism by the Spirit on behalf of the disciples was answered at Pentecost. Another prayer for His own has also been answered. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee...and I in them" (John 17:20, 21, 26). At Pentecost the Father sent the Holy Spirit to baptize, to unite the Jewish believers to the risen Lord Jesus, as well as to each other as members of the one Body. Then He did the same for the half-Jewish, half-Gentile Samaritans; then also for the Gentiles in Cornelius' house; and later for the group of disciples of John the Baptists. Throughout this dispensation of grace each believer is vitally and eternally incorporated into the Lord Jesus and His Body. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body." "There is one body...one baptism." "now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:4, 5; I Corinthians 12:12). Praise God, we are "all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). This positional oneness was accomplished by the Holy Spirit when He baptized us into the Lord Jesus upon believing. As to the aspect of our condition, or walk, there is all too little oneness amongst believers in general. Practical unity can only be realized as we are controlled by the Spirit who makes real our oneness in Christ, the Head of the Body. THE TRUE BAPTISM EFFECTS UNITY OF THE FAITH -- It is God's purpose that each of His children progress in spiritual maturity. Only thus will the Holy Spirit have adequate instruments for the building up of the Body of Christ. "And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting [maturing] of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13, ASV). THE CHARISMATIC BAPTISM EFFECTS DIVISION -- To err concerning the baptism sets one on the path of deprecated doctrine and glorified experience, at the expense of responsible spiritual growth. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive; but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:14, 15). When fellowship is based upon experience it can include anyone--Buddhists, Hindus, Spiritists, New Age, as well as Roman Catholics who testify that their 'baptism in the Holy Ghost' has caused them to more fully love and appreciate their [false] Church, its Mass, and the Mother Mary. Such oneness may be ecumenical, but it is not pneumatological (of the Holy Spirit). "I am profaned among them" (Ezekiel 22:26). THE LINE -- Never cross the scriptural line. Charismatic fellowship is centered in an experience of error, not in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Such fellowship excludes all who refuse that experience--it is divisive. "Is Christ divided?" (I Corinthians 1:13). JOEL'S PROPHECY FROM SIGN TO MESSAGE -- The tongues at Pentecost were addressed to God, the words were foreign to those who spoke them, and understood by the mixed multitude of Jews. They heard the works of God extolled in praise and thanksgiving, but they were gripped by the sign itself. "And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this?" (Acts 2:12). The sign having accomplished its purpose in arresting the attention of the unbelieving Jews, the focus changed from the sign and the wonderful works of God to the Apostle Peter and the saving words of God. The line is drawn here. The prophet speaks to man, from God. "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort...that all may learn, and all may be comforted" (I Corinthians 14:3, 31). At that time--the apostolic age--God's communications were given by direct revelation, until the Word was finalized in writing. ACTS 2--CHURCH; JOEL 2--KINGDOM -- Then Peter prophesied to the assembled Jews regarding the significance of Pentecost. "Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem...this is that which was spoken through the prophet, Joel" (Acts 2:14, 15). He did not say that this was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. Rather, he claimed it to be an illustration of the outpouring of the Spirit which is to be experienced at the time of Israel's exaltation in the Kingdom. We should not fail to note that Joel made no mention of tongues. Joel prophesied concerning the "last days" of the nation Israel, at which time the Spirit will be poured out upon "all flesh" (Joel 2:28). This will be the universal reception of the gift of the Spirit in all His fullness, not baptism into the Body of Christ. The prophet could not have intended the baptism of the Spirit and the formation of the Church, as these truths were not revealed in the Old Testament (Ephesians 3:1-9). Joel spoke of the "last days" of Israel, Peter spoke of the first day of the Church. Further, Joel wrote of the "latter rain" and the "last days" in relation to Israel's history, not the "last days" of the Church in which we are now living (II Timothy 3:1). The cosmic wonders of Joel 2:19 and 20 have not occurred, nor can they occur prior to the return of Israel's Messiah in power and great glory (Matthew 24:29,30). (See footnote on Acts 2:17 regarding "days," New Scofield Reference Bible). Consider this aspect of Joel's prophecy as quoted by Peter: "And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come" (Acts 2:19, 20). Let’s turn to Matthew's Gospel for his identification of this climactic event. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:29, 30). THE GOSPEL OF THE CIRCUMCISION -- It is necessary to draw the line concerning Peter's preaching on this occasion. At Pentecost he was speaking to Israel only. This was before the Gentiles were brought into the Church, as recorded in Acts 10:34-38. As we read in Acts 2:14-40, Peter witnessed to them of the risen Lord Jesus Christ whom they had crucified, and the Holy Spirit brought them under conviction of sin. Then he instructed 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 Spirit." There was no waiting or agonizing, praying or fasting, or tongues-speaking. The conditions upon which the Jews received the gift of the Spirit at that time were: belief in Christ, repentance for sin, and water baptism. This was the Gospel of the circumcision, and involved water baptism before receiving the gift of the Spirit. They were to repent of having (representatively) slain their Messiah, and in a figurative way to wash their hands of the crime by being baptized (water). Then the Spirit would indwell them. Paul was saved on the basis of this Gospel of the circumcision (Acts 9:18; 22:16). THE GOSPEL OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION -- When we come to Cornelius and the Gentiles being brought into the Church through receiving the gift of the Spirit, we shall see the Gospel of the uncircumcision in action--the very Gospel by which we were born again and baptized into the Body of Christ. "But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me [Paul], as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter" (Galatians 2:7). In the Gospel of the uncircumcision the order is: belief in Christ, repentance for sin, reception of the Spirit, and then water baptism--the public confession of identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. THE BAPTISM OF FIRE -- In this connection it may be helpful to note a prophecy made by John the Baptist. The Jews asked him whether he was the Christ, or not. "John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Luke 3:16). Later, when the Lord Jesus spoke to the disciples regarding Pentecost, He referred to John's words, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). He made no mention of fire. The baptism of fire is related to Christ's second coming, and had nothing to do with the disciples, who were soon to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Church Age was introduced by the baptism of the Spirit (grace), but the Kingdom Age will be heralded by the baptism of fire (judgment). THE LINE -- The line drawn at Pentecost emphasizes the fact that although the Church was formed then, it was wholly Jewish for approximately the first five years--"to the Jew first" (Romans 2:10). But as a nation they steadfastly rejected the Lord Jesus until, in Acts 28:28, they were rejected. At that climactic juncture Paul finally had to say, "Be it known, therefore, unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." Henceforth, while the Jewish nation is temporarily set aside by God, believing Gentiles and Jews are being brought into the Body of Christ. Joel's prophecy concerning the end-time Jews will not be fulfilled until the Church has been raptured; then the Lord Jesus will return to the earth to reign over His people Israel and the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon "all flesh." Not another Pentecost-like baptism into the Body, but a glorious outpouring as the Millennial Kingdom is introduced (Joel 2:28-32). There is no possibility of a repetition of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came on that day, never to depart, but to abide. His coming introduced the Church Age. The fulfillment of Joel's prophecy will usher in the Kingdom Age, the millennial reign of Christ on earth. NO "SECOND BLESSING" "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them" (Acts 8:5). SAMARITANS -- The Samaritans, being half Jewish and half Gentile, were logically the next group to be included in the Body of Christ. The witness was to be given first in Jerusalem, then in all Judaea, then in Samaria (Acts 1:8). It is evident that Philip preached the Gospel of the circumcision to the Samaritans, in that after they believed they were baptized in water before the Spirit was given to them. Here, there was a lapse of time between their water baptism and their being given the gift of the Spirit. In this unique situation we see a definite reason for the time gap. There had been age-long and bitter enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans, including rival religions. Peter, as custodian of the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19), had preached the Gospel to the Jewish nation at Pentecost, and the Church was born. In order to maintain the unity of the Church, Peter was sent to Samaria to lay his hands on the new believers as a demonstration of their oneness with the Jerusalem Christians. They then received the gift of the Spirit and were baptized into the Body of Christ. [Editor's note: Acts 8:12 and16 state that those men and women who had responded to Philip's message were (water) baptized in or "into the name of the Lord Jesus" prior to Peter and John's arrival.] Such a space of time between believing and receiving the gift of the Spirit is not again found in the Word. This particular situation gives no ground whatever upon which to claim that the Samaritans received a "second work of grace." It was their first and only baptism into the Body. GENTILES -- "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). It was a big step for Peter to acknowledge the half-caste Samaritans as members of the Body; in fact, it was the stepping stone to his encounter with the outcast Gentiles. Even so, he had to be further prepared of God by the vision of the great sheet containing all manner of creatures, at Joppa (Acts 10:20). Using the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Peter preached the Gospel of the uncircumcision to the spiritually prepared Gentile, Cornelius, and his household. Upon believing, the Holy Spirit fell on all of them and they spoke with tongues and magnified God, just as had been done at Pentecost by the disciples. In this instance the sign of tongues was for the benefit of Peter and his companions, to indicate that the Gentile believers were fully one with them in Christ Jesus--all members of the one Body, the Church--"where there is neither Greek [Gentile} nor Jew" (Colossians 3:11). Notice that it was after they had received the gift of the Spirit that Peter instructed the Gentile converts to be baptized in water. "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:47,48). Some maintain that Cornelius and his household were already saved, and that Peter came to administer the "baptism in the Holy Ghost." The Word again draws the line to cordon off another charismatic misconception. None of the Gentiles were born again until Peter shared the Gospel of the uncircumcision with them. The angel had said to Cornelius, "Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell thee words, by which thou and all thy house shall be saved" (Acts 11:13,14). Not only did Peter need special preparation and proof concerning the inclusion of Gentiles in the Body, but also those Jews who comprised the Church at Jerusalem. "And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them" (Acts 11:2,3). In explaining himself, Peter revealed some very pertinent facts. "and as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Forasmuch, then, as God gave them the same gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts 11:15-18). This constituted their salvation, not a "second word of grace." DISCIPLES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST -- Paul encountered twelve Jews in Ephesus who were disciples of John the Baptist. Apollos, who knew only the Old Testament Scriptures and John's preparatory message, had led them as far as the baptism of repentance (Acts 18:24,25). Paul carefully explained that John the Baptist did not preach salvation, and he proceeded to share the Gospel of the circumcision with them. When they believed the saving message, Paul followed the correct pattern by baptizing them in water in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then he laid his hands upon them, and they received the gift of the Spirit. They all spoke with tongues and prophesied, thus evidencing that they were baptized into the Body of Christ and filled with the Spirit just as the others had been at Pentecost (Acts 19:1-7). In dealing with these men, Paul had asked them, "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed?" (Acts 19:2, ASV). Having believed only John the Baptist's message through Apollos, they had not known about the baptizing work of the Spirit. They had already believed unto repentance, it is true, but the object of their faith was inadequate. There is a line drawn. Saving faith must have a saving object! Apollos preached John's repentance; Paul ministered the Lord Jesus' life. CHARISMATIC ERROR -- Charismatic teaching insists that these disciples of John the Baptist were saved through Apollos' message, and that through Paul they received the "second blessing." This particular error has been fostered by the following rendering of Acts 19:2 in the King James Version: "Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed?" The American Standard Version (1901) gives the accurate translation, which makes all the difference: "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed?" A similar problem arises in Acts 1:8 of the King James Version: "But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you." This is clarified in the American Standard Version which states: "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you." THE LINE -- Thank God for the drawn line! Our Father would guard us from seeking a doctrinally faulty object, resulting in a dark and crippling experience. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). In dependence upon the Spirit of Truth, we are to be very careful to "distinguish the things that differ," to ever maintain a vital distinction between truth and error. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may distinguish the things that differ" (Philippians 1:9,10, marg., ASV). TONGUES IN THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH 1 CORINTHIANS 14 -- During the period in which Paul was establishing the Ephesian believers, he wrote a letter of instruction to the new church in Corinth. In chapters 12 to 14 in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, he discussed the subject of spiritual gifts. In chapter 14 he dealt with the most important gift, that of prophecy, and the least important of all gifts, that of tongues. Together let us go through the most vital verses of that chapter.
The New Testament gift of prophecy involved ministering to the Church that which had been given by direct revelation from God. This was the most needed gift of the apostolic age, in that the Scriptures were not yet completed. Although the believers were on New Testament ground, they had little written revelation beyond the Old Testament.
It was good to praise and thank God in exercising the tongues-sign to the Jews, but the young church needed to be built up in the faith through the gift of prophecy.
The prophetic gift was for the purpose of conveying the message of God directly to all present, as Peter did at Pentecost after the sign of tongues had been given.
When a man was given a tongue in praise to God as a sign to the Jews, he himself was being edified in his exercise of the gift. But the church gained nothing in that they could not understand what was being said. Paul stressed the importance of all the congregation being edified by means of the gift of prophecy.
Tongues were a help to the church only when the praise to God was interpreted, that all might share in the blessing of what was said to Him. Interpretation itself was one of the sign gifts.
Tongues, when interpreted, were edifying to the church. However, when it came to believers being doctrinally instructed, they were to be ministered to by the prophetic gift. This was direct revelation from God, conveying knowledge and doctrine. Tongues were from man to God, and had to do mainly with praise.
To excel would be to profit and edify the church by means of the best gift [prophecy], rather than by the least gift [tongues].
In Paul's extensive missionary travels he encountered many Jews, to whom the sign of tongues was duly given.
In its benefit to the church, the gift of prophecy was 2,000 times more valuable than the gift of tongues.
It was necessary to exercise the right gift for the right people. Even at Pentecost there were those who, "mocking, said, These men are full of new wine" (Acts 2:13).
What could be a greater contrast then the reactions to these two gifts? Untranslated tongues reminded the unlearned and unbeliever of drunkenness and madness, while Spirit-directed prophecy brought conviction of sin and worship of God.
Many unsaved Jews attended these early church meetings for one reason or another, and God in mercy was still giving them the sign of tongues. But there was soon to be a change. ISRAEL SUSPENDED -- We see in the Old Testament that Israel rejected God the Father, we see in the Gospels that they rejected God the Son, and we see in Acts that they rejected the witness of God the Spirit. The closing of Israel's national opportunity began when they rejected the Messiah at Pentecost and culminated at the end of Acts, thus spanning the years 30 to approximately 62 A.D.
With Israel set aside, she now has neither priority nor privilege. She is in the same position as any other nation in relation to the promises and claims of the Gospel, until God resumes His dealings (Kingdom) with her after the Rapture of the Church. Until then, it is "whosoever will." SIGNS RETIRED 1 CORINTHIANS 13 -- Against the backdrop of Israel's triple rejection of God and His consequent turning to the Gentiles, we now look into 1 Corinthians 13. This portion of the Word will explain one of the results of this rejection: the termination or cessation of the sign gifts.
When Paul stated that love never fails, his implication was that the gifts were to fail. As the nation's rejection progressed, the phasing out of the sign gifts progressed. At Pentecost, all the disciples spokes in tongues; in the Corinthian church, not all (1 Corinthian 12:30), at the close of Acts (A.D. 61-62), none spoke in tongues. With Israel set aside, the sign of tongues was brought to an end. SIGN GIFTS SUPERSEDED BY THE WRITTEN WORD -- By the time the Church was in possession of the complete canon of Scripture (A.D. 100), there was no longer any need for direct revelation through the gift of prophecy, nor for authentication through sign gifts. The Word of God speaks for itself! Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church about A.D. 55-56, and in that setting we find the last recorded occurrence of the gift of tongues. In the later epistles which include lists of spiritual gifts, such as the vital Romans and Ephesians letters, there is neither mention of tongues nor of any other sign gifts.
The gifts of knowledge and prophecy gave only partial help, and the gifts listed in chapter 12 of Corinthians were only temporary--to be totally superseded by the all-sufficient Word of God. "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple" (Psalms 119:130).
It must first be understood that the phrase, "that which is perfect," is in the neuter gender in the Greek, hence it could not refer to a person, e.g. the Lord Jesus. The word perfect means mature or complete. It was the completed Word which rendered the gifts of revelation and knowledge obsolete.
Twice Paul referred to the Scriptures as a mirror. With but a partially completed Word and a few temporary gifts, the reflection of Christ, the Living Word, was dark and indistinct. Thank God, the line is drawn. Now, with the Word of God in toto, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to see the Lord therein. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Then, it was the darkened mirror of the gifts; now, it is the brightened mirror of the Lord Jesus Christ in the perfected Word, "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). What gift could do that?
By A.D. 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were dispersed, the sign of tongues had been discontinued. By A.D. 100 when the New Testament was completed, the sign gifts--such as miracles, healings, prophecy, knowledge--were inoperative. Faith and hope will continue until the Rapture, when they too will no longer be necessary. Love, the greatest of all, will abide throughout eternity. LOVE IS PREEMINENT -- We must remember that the chapter we are considering at present is Paul's ode to love, and that it is the very heart of his instruction concerning the sign gifts. In urging his readers to "covet earnestly the best gifts," he emphatically said, "Yet show I unto you a more excellent way [path]" (1 Corinthians 12:31). Paul's point in chapter 13 was not primarily that the gifts were to be ministered in love, although that was essential, but rather that the gifts were temporary and love is eternal. Even faith and hope would endure for a time after the gifts were gone, but love would remain, preeminent and permanent. Then, in returning to the subject of gifts, he again mentioned the more excellent way by saying, "Follow after love [the path]" (1 Corinthians 14:1). THE LINE -- The line has been drawn. No longer are there temporary sign gifts, but now gifted men are given as gifts to the Church to minister the truth in love for the perfecting [maturing] of the saints.
The apostles and prophets mentioned above are no longer with us; their work consisted in the foundation and extension of the Church and the completion of the Scriptures. In that sense they remain with us. "Ye...are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19, 20). Today the Church does not need the sign gifts. The motivation for growth, worship, and service for each of the members of the Body, is the indwelling life and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth, spoken and expressed in love, is far more lasting and effective than any gift. Gift-centered love today may be as false as the gift; Christ-centered love is as true as the Christ. BAPTISM IN ERROR "QUIET, PLEASE" -- The sign gifts have ended, but the error lingers on. It is conservatively estimated the 75 percent of those who claim to have the baptism, tongues and other sign gifts today, are women. Such a situation calls for the drawn line of the Word. "Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak" (1 Corinthians 14:34). The context and content of this verse primarily concern the gifts of prophecy and tongues. In the midst of detailed instructions, which Paul stated were "the commandments of the Lord" (v. 37), we find this admonition concerning women. Later, with regard to church procedure, Paul wrote, "Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence" (1 Timothy 2:11, 12). It is certainly permissible and intended that women teach under proper circumstances, but not to exercise authority over men. MEN ONLY -- The Holy Spirit is not giving sign gifts to anyone today--male or female! It is evident that the gifts mentioned in the Corinthian church were given only to men. There is no record in the Word that a women ever received the gift of tongues. Some insist that the ban was against tongues-speaking within a church building, but there were none of these at that time. Actually, the church is represented by any two or three who are gathered together in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether within or without a church building. Since the true baptism by the Holy Spirit is non-experiential, and the sign gifts are no longer operative, as has been shown in the Word, just what are the charismatic experiences that are being promoted today? THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE CHARISMATIC BAPTISM -- The "baptism in the Holy Ghost" is a fleshly experience brought about by a combination of super-emotionalism, hypnotism, and religious hysteria, mainly induced by the sheer force of psychological suggestion. Depending upon the emotional makeup of the individual, the experience may be low key, or very high key. Thorough the years this fleshly baptism has left a heart-breaking trail of wreckage in lives, marriages, homes, and churches. In this "hypnotic crisis" the subject accepts whatever is suggested or commanded. He (she) is made to believe that they are experiencing the "baptism of the Holy Ghost" and that they have the gift of tongues. This erroneous concept enters the subconscious, resulting in permanent damage. The mind is subconsciously set in these errors, which become virtually impossible to correct by means of scriptural truth or reasoning--as anyone who has attempted to do so will affirm. There are a number of means utilized to produce this neurological breakdown, such as beat music, repetitive hand-clapping and singing, thrilling testimonies, exhortation, and manipulation of the body. Through such previous conditioning, or even the individual's desperate seeking, "the baptism" is sometimes experienced when alone--suddenly, and seemingly without cause. Whatever the means, when the climactic physical condition is attained, the cerebral nervous system is overpowered by the highly stimulated ganglionis--or automatic nervous system, which is centered in the solar plexus. This charismatic ‘baptism’ is often described in such words as these, "A ball of fire seemed to form in my stomach." This is the source of the baptism of experience--the mind shut down, the automation system out of control, with the subconscious coming to the surface. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF CHARISMATIC TONGUES -- When an individual is brought into this abnormal state of the baptism, his vocal mechanism is stimulated by the out-of-control nervous action, resulting in an irrational babbling. This gibberish is never a language, although parts of syllables are sometimes heard due to the ecstatic stimulation of the uncontrolled vocal chords. Once the nerve pattern has been established, this chattering may be exercised at will. Some claim to have recognized foreign languages brought forth by tongues speakers, but this has never been proven. In isolated instances there may have been foreign words or syllables uttered. These slip out of the released subconscious, words picked up consciously or subconsciously in the past, a la Bridey Murphy. Sometimes there is a deliberate falsification concerning such language "verification." THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF CHARISMATIC HEALING -- These same psychotic conditions are the necessary stock-in-trade of the "healers," in order to effect their hypnotic and neuro-manipulations. Once the "patient" is conditioned and hands are laid upon him (her), often forcefully, they usually experiences a feeling of shock and heat surging up through the body, followed by a release of tension. This is the same reaction of the lower ganglionic nerves that produces the charismatic baptism, and tongues. But this "electric" charge never comes from the hands of the healer! It is the ecstatic climax of the over-wrought (often easily wrought) plexus centers which are located along the spinal column and in the solar plexus of the victim. It is the resulting climax of the psychoneurotic hysteria built up by the healer, the song leader (exhorter), the music, the crowd, and the individual's need and expectation. This psychic contagion is often manipulated apart from the use of physical contact by the healer. A pointed finger accompanied by a commanding voice are enough to trigger this short-circuiting of the overloaded nervous system. Many testify to being healed in this way, but they are simply experiencing a temporary psychic catharsis of a neurotic symptom. Others prevaricate (fake it), in an effort to gain the spotlight or to help the cause. No one today has the gift of healing; that was included among the sign gifts retired at the close of the apostolic age. God heals supernaturally today when it suits His purpose for the individual. He also heals in response to prayer when it is according to His will in the matter. But for the most part He heals through His own natural laws and by remedial means practiced by the medical profession. God does not heal through professional healers, nor those amateurs who claim to have the gift of healing. THE LINE -- The line must be drawn with regard to the baptism of experience, or any sign gift. If it involves a woman, the line must be doubled! Neither men nor women charismatics are spiritually qualified to guide anyone. They are unsure of their first step, not having progressed to assurance of eternal salvation--the basic building block for all spiritual growth. This void results in slavery to the alter of re-salvation and re-sanctification. Unless a life is anchored upon the eternally secure foundation of the Lord Jesus' finished work at Calvary, the only alternative is to build upon the shifting sand of sensuous experiences. CHARISMATIC ERROR REGARDING SECURITY -- There are some in the charismatic movement who claim to teach the security of the believer. It is always conditional; it is not the scriptural, unconditional, eternal security that is solely based upon the saving work and risen life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Other charismatics who claim to possess eternal security have brought this truth with them from solid ground outside; they did not receive it from the movement's teachings. And, if they remain in the anti-security realm, most of what was previously held will be lost. Error is a degenerating influence. LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY -- Pastor, if any souls of charismatic persuasion surface in your congregation, such should be immediately dealt with in love concerning their beliefs and practices. Given time to turn from their errors, if they then refuse to do so it will be necessary to take them before the elders of the church. If they still remain adamant, the course must shift from that of seeking to save the "wolves," to that of saving the flock. If this is not carried out, as Scripture directs, they will leave of their own accord in time. But when they do, they will take some of the best of the congregation with them.
THE SEED BED OF PSEUDO DEMONISM Error is always destructive, and the charismatic baptism of experience is no exception. It takes its victims through tongues and the gifts down the fantasy trail--ending in pseudo demonism. A foundational error produces structural catastrophe. THE EVENT -- A bit of historical background will give us light as to the source of much of the hysteria we are witnessing today. The Welsh Revival occurred during the fall of 1904 and the spring of 1905. The national church of Wales had become cold and dead, and there is no question but that many were helped and even saved during that awakening. However, there was very little doctrinal preaching. The revival was almost entirely based upon crowd singing (amongst a people of highly emotional nature) and an emphasis on the "baptism of the Holy Ghost". THE LEADERSHIP AND MESSAGE -- Evan Roberts, a young coal miner and sometime Bible school student, emerged as the leader. Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, who was involved in the revival's tragic aftermath, wrote, "Mr. Evan Roberts' message at the commencement of the Welsh Revival was essentially to believers, urging upon them the need of the baptism of the Holy Ghost." (1) Both Mr. Roberts and Mrs. Penn-Lewis taught that the baptism was for "power for service and warfare against Satan and the powers of darkness." Neither of them promoted the gift of tongues. They went past that, right into the teaching of demonism. Nevertheless, the charismatic baptism did its work in the revival excitement, with tongues and other fleshly excesses immediately breaking out and bringing to an end any semblance of true awakening. Prior to this debacle, most of the Christian workers in England and Wales were being brought along in the growth truths by the conference ministry of Mrs. Penn-Lewis and others, as well as the early Keswick Conventions. But it is sad to relate, that for the majority their growth was cut short when they were drawn into the revival's "baptism of the Holy Ghost for power and warfare". THE PROBLEM -- The impetus for the present-day surge of so-called demonism was generated right there! Roberts and Penn-Lewis attributed to demons the devastating results of the experiential "baptism of power for service and warfare." They were unable to face the possibility that the charismatic baptism may have been the cause of the trouble. What was due to accelerated flesh, they put down to demons. THE RESULTS -- The true influence of the Welsh revival upon believers in that day (and ours) has not been generally realized down through the years. However, Mrs. Penn-Lewis admitted that wildfire erupted "from the very outset." The physical, mental, and spiritual wreckage resulting from the baptism was appalling in its effect upon the revival's leaders and workers, to say nothing of the new converts. She said that "thousand," and, "nearly all," were "wrecked." Evan Roberts himself suffered a severe mental breakdown at the end of the revival, from which he never recovered. As a result, his public ministry was finished. The same thing happened to heart-breaking numbers of those who experienced the baptism, and continues to occur amongst the charismatics today. DEMONS INDICTED FOR ALL -- Five years after the awakening died, Roberts wrote:
The frightful evidence all about them caused these two leaders to have serious doubts about "the baptism of power." However, in placing the blame upon demons for all the spiritual devastation, they completely missed the point. Mrs. Penn-Lewis knew the truths concerning the self-life, but she followed Roberts beyond the pale of scriptural sanity. It is the same today amongst the charismatics and many others. Demons are blamed for everything, whereas the true cause of the trouble lies with the baptism of experience and the activity of the old nature. How often it is said, "The devil made me do it!" By 1912 (seven years after the revival) the state of believers in Britain and Wales was so critical that in desperation Mrs. Penn-Lewis, with Roberts' assistance, wrote the controversial book, War on the Saints. Its purpose was to show that the post-revival condition of believers was due to demon activity; it was also an effort to lead them back to spiritual sanity. The book failed to accomplish this purpose, and its abridgment continues to contribute to the present-day problem. STRANGE RESULTS OF THE BAPTISM -- The following quotation from the unabridged volume reveals that these leaders faltered concerning the baptism; they were forced to question it, but never arrived at the answer. No line drawn!
SCRIPTURE IS THE ONLY STANDARD -- In blindly missing the answer to the cause of the trouble--hyperactivity of the old nature--Roberts and Penn-Lewis went all the deeper into their demon fantasy. When queried on the subject, they had not a shred of Scripture to offer; true to form, all was hung upon experience and imagination. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
LACK OF LINE -- Mrs. Penn-Lewis bordered on the answer, but saw only demons! What these leaders, and charismatics in general, regard as demon-caused is simply a out-of-control nervous reaction generated by the baptism of experience. Without a line drawn, Roberts went even to this extreme in Scripture-less theorizings:
Beware, friend, of the baptism of experience! If it brought these renowned leaders to such extremes, think of what it is doing in charismatic circles today.
GOD SOVEREIGN -- SATAN SERVANT We are observing today the results of what we have just noted in the early years of the present century. The error of the Welsh Revival leaders is running rampant in our midst--that of attributing the works of the flesh to demons. Hence it is essential that we take a sane look at the contemporary demon craze. QUESTIONABLE STORIES OF DEMON ACTIVITY -- Charismatics are responsible for most, if not all, of the oft-repeated and much embellished reports concerning demons, raising of the dead, walking on water, etc., whether they be of local or foreign origin. Of late more and more non-charismatics who fall for these stories are contributing to, and becoming a part of, the problem. The fact remains that there is neither scriptural nor evidential proof to support such tales. But to escape being taken in by these apocryphal accounts, one's discernment must at least exceed the credulity of the TV wrestling fan! THE DEMONIC TOBOGGAN -- Many today, from charismatic neophytes to old line "deeper life" teachers, purport to cast out evil spirits and to hold conversations with depression demons, sickness demons, pouting demons, crying demons, and laughing demons. Remember, it is usually those who insist that you do not have the Spirit and that you do not have eternal security, who will very likely inform you that you do have a demon. As soon as one begins to take these myths at face value, he is on a demonic toboggan. In stepping down from scriptural ground, one slides helplessly to the very bottom of the slope of absurdity. Nowadays there are respected conservative leaders who have slipped to the place of insisting that believers can be possessed by demons. Their slide has caused them to affirm that sins in the life of the believer--such as jealousy, spite, hate, temper, pride--are demons, and that to cast out these evil spirits is to solve the problem. It is even taught that modern tongues are the work of a ventriloquist demon! HYPNOTIC CRISIS -- Believer, never forget the neurological effects of the baptism of experience, or of frantic heathen rites, or of common everyday psychotic illness. In any one of these unnatural states, the control of the rational cerebral mind is relinquished and the automatic, ganglionic "mind" takes over--often to the extent of allowing freedom of expression to the subconscious. In such a condition, to one degree or another, the unsaved or saved "possessed" one is confronted by the would-be demon deposer. Hypnotic-like suggestion forcefully applied often causes the escaped subconscious to slip by the guard of the semi-conscious rational mind, resulting in a verbal response to the shouted promptings and strident commands of the one in "authority." A woman's subconscious may even respond in male voice--something that surely would have intrigued Sigmund Freud! THE LINE -- The final line must be drawn. The one safe and sane ground on any subject of this nature is to remain within the bounds of unquestionably clear Scripture. We are not to seek even the apostles' experiences (nor anyone else's), but we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth and obey the apostolic teaching for this Church Age. Believers Only! -- The Church Age has primarily to do with the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which each believer is an eternal member. A Christian does not require sign gifts to authenticate the Word of God, because he is a believer. Believer, your Father is the God of the universe! Satan Serves -- Satan has never made a move that has not been under the full control of our sovereign God, nor has any power of his ever annulled the will of our Father! The experience of Job is one proof of that fact for all to see in detail, and that took place long before the enemy's total defeat at Calvary. What is true of the conquered Serpent is likewise true of every single one of his doomed followers, commonly known as demons. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe is our very life, the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Quiet Resistance -- As believers, we are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit and the victorious life of the risen Lord. We have no need of leaning upon broken reeds such as the baptism of experience and tongues, nor are we subject to defeated demons, including Satan. Safely "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3), we learn to effortlessly and silently "resist the devil" on the basis of his defeat in the Cross, and our victory in Christ. There is nothing left for him and his minions to do but flee (James 4:7). Deliverance and Growth -- In the matter of deliverance from the power of sin, the burden of the Word does not center upon demons, but upon the Cross in its dealing with sin and the sin nature (Romans 6:6, 11). When it comes to growth, the burden of the Word concerning the believer is not warfare with Satan, but rather his living relationship to the risen Lord Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:1-3). CHARISMATIC ERROR -- We do not have, as do the charismatics, a God who is at the mercy of Satan, nor a "Jesus" who is unable to save completely and guarantee eternal security, nor a "Holy Ghost" who is helpless in the face of supposed demon possession of the believer! Charismatic errors leave nothing but a defeated Spirit and a victorious enemy, as expressed so tragically by Mrs. Penn-Lewis:
THE SPIRIT'S PREPARATION AND PROVISION -- The indwelling Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ; He is God! He ministers within us on the basis of the finished work of the Cross, and from the source of our victorious Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father. When the Holy Spirit has nurtured, developed, and trained us sufficiently in our spiritual growth and service, He instructs us via the Word: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10, 11). Abide Above -- We are in the Lord Jesus, where He is:
Stand -- We stand in His victory; ours is the wrestling of rest.
Resist -- The Holy Spirit establishes us in our position in the Lord Jesus far above all, teaching us to resist by "withstanding" and "standing"--maintaining by faith the position in which we have been placed. Our resistance is grounded in the finished work of the Cross, from which Satan and each of his fallen spirit followers must ever flee. "Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
HOLD THAT LINE! -- Believer, don't be afraid to discriminate.
It may be foolish to underestimate the enemy, but it is fatal to overestimate him. We are neither to be fooled nor "fataled." Our responsibility is to abide steadfastly in both the written and the Living Word, having nothing to do with the charismatic errors. Such a firm and uncompromising position is necessary as a rebuke to those who hold and promote these errors, as an example to those who need protection from such teaching, and as a testimony to the all-sufficiency of Christ and the faithfulness of the blessed Holy Spirit. Our privilege is to stand upon the ground of growth, abiding above in our Lord Jesus Christ, safe and secure on the scriptural side of the line.
The following letter is typical of many that are being received as the result of tragic experiences with charismatic error.
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MJStanford
Home | MJS | Hungry Heart Devotional | Testimony | Memorial | Order Books | Email Best viewed in Explorer 6+ or Netscape 6+, 1024x768 screen display, 16 bit color or higher, and JavaScript on 900MB (2,000+ pages of text) Copyright © 1996-2010 withChrist.org Last updated: December 17, 2009 (Materials by Miles J. Stanford are republished here under exclusive permission from the author.)
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