Let's review quickly the process that we've been working through over the last two months or so. So, you guys yell it out. The description of this first process, I guess, order of salvation, is when God chooses the people to be saved. That's called? The election. The election. Okay. And then next comes the proclaiming of the message of the Gospel.

That would be? Calling. Calling. Okay, that would be calling. And then this is the being born again, that those who are dead are given new life to even respond to the Gospel. And that's called? Regeneration. Regeneration. And then comes this one act, the two sides of this one act, this faith and repentance.

Conversion. Conversion. And then the right legal standing before God. So, this is a declaration of God on us. Justification. This is justification. God giving us the right to have membership in His family. Adoption. Adoption. And then conforming to Christ is? Sanctification. Our sanctification. So, next we're going to be covering perseverance, the remaining as a Christian and then fighting this fight of faith or running this race of endurance.

We're going to talk about death and glorification. But before we do that, today there is a need to have a discussion in the realm of sanctification. And the reason why is because, obviously in terms of our salvation, our sanctification is a huge aspect in terms of even a timeline.

But, like we said last time, there has been a lot of confusion about sanctification. And today what we're going to be talking about is in the realm or discussion of sanctification, there has been a discussion of what does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Or, asked another way, what does it mean to walk in the Spirit of God?

And are those two the same things? Being baptized in the Spirit of God or walking in the Spirit of God? Because during our time here in sanctification, during our time as Christians trying to be living lives, sanctified lives into God, we want to be walking in the Spirit. Now what does that look like?

Well, we want to have this discussion because in recent history. And when I say recent, I don't mean like last year, I mean in the last 100 years, there has been great confusion. The little blank that we start off at number one is the word Pentecostalism. P-E-N-T, actually it says the spread of Pentecostalism.

So, there has been a spread of a theology, of a certain doctrine. And this spread of doctrine has started, began in 1901 when Charles Farnham, basically what he believed was that as he observed in the New Testament, there were great, powerful acts of miracles. Given to the disciples of Christ when they had true faith and when they were baptized.

So, he believed that the acts of miracles that are seen in the New Testament can be practiced in modern day. And that first and foremost comes about when the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit. And when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, it's going to show. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you are going to see a change.

And one of these great changes that you are going to see is you are going to be able to communicate with the Lord in an angelic voice. You are going to be able to speak in tongues. And this basically started to carry on for many, many years. And in the 1960s and 70s, the great charismatic movement started to really pervade the Christian land.

The landscape. And so, the charismatic movement carried that doctrine basically was that the miracles that you see in the New Testament can be practiced today. And that a Christian who is walking with the Lord will have a basically like a second experience of baptism. They will have a post-converted experience of baptism which is the Holy Spirit.

And so, that continued to grow and move and now there are many, many denominations affecting millions of people. Millions of people. To name a couple of these just so you guys are aware. There is, so Pentecostalism is pretty huge. But within that, underneath that, there are different denominations and there are different fellowships of churches.

So, how many of you guys have heard of the group Assemblies of God? Assemblies of God. So, you kind of wonder, it is like, are we all Assemblies of God? Are we all, you know, and there is another group. So, Assemblies of God is one major group in the US.

It is the second largest Pentecostal church in the US. The biggest Pentecostal church in the US is called Church of God in Christ. So, you see Churches of God, Churches of God. And then I was wondering, they always use these names. I am like, does that refer to all of us?

Why is that so confusing, you know? And I, for the longest time, did not know what was the difference. When I did research, basically I was able to kind of hone in. Those churches started with a movement called the Holiness Movement. And the Holiness Movement essentially bloomed into the Pentecostal Movement.

So, essentially the Pentecostal Movement overtook that movement. Does that make sense? So, what you have in our current day, modern day 2014, in its broadest branch is the Pentecostal Movement. Okay? Now, why do we talk about that? It is because they hold this doctrine that is true for any genuine Christian.

So, I asked the question, what is supposed to be the universal experience of conversion for every genuine Christian? What is the universal experience, meaning every single one of us needs to go through this? Right? And they would say, you need to have the Spirit baptism. So, that is why we have to engage in this conversation.

That is why we have to engage in this issue. But, this is also really important for us because, yeah, okay, now, I understand now what they are saying. Now, is that the same thing as when our pastor, Pastor Peter, says you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Is that the same thing? When the Bible tells us, be filled with the Holy Spirit, right? Continuing Ephesians, be filled. Is that the same thing? And so, that is why we want to tackle this topic today. Alright? To do that, this is kind of atypical of our Systematic Theology, but we are going to dive into the argumentation from essential and opposing camp.

We are going to dive into the arguments of Pentecostal thinking. Alright? So, let us jump in. This is basically what they would say. Again, A, B, C, I already mentioned to you guys. Post-conversion experience of baptism of the Spirit. Gift of speaking in tongues is the main evidence of the baptism of the Spirit.

Gift of miracles in the New Testament are available for us to use and to benefit from in modern day. Okay? And the arguments supporting these truths are the following. First, Jesus' disciples were obviously born again believers long before the day of Pentecost. Okay? Acts chapter 2, the disciples experienced the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on them.

But they were obviously believers before them. So, how is it that they were believers, but then they did not receive the Spirit until later? Yes? And so, Jesus Christ Himself commanded them that He was going to give them, and that He wanted the disciples to receive the Spirit. Point two.

So, before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He told them you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The disciples then obeyed Jesus' command and waited in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Same thing. The next one, number three. When the disciples had waited for ten days, the day of Pentecost came.

And then they noticed when the Spirit came, they immediately broke in tongues of fire. Right? And they were filled with the Holy Spirit, began speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And it really showed that they received a baptism with or in, that preposition, this kind of fluctuates, but with or in the Holy Spirit.

And although these disciples were born again long before the Pentecost, at Pentecost they received this baptism with the Spirit. Okay? And then they continue. Therefore, Christians today, like the apostles, should ask Jesus for a baptism in the Holy Spirit. Thus all the pattern of the disciples lies in the New Testament.

And further support for this dance comes from the pattern seen in the book of Acts. Okay? This is what they would say. Instances in the book of Acts proves, one, Acts chapter eight. There were people of Samaria who became Christians when Philip preached. And this is a quotation from the passage.

They believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. So they obviously had faith. But subsequently, only later, they received the Holy Spirit when the apostles, Peter and John, came from Jerusalem and then they prayed for them. And they referenced Acts chapter eight, verse fourteen through seventeen.

So there is a story. And that story is true. The people believed, and only when the apostles came, did the scriptures actually comment and say, "Then they received the Holy Spirit." What gives? Other than the fact that there is a second message. Acts chapter ten. Cornelius, he was essentially a Gentile, but he was a God-fearing Gentile.

He received the Holy Spirit when he received vision, okay? To send for apostle Peter. But this guy has already been rendering to God gifts and being generous to the Jewish people. And so he's making contributions to the Lord out of fear of God. But only when apostle Peter comes and lays his hands on Cornelius, does it say the Holy Spirit fell on him.

So, you have belief, supposedly, and then the laying on of hands, and then the Spirit coming. Acts chapter nineteen. Paul came and found some disciples at Ephesus. But when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Okay?

They spoke with tongues and prophesied. So, from these evidences, the Pentecostal movement has said, "You need to receive the Spirit baptism." Now, the reason why I think this is actually profound is because my wife and I, we were at a Tustin Marketplace at Coffee Bean. And we happened to have our Bibles open and we were reading.

And this gentleman said, "Oh, you're reading your Bibles? I'm a Christian." I said, "Awesome!" You know? And we started talking and chit-chatting. And he straight up asked us, "Have you two received the baptism of the Spirit?" And at the time, I looked at him and I said, "What do you mean?" You know?

And he said, "Do you need to receive the baptism of the Spirit if you haven't?" And I said, "I'm not sure what you're talking about." And he said, "You obviously haven't. You need to." And he started to push upon us this doctrine. And at the time, this was a while ago, and I just didn't know how to respond to him.

I was like, "I just told you I was Christian." I was so confused. And he was like pushing this on me. And he was telling me about how he had experienced such great works in his ministry. Like he would receive power to preach and all this kind of stuff.

And at the time, you know, my wife and I, like you know, we were just kind of starting off in ministry so to speak. So I just really didn't know what to say. And as a matter of fact, if you were to talk to, if I were to ask any one of you, how many of you guys have been to a church, know of people who go to churches, that are charismatic and believe in Second Baptism?

Probably most of us would raise our hands. Now here's my thing. Don't assume that I'm saying Pentecostalism is 100% wrong. At the end of this message, at the end of this study, I'm going to show you that there are good things to gain. However, that doctrine needs to be addressed biblically.

And so let's begin. We're going to see a biblical response to the Pentecostal argument that we need to all experience, our sanctification, a second baptism of the Holy Spirit. So, first, we need to properly understand the Pentecost. The Pentecost. That was a really fobby way of putting that, huh?

Properly understanding the Pentecost? Okay, now, here's the thing. We would agree that the disciples were probably saved before the Pentecost. Right? We would agree with that. But the problem is, the Pentecost, they are saying, "See, this is a pattern for us." But it's a unique event in history. It's a unique event in history.

You have to realize that the Pentecost was much more than a baptism of the Spirit for me. It was bigger than me. It wasn't just a private experience where I placed more faith, or I repented, or I just prayed harder, or I just raised my hands and I experienced some kind of filling of the Spirit.

That's a very private matter. The Pentecost was a very public matter. Why? Because that was God-ordained time of transition. Where the Holy Spirit was going to work, not according to the Old Testament and the Old Covenant, but the Holy Spirit was going to work according to the New Covenant.

And that event was such a unique event, essentially, the Old Testament prophecies was looking forward to this very day. So it was a unique moment in redemptive history. It wasn't a moment that carried on through all future for every single believer. Rather, it was a unique moment in history.

So if you look at passages, for example, if you jot down Numbers chapter 11, basically in Numbers it records this whole idea of how the Holy Spirit was falling on people or moving upon them. It says the Holy Spirit is upon people. Allowing them to exercise their gifts, allowing them to work, allowing them to have skill.

But then Moses, in seeing this, he would say, "Would that the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them all." That's from Numbers 11.29. And when you see this passage in Acts chapter 1, the day of Pentecost, you see that this is not just one ordinary event of many.

This is one unique event in all of history. Why? Because in Acts chapter 2 verse 1 it says, "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all gathered together in one place." But literally in the Greek it says, "When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled." When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled.

And that is a passage, or this is a reference, or this whole idea of the Pentecost, many people refer back to Joel chapter 2 verse 28-32. Why? Because in that passage it says, "God is promising that He is going to pour out His Spirit, and His children are going to prophesy and they're going to speak in languages." And so what you see is a fulfillment of that promise of pouring out of the Spirit.

That being the case, you cannot say that this is going to be a pattern for every single individual who is a genuine Christian. Because that was a unique time in history. Does that make sense? And it is bad hermeneutic to take a historical event and say, "And therefore you ought to do it." You can't take a look into history, see what God just did and say, "And therefore you just have to do it just like God did." Since Jesus Christ did this, therefore you just have to.

Since Apostle Paul did this, therefore you just have to. Since the Jews did it, you just have to. I mean, that would be pretty ridiculous. And so likewise, we realize this was a remarkable once in history transition. Now, the next thing in response to the Pentecostal argument is this.

The phrasing of "baptism of the Holy Spirit" obviously is a unique way of putting things. So when you start using terminology, you have to be careful. When you start using loaded terms like "Son of God," "Son of Man," these things carry a lot of weight. Likewise, if you're going to say "Spirit baptism," there's a whole theology behind that.

Just like the way they're using it. And so we want to just do a quick survey. In the New Testament, there's actually only seven passages that structure this phrase together, that "baptism in the Spirit." There's only seven passages. And so I'll show you here that in these passages, Matthew 3, 11, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not willing to carry, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit in the fire." And the other passages basically reference the same.

Where John the Baptist is talking about Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes, and He baptizes you in the Holy Spirit. The other passages have direct reference to the Pentecost, specifically the Pentecost. And we just showed you, or we just learned together, that the Pentecost is not a repetitive pattern for Christians.

It was a unique time in history. And so those are the passages for the Pentecost. However, the last passage in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, it says this, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit." In this passage, it is pretty clear that it is not talking about some kind of, "Hey, after years of being Christian, I was kind of dry, and then I went to this revival, and then, oh, bam!

I had the baptism of the Spirit." That's obviously not what it's talking about. Whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, you were baptized into one Spirit, it's talking about your entrance into the community of God, it's talking about your conversion. So, at least in that passage, it's very clear from the verbiage and the way that it's presenting, telling the Corinthians, "This is who you are by identity." And He's not talking about a secondary experience.

He's talking about conversion. So, the conclusion is basically, this phrase in the New Testament is speaking about the new covenant power of the Holy Spirit, namely in the unique event of Pentecost, but when it's referring to the Christians at Corinth, and to us, it's talking about conversion. So, they can't just take this phrase that they heard or they saw in one passage, and just use it for every other passage.

Nor can they just take this phrase that they saw in one passage, and then use it for every experience we have here now. That's also bad, permanently. Alright? Now, you guys, I know we're getting through a lot. Let's take out our Bibles, and we're going to do some digging through the Scriptures.

Alright? Digging through the Scriptures. Because we want to address those biblical references that the Pentecostal movement has referenced. And said, "See? See? Acts chapter 8, chapter 10, chapter 19." Those are clear evidences. They were saved. They had to fade. And then what happened? They got baptized much, much later.

Alright? That's what they're arguing. So, let's really look at the passage like it reads, and see what it's really talking about. So, if you go over to Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. Let me actually just read for you in context. So, verse 1. "Saul was on the heart of your people and putting them to death.

And on that day, a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and then Samaria." Right? "And so some devout men, various even, made loud lament over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women.

He would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the Word." Now, if you guys remember, Jesus Christ, when He appeared and He told them in Acts chapter 1a, that they were going to receive power when the Spirit came. And He clearly said that you're going to be my witnesses.

And He gave this expanding realm of their ministry. Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the world. Right? What you see actually, God is just such an amazing orchestrator of all things, that He's using Saul's persecution to expand that. The Apostle Peter preached hard to the Jews. He preached so boldly and hard, and then many of them were cut to the heart.

And there was a revival. Three thousand and whatnot would convert. And then when that church was basically boom, boom, exploding, God's orchestration basically had Saul, who was eventually going to become Paul, He persecuted the church and made the disciples scatter. Right? But then as they did that, they just started to evangelize wherever they went.

And notice where it said they went to? Samaria. Right? And so what you actually find is essentially, God's plan of witnessing, God's plan of evangelism is essentially taking place in this note. And what many commentators that I've read about this past, is explaining what's happening, is this. There is a sense in which, okay, there is a sense in which a better understanding of these events, would not be that Jesus intended to save people and baptize them in the Spirit once, and then for them to have a second baptism experience later.

Because I ask you this question, okay? Did that ever happen to the Jews in Jerusalem? No. But it's happened to the Jews in, oh, it's happened to the people in Samaria. Furthermore, did God expect these people, Samaritans, who were becoming saved, to wait years and years? Or were they struggling in their faith that they needed a second baptism?

No. What happened? Philip preached, they converted, and then the apostles were called. Why? Many of the commentators say, because Samaritans were seen as dogs. Samaritans were seen as half-breed, traitorous, betraying the country kind of rejects. And so for them to convert, basically people would have said, God's not going to have mercy on them, they left God a long time ago.

Right? And so the Scriptures will say, that to show that even the Samaritans were seeing the promise of God and the Holy Spirit was falling upon them, essentially the Samaritans were having a smaller pentacle. They were having a unique moment when the Gospel ministry was clearly being seen to spread from Judea and then now to Samaria.

So what was this? This was God's way of showing His ministry. This was God's way of showing the Jewish leaders, the people in authority and whatnot, that God was saving the Samaritans. Okay? And so basically, almost all the commentaries that I read pointed to the exact same thing. That this was in no way this long wait for a second baptism to have greater spirituality.

It wasn't to be more sanctified, it wasn't to be more holy. It was as evidence that the Holy Spirit came, proving that God's ministry was expanding beyond the Jews. And so, what you essentially see is the expanding Kingdom of God. Expanding Kingdom of God. Okay? Let's go to another passage.

Acts chapter 10. This is the passage about Cornelius. Okay? Cornelius essentially, let me read to you starting from verse 1. It says, "There was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian court. A devout man and one who feared God, with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually.

About the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God, who had just come in and said to him, 'Cornelius!'" And then he goes on. Okay? He basically says, "God has seen what you have done. God wants you to go call upon this apostle." Now, basically he says, "Okay." So, he sends two of his closest servants, and he goes and sends for Apostle Peter.

And Apostle Peter is called, and Apostle Peter is on his way, and that's when he gets all drowsy, and he gets into sleep, and he has a vision, right? And he has this vision, essentially, of these animals, like, "Unclean! Unclean!" The Jewish tradition is, "Unclean animals, don't touch!" And God says, "Don't call things unclean yourself.

What I've called clean is clean." And Apostle Peter, basically, gives commentary on what that means. And let me show you here. If you look in verse 28 of chapter 10. Okay? Verse 28 of chapter 10. He says this, "And he said to them, 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him.

Yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent forth. So I ask, 'For what reason you have sent me?'" And then Cornelius tells him, and guess what Apostle Peter does?

Apostle Peter preaches the Gospel of Christ. He says, "And you know that God sent this one, Jesus Christ, who was chosen. And God sent this Jesus Christ to be judged." And basically says, "You must have faith in Christ alone." And then, Apostle Peter lays hand on him. And then the Holy Spirit comes.

So my response to the Pentecostal interpretation of this passage is, "Dude, read the context. Read the whole chapter." The story is not, "Oh my gosh, Cornelius was saved and then later he wanted to be more holy." No. God commanded Cornelius to go fetch Apostle Peter. And Apostle Peter had a great vision saying, "This is a great and grand mystery of the Gospel." That the salvation that was unique to the household of Israel is now given to whom?

Yeah. Those unclean pagans. Gentiles. The context shows you it was not about a second baptism of greater power, greater sanctification, or some kind of mysterious act of the Holy Spirit. Rather, it was testimony of God's Gospel ministry moving forward. Right? Next one. Acts 19, 1-10. Acts 19, 1-10. So they say that Apostle Paul encountered some disciples.

These were disciples. And then later, again, the Holy Spirit fell on them as Apostle Paul was preaching. But when you read this in context, I think this passage actually, I'm going to save this for last because it really is pretty conclusive. That there is no second baptism of the Spirit that we are called to ask God for.

Check this out. Chapter 19, verse 1-10. You notice what he's asking? Hey, he's talking about the topic of our Bible study today. And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." So they, they're supposed to be disciples, but it's kind of questionable what kind of disciples there are, isn't it?

And then he said, "And to what then were you being baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Well, man, they weren't disciples of Christ. They were disciples of John the Baptist. They were Jews following in the footsteps of John the Baptist. Paul said, "John the Baptist with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

You see that? They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, then the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men, and he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

But when some were becoming hardened and of disobedience, speaking evil of the way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

So you see what's happening? Apostle Paul basically distinguishes. "Did you guys even receive the Spirit?" And they're like, "No." "So what were you baptized into?" They're essentially getting at, "So what did you actually believe in?" And what it was, was this preliminary, unfulfilled yet, concept of the Messiah. They believed that the Messiah was coming and John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah.

But they needed to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And so upon believing, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit fell on them. It was not this long-awaited second baptism. It makes it very, very clear. So, in conclusion, again, we come to understanding of the Gospel of Christ and immediately, through faith, we have a baptism of the Spirit.

The Corinthians entered immediately into the New Covenant experience with the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no New Testament passage speaking of the second experience. Now before we move forward, is there any questions about that? Is there any questions? Okay. Yes. I think from the beginning, I think you were trying to answer the question of when, let's say, Pentecostal comes to you and says you ought to believe in the second baptism.

Is that the issue we're trying to address or is it second baptism in of itself? So is it okay for Pentecostal to believe in the second baptism of the Spirit and not okay for them to tell others that they ought to or is it all together wrong? I see.

Okay, I get your question. So Preston, if you guys couldn't hear him, he essentially asked the question of delineating between there is a doctrinal stance that second baptism exists, but then there's also the effort in trying to convince people to be baptized. Right? Does it have the second baptism?

Did I get your question? Yeah. So, and he asked, what are we really tackling? The position that I am taking is no such second baptism exists. Therefore, even promoting the second baptism as a demand on people is then wrong because it doesn't exist. Okay? Thanks for clarifying. Alright, then moving forward, moving forward.

The negative impacts of the Pentecostal movement on our current church and current Christians. First, Pentecostal theology creates two classes of believers. By nature of what they're espousing, by nature of what they're trying to promote, it creates two categories of Christians. You hear the gospel message of Jesus Christ and then you become an ordinary Christian.

But then, sometime down the line you need to become a Spirit-baptized Christian. What is that? Right? And what do you make of the young believer who desires to walk in the Spirit, who desires to fulfill all righteousness, who desires to believe in the Lord and obey all that our Lord Jesus Christ desired and commanded?

What is it to say, "Well, you're ordinary and you still haven't received the Spirit baptism?" I think that's completely wrong to have any kind of two-tier system. And it's wrong to have, not just Pentecostal, but it's just wrong to have a dichotomy of carnal Christians, people who can be carnal, as opposed to the serious Christians.

It's wrong to have, "Hey, you're a born-again Christian, that's totally ordinary Christian." It is wrong for the Catholics to have this three-fold division of Christians, where you're like ordinary Christian, priest, and then saint. Those are all wrong. There is no such category. It's, "You're saved in Christ, or you're not." "You're a child of God, or you're not." There's just one or the other.

But having a dichotomy confuses everything. For example, the next one, inevitably by having some kind of dichotomy, you get the impression of pride and spiritual superiority. You can't help but have that. And what you end up having is basically the practice of spiritual gifts against scriptural commands. You notice a lot of the scriptural passages pertain to spiritual gifts, Romans chapters 1-14.

The scriptures are very clear. You need to practice your spiritual gifts for the edification of the entire church. Not one class of believers. Not just one group, and definitely not just for yourself. But many were zealous for their own name. The scriptures are very clear that that kind of practicing of spiritual gifts is wrong.

But that definitely sometimes, not all, but sometimes, is the case for charismatic movement. Where the experience would now give them a sense of, "I am spiritually somehow more successful, faithful, or blessed." That's just wrong. That's a wrong way of thinking about spiritual gifts. Put an edification on the body, not so I can feel good.

Right? Furthermore, this is a big one. It confuses the gospel. And some of them might be like, "Dang, that is a harsh criticism against any denomination." You know, if I said, "You confuse the gospel." That is a really, really profound and strong statement. And I would dare not say it flippantly.

But the fact of the matter is, that kind of theology, the reason why I'm covering it, is because we're talking about the process of salvation. And all of it is about salvation. You know, sanctification is a part of being saved. Right? You being glorified is a part of you being saved.

So, guess what? In my mind, if you are confused about the benefits of the gospel, the result of the gospel, the promise of the gospel, the hope of the gospel, then guess what? You're confusing the gospel as a whole. Does that make sense? Because when you start saying, "You need a second baptism." And that faith in Christ alone is not sufficient.

You are messing with the promise of the gospel. You are messing with the hope and result of the gospel. Because in Christ, when we have faith in the Lord, and when the Spirit is indwelling in us, we have everything pertaining to godliness. We have given all the spiritual lessons.

But to say you need a second baptism, is to then confuse, "Oh my gosh." Like, "How am I supposed to understand the result of what I just believed then?" You see what I'm saying? And when you do that, you're confusing and muddling the gospel. And so there are people who are really confused.

There are people in the charismatic movement who were never saved, who think that they had the second baptism of the Spirit, when in fact, like, "Well, what are they really doing?" You know? And so there's a lot of confusion in that. When you think about people in charismatic movement, if you drive this idea of experiences, it really muddles your idea of sanctification.

And so that even messes with the gospel. Okay? So that being the case, I am not going to say that every Pentecostal church is somehow a heretic church. It's not. Okay? There are plenty of Pentecostal churches who believe in doctrines of grace alone, trinity, and all the things we cover in this methodology.

But I will say they are in grave danger. Okay? They are in grave, grave danger. Because that theology could thwart a lot of the things that they're doing in the gospel ministry. And so this point four is this idea of confusing the interpretation of your experience. How you experience your salvation process.

When you repent, and when you come to faith in Christ, if you are pushing for the second spirit baptism, it is confusing your experience of salvation. How do I interpret what I just did? And how do I interpret when I'm growing? How do I interpret when I'm not growing?

How do I interpret when I see people who are taking leaps and bounds in their faith? And how do I interpret when, you know what I'm saying? And how do I interpret people striving in their sanctification? Your interpretation of what you see in life, the application of your faith, is going to be confused.

And so this doctrine again is very dangerous. Very dangerous. Now, by application for us, by application for us, the fact that there is no such second spirit baptism, doesn't mean that again the Pentecostal desire, or the motivation behind that was all wrong. Because although the scripture does not say, "Be baptized with the Holy Spirit," you know?

The second time, or what not. It does say, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit." Doesn't it? And it's emphatic to me. Be continually, always, ongoing, present tense, participle, be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that part is repeated in scripture. And that part is explicitly clear. And so, for us, we should be desiring significant growth in the spirit of God.

We should be desiring significant steps of sanctification. And when I hear some kind of revival preacher talk about, "We need to have a great sense of repentance." "And you need to have a great sense of turning to the Lord." "You need to yield to the Spirit." "You need to give up and sacrifice things for the Lord." "You need to see greater empowerment." "You need to see greater ministry for the name of Christ." Up until that point, guess what?

I agree with them. I actually wish I saw more of that in my life. You see what I'm saying? Sometimes when I see televangelists, because majority of the guys who are televangelists are from the Assemblies of God. Those guys like Benny Hinn and what not, they're like the guys from Assemblies of God.

Now, Benny Hinn, don't even listen to anything that guy says. But sometimes you see, you hear revival preachers. And up until that point where they say, "Repent, sacrifice, turn to God, yield to Him." "Seek greater ministry, seek greater empowerment." I say, "Amen!" And then when they say, "Ask God for your spirit baptism." I say, "Oh no!" But by application, although that second baptism does not exist in Scripture.

The command to be filled with the Spirit dies. And so my question to you really is, man, when was the last time you just prayed, "God, I want to be more effective in ministry." When was the last time you prayed, "I want to walk with the sense of Spirit filledness." "I want to be aware of You, I want to walk with You, I want to be completely conscious of Your presence, Your desire, and Your will." "God, kill the sluggishness in me, make me yield it to Your plan for me." And when did we start praying that kind of stuff?

You know what I mean? Because if we, Biblicists, do not believe in a second baptism, what we're saying is, "We don't need second baptism because we have this available to us all the time, we have the Spirit right now." That's what we're saying. And so, the challenge to us is, we see in the Scriptures that so many people and saints were definitely used by God when they yielded to the Spirit and they were full of the Spirit.

Apostle Paul, in the book of Acts chapter 4, says, "When he was filled with the Spirit, he preached with boldness." That people were walking in wisdom and they were growing in maturity and they were growing in discernment and sound judgment. Again, they were preaching powerfully and their testimony was seen through the nations.

They had great visions for God, they had visions of heaven, they had spiritual visions, they wanted to see the eternal kingdom. They had deep desire for worship, they were giving thanks, they were renewing relationships, they completely changed the way they dealt with family, they were with the slaves, their masters, everything.

They were filled with the Spirit. And that's what we're challenged by today. Have we been praying for that kind of stuff? Have we been praying for spirits of harmony? Because that's completely legitimate for Biblicists. To pray that God would empower us. You know what's really crazy? As us, proprietors, I was sitting there thinking and praying.

You know, as a pastor, and I share with you guys this a lot, I came into ministry so, so dedicated with this idea that the Word of God is so powerful. And I say, "Amen, it is." And I kept on thinking, "What this world needs is greater creatures, what this world needs is more Bible, what this world needs is just greater knowledge of the Word of God." Right?

And then I was just thinking, "Oh shoot, I just wasn't minded." We are in a time when the Bible is accessible to everyone. We are in a time when you can turn on the radio and there are great preachers everywhere. And as a matter of fact, there was a sense in which the Word of God was available throughout history.

The Word of God is powerful. The Word of God is true. The Word of God is sure. The Word of God is so amazing. But then I just realized, in terms of power in ministry, it is no simple answer. You just need more knowledge. It is no simple answer if you just need more paperwork to go around.

It is no simple answer if I just need more tracts for me to print some more and send it out. You just realize, we need to pray. You know? We need to be filled with the Spirit, designed for the Spirit to work, praying that God moves in people's hearts.

We need to be praying. Right? We need to be praying. And so let that be our challenge and application for us. That although, again, there is a clear distinction we need to make from the Pentecostal doctrine of the second baptism. What is evidently clear in the Bible is, you need to be filled with the Spirit.

Walking with the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit. Amen? Okay. Now just as a way of encouraging you guys, there is this book that I got most of my material for today from. It is called Pentecost Today by Ian Murray. Pentecost Today. It basically says, Biblical Basis for Understanding the Bible.

Okay? And it talks about second baptism, old theology. And actually, a long time ago in Murray's history, small group people read this. And it was really edifying. So if you ever want to read more on that, this is where I got the material. Okay? Any questions about second baptism?

Or Pentecostal? Let's pray and then you guys can have your time to talk. Father God, we want to again thank you so much Lord. Realizing God, that you have availed to us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in us. Empowering us. Moving us to act and to do your will.

And I pray Father God that we would align ourselves with him. Father God, help us to be praying for greater just acknowledgement of your ways. Help us to be praying for greater consideration, Father, of your plans, of your will and your presence in our lives. And I ask God that every single one of us would continue just to grow and mature through the Spirit.

That Lord, we would be great vessels for your glory. Your message of the gospel. And so Father God, that we would be clearly presenting your truth and salvation that is in Christ. Lord God, I just again want to pray that for every one of us here who's experienced plateaus of our sanctification, I pray Father God that we would not be deluded to think that we need some kind of mystical experience.

But rather we only need to turn our eyes to the Lord. Rather we need to turn to that which you've already given us. Everything necessary, Lord, in your presence in our lives. We want to thank you again. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.