Denominational Concerns

 

Opinions

I could not show you two Charismatic believers who agree about every aspect of how to practice the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.  However, there are some basic ideas that all Pentecostal denominations agree upon—at least on paper (or on their website).  One of them is the major premise of this document:  that speaking in unknown tongues (as the spirit gives utterance) is the Initial Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Many true believers disagree with this view of the scriptures. But since the Pentecostals agree with one another about it, they are better able to practice the gifts together in unity.

 

Acts 4:32
[ The Believers Share Their Possessions ] All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
Acts 4:31-33 (in Context) Acts 4 (Whole Chapter)

 

Of course, this internal unity is considered by many outsiders to be “divisive”, since not all true believers agree on the issue of the gifts of the Spirit.  This is where the Ecumenical Charismatic movement comes into the picture.  While most Christians in the world are Pentecostal (excluding Catholics), not everyone who believes in practicing the gifts of the Spirit (a Charismatic) call themselves Pentecostal.  This is usually because they disagree with at least one aspect of the practical theology I will present. The only way to describe this growing group is by using the word “Charismatic”.  This term means simply that they agree with one another that the Gifts are for today—and not much else.  They disagree amongst themselves about how and when who gets what gift. 

 

Getting it done

Many Charismatics spend more time arguing about how to practice the Gifts, than they do actually practicing them. This is usually because most Charismatics do not have an internally consistent practical theology of supernatural gifts.  I suppose that some of them may have one, but I have yet to hear about it, or see it in writing. This may be because of the Ecumenical roots of the movement: to commit to practical theology can be viewed as “divisive”. They agree to disagree with each other, but this makes consistently practicing the gifts very difficult and unlikely in the absence of unity of mind regarding them (Acts 4:32). This problem has been addressed within the movement, and the response can be characterized by two extreme positions: 

  1. Anything goes – No rules:  This extreme accepts any spiritual manifestation claiming to be of God.  The answer to any theological question regarding the gifts has the same answer, “Whatever God wants to do”.  The “Holy Laughter” and “New Wine” movement best represent this extreme.  These movements have wreaked havoc to some extent in most Charismatic churches.  True “Old School” Pentecostals disagree with this position (as my writings will clarify), but there are not many of those left in America.  Most Pentecostal American churches are filled with Charismatics, so Pentecostals are now also associated with this extreme position.
  2. Nothing goes – In many cases this extreme is a response to the excesses of its counterpart.  For fear of the New Wine movement, and/or, for the sake of unity, most Charismatic preachers do not exhort their congregation to “eagerly desire” the spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:31, Romans 1:11-12).  Instead they minimize them based upon the fact that less than 20% of the New Testament refers to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.  

 

 

Armchair Theology

What is the initial evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?  Charismatic opinions include:

  1. Who cares? 
  2. Who knows?
  3. Whatever.
  4. Power (whatever) -- anything supernatural is power after all.
  5. Power to preach the Gospel – may or may not include tongues.

 

Pentecostal opinions include:

1)       Speaking in unknown tongues as the spirit gives utterance.

2)       Speaking in unknown tongues as the spirit gives utterance and power to:

a)       preach the gospel

b)       Operate in any of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.

           

Charismatics like to point out the disagreements they have with Pentecostal theology of the gifts of the Spirit.  But until they offer a viable, practical alternative—in writing, they are stuck in uncertainty and disunity among themselves.  Armchair theologians like to pick apart any theology, but until they present their own alternative, and subject it to testing from others, they have not improved anything.  This is what I am attempting to do.  I challenge others to poke holes in my theology, as long as they use scripture to do so, AND present a practical alternative, which is proven to be effective in real life:  Bearing the fruit of miracles and the full-gospel power of turning men from darkness to light.

 

Acts 26:20
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
- show in context -

Acts 19:18
11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.    13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demonpossessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.    17When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[d] 20In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.  Acts 19:17-19 (in Context) Acts 19 (Whole Chapter)

 

 


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