Misapplying The Book of Acts

[stacey c]

It's deja vu all over again....

It is Nebula. Another thread of Charasmatic/Pentecostal bashing.

Sometimes you just need to kick the dust of your feet sister.

[poorinspirit]

Jude 1 :20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

There is more to that verse to keep it in context. That is only a part of the list believers were to do. Some believers combine the meaning of building up yourselves on your most holy faith "by" praying in the Holy Ghost but that is not what was written. It is a list of practises to do as the next verse continued with that list.

Jude 1:1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

But to touch on that part of the verse, praying in the Holy Ghost....

So when believers are praying for the Holy Spirit to come, they are praying out of the Holy Ghost. They are not praying in the Holy Ghost. They can't be praying IN the Holy Ghost if they are praying for Him to come.

The above verse does not say.. praying TO the Holy Ghost nor does it say praying FOR the Holy Ghost.

Jesus is still the only Mediator between God and man.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Did Jesus really mean that or not?

John 4: 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

So the whole point of telling the Samaritan woman was that a time will be coming ( and now is) when true worshippers will not need to go to the mountains nor to Jerusalem because.. why? Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and we will worship who? The Father IN spirit and IN truth. It did not say we will worship the Holy Spirit. The reference to God is a Spirit is to break away the walls of a building or the confinement of any worship place as a place to come to God, for He will be with us always as Jesus promised at the end of Matthew 28.

So do our words match our faith or are we saying and doing things as if Pentecost must occur again and again as if we have not come to our resting place in Jesus Christ when we came to Him and thus never worshipping the Father IN spirit and IN truth??

And remember John 14:6? When there are no place to come to God anymore, then the invitation is the commandment as the only way to approach the Father in worship is through the Son. He'd said so.

And the world wonders if the promises of God are really all yea in Christ Jesus when believers do not act like they have received Him yet or see that the promises of God was only partial in that they are not filled with the Spirit as believers must continually seek that which God promised by Jesus Christ so we can rest in Him. How can anyone believe that faith in Jesus Christ is enough when a spiritual yoke is placed for believers to seek after another Spirit.. another door to open.. another invitation to go to?

If Jesus is the Good News, then there should be no missing addendum as if He is not the full gospel.

[Botz]

Hi Poorinspirit.

You say....

And the world wonders if the promises of God are really all yea in Christ Jesus when believers do not act like they have received Him yet or see that the promises of God was only partial in that they are not filled with the Spirit as believers must continually seek that which God promised by Jesus Christ so we can rest in Him. How can anyone believe that faith in Jesus Christ is enough when a spiritual yoke is placed for believers to seek after another Spirit.. another door to open.. another invitation to go to?

If Jesus is the Good News, then there should be no missing addendum as if He is not the full gospel.

No one is saying that when a person comes to believe on the L-rd Jesus, and is saved and sealed by the Holy Ghost, that they can do anything to better their salvation...or make it more certain...which is what you seem to imply.

Far from being a yoke to a new Believer...the new life that stretches before them is an exciting challenge, with so much to learn and understand about the ways of G-d, and the life and love our Saviour has for us.

It is not a 'spiritual yoke', for them to get baptised in water in obedience to Scripture...it is not a 'spiritual yoke' for them to want the things of G-d with all their heart... it is not a 'spiritual yoke' to seek to be empowered by a baptism of the Holy Ghost.

This is not an unrighteous desire seeking after some ungodly spiritual experience...but part of hungering and thirsting after the living G-d who has demonstrated His willingness to gift and empower the body through the Holy Ghost.

You seem to want to forbid this on the basis that it is 'surplus' to the revealed truth of the Gospel, and far from helping and enabling Believers, is an encumberance and demonic deception that will bring nothing but confusion and heart-ache.

I think there is a real danger in seeking to limit the role of the Holy Ghost according to your own understanding, and trying to dissuade fellow Believers from allowing the Holy Ghost to gift them, especially the gift of tongues which adds such a new dimension to a Believers prayer life.... and also to churn out what can only be described as unwarranted condemnation.

I will also add what I asked you in the thread that was rightfully closed....

The Scriptures indicate that what a man is full of, he will speak about...and I guess this whole issue of tongues is a real bugbear to you, and you feel you must get it off your chest or you will explode...which is fine, I can understand that.

What I am a little unsure of is whether you want to instruct all of us who speak in tongues how to use the gift properly...(which I find a bit odd as I presume you fill the place of the 'ungifted'?) or whether you want to castigate us and admonish us in the name of the L-rd because to your mind we are walking in error and opening ourselves up to gross deception because the gift of tongues we claim to have has not been distributed by the Holy Ghost, but by some counterfeit spirit in order to bring confusion to the Body of Messiah.

I am very happy to patiently answer your queries, or reason and argue with you from Scripture, but please could you just tell me which of the two things I mentioned apply to you.

Many Thanks. Botz.