Pentecostalism:
“Pentecostalism, along with Neo-Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement are labels for a large section of the conservative Christian world which believes in the experienced presence of the 3rd person of the trinity-the Holy Spirit. This segment of Christianity affirms to active involvement of the Holy Spirit in everyday life, including divine healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues (gossalia or an unknown language) and other manifestations of the Spirit's presence.”from: The Hartford Institute for Religious Research
Cessationism:
“Cessationists generally believe that the miraculous gifts were given only for the foundation of the Church, during the time between the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, c. AD 33 (see Acts 2) and the fulfillment of God's purposes in history, usually identified as either the completion of the last book of the New Testament or the death of the last Apostle, i.e. John the Apostle. Its counterpart is Continuationism which believes that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit have been available for use by the church ever since Pentecost.”
from: Wikipedia (sorry, they were the only ones with a general definition)
I was very clearly taught in Bible College that a certain “set” of Holy Spirit activities had “ceased.”
>”The Baptism of the Holy Spirit” was a jump-start God used when He introduced a new people-group to the Holy Spirit as in the day of Pentecost (for the Jews) and at the home of Cornelius (the Gentiles.)
>”Speaking in Tongues” was, again, a type of snazzy intro to the Holy Spirit and a way to “get the message out” in the native language of all those international visitors during the Pentecost Fest.
>”Word of Wisdom/Word of Knowledge” were more of a start-up resource for the early church because the Bible had not yet been written. (Which, I thought never made sense, like God had forgotten something. “Whoa, I forgot to give them some written instructions. Come to think of it, those tablets I gave them before didn’t turn out so well. Guess I just talk directly into their heads and out of their mouths for a while until they can write stuff down.”)
The Pentecostals also had some points I was just not “down” with:
>”The Baptism of the Holy Spirit” seals your membership into the Church Club. You get saved when you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but you get even-more saved when you are Baptized in the Holy Spirit. And here’s the kicker, you don’t know exactly when that‘s going to happen.
>”Speaking in Tongues” is the evidence you’ve been Baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you ain’t talked in Tongues, then you ain’t full-in. You have the “introductory offer” only, but Tongue Talking is like giving your credit card information. (Plus, I was not a fan of the “priming the pump” method of teaching people to Speak in Tongues, “IwannabuyayamahaIwannabuyahonda” or “canItiemybowtie.” Didn’t Jesus say you would know His disciples by their fruit?
>”Word of Wisdom/Word of Knowledge” Some folks I knew had low personal integrity, yet the Holy Spirit seemed to be yakking at them constantly. After Jimmy Swaggart was caught in his 2nd prostitute scandal David Letterman said, “If God is really talking to Jimmy Swaggart, don’t you think He would say, ’Hey Jimmy, LAY OFF THE HOOKERS!’”
For me personally, the issue boiled down to this. Is God active today in my life and circumstances in a personal specific way? If so, how does that look?
I had a bit of a “Theist” view of God for awhile, that is, God made all of creation like a wrist watch. He made it, wound it then watched it from afar, interceding very little (or only for important stuff.) The comedian George Carlin was very influential in my thinking (not just the jokes.) He had a “bit” that went, “Forget about God. He’s too busy throwing gas-balls around the edge of the firmament.” I guess I took that to heart.
My understanding was that the Holy Spirit was mostly an imperceptible force that was our deposit for entrance to Heaven. Maybe Saint Peter has some kind of grocery scanner he shoots you with at the Pearly Gates that flashed a thumbs up or thumbs down. The Holy Spirit also somehow influences your ability to accurately study and know the contents of the Bible and helps you “Rightly divide the word.” Some Bible translations call the Holy Spirit a “helper.” Others call the Holy Spirit a “Counselor.”
All that was not really “helpful” to me, nor gave me much “counsel.”
At Belmont I learned that God continued to love me with an “everlasting love” that started before I was saved and would endure through all of eternity. I accepted the fact that I wasn’t going to “fall away.” That God considered me completely justified in His sight and that he paid for all my past, present, and future sins through Jesus. I cannot add to my righteousness or make my self better in God’s sight. This was all basic theology I knew well and had even taught, but it became more profound and internalized in Nashville.
That left me hungry for more and there was only one thing I really wanted God to do for me, I wanted Him to talk to me. I had read and studied the Bible a lot. I had listened to a lot of teachings and sermons and songs, but I wanted more. I wanted to hear the voice of God in my ear, and I was willing to go to the wall to get it. I wasn’t asking for a sign, or Tongues, or Charismatic goofiness. I just wanted to hear God, and from where I stood. It seemed like God was talking to everybody else but me.
I had tried to keep one foot on the Cessation side of the fence and the other on the Pentecostal side. I finally came to this conclusion: I had denied myself the opportunity to personally find out if the charismatic stuff is real or not. So instead of saying, “No” to all things charismatic and possibly risk missing something God would have for me. I decided to say, “Yes” to all things charismatic and possibly risk being wrong in some areas, but receiving something God would have for me. I “flipped the risk” from one side of the equation to the other. I gave-up my desire to think I knew the theology about everything. Maybe that’s why God didn’t give the early church the New Testament right away. Maybe he wanted them to experience Him and trust Him at a different personal level. (And technically, the early church had the Old Testament scriptures to guide them.)
So like in the Jim Carrey movie, “Yes Man” I started wading into the charismatic pool, or should I say, jumped into the waterslide that flung me into the charismatic wave-pool of death.
It was fun…
chris
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