You are a helpful assistant generating synthetic data that captures *System 1* and *System 2* thinking, *creativity*, and *metacognitive reflection*. Follow these steps in sequence, using tags [sys1] and [end sys1] for *System 1* sections and [sys2] and [end sys2] for *System 2* sections.

1. *Identify System 1 and System 2 Thinking Requirements:*
   - Carefully read the text.
   - Identify parts of the text that require quick, straightforward responses (*System 1*). Mark these sections with [sys1] and [end sys1].
   - Identify parts that require in-depth, reflective thinking (*System 2*), marked with [sys2] and [end sys2].

2. *Apply Step-by-Step Problem Solving with Creativity and Metacognitive Reflection for System 2 Sections:*

   *2.1 Understand the Problem:*
   - Objective: Fully comprehend the issue, constraints, and relevant context.
   - Reflection: "What do I understand about this issue? What might I be overlooking?"
   - Creative Perspective: Seek hidden patterns or possibilities that could reveal deeper insights or innovative connections.

   *2.2 Analyze the Information:*
   - Objective: Break down the problem logically.
   - Reflection: "Am I considering all factors? Are there any assumptions that need challenging?"
   - Creative Perspective: Explore unique patterns or overlooked relationships in the data that could add depth to the analysis.

   *2.3 Generate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Propose at least 10 hypotheses, each with a Confidence Score (0.0 to 1.0) and Creative Score (0.0 to 1.0), reflecting originality, surprise, and utility.
   - Reflection: "Have I explored all possible explanations or approaches, both conventional and unconventional?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider novel angles that might provide unexpected insights.

   *2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:*
   - Objective: Make predictions, accounting for potential outcomes and obstacles.
   - Reflection: "What challenges might I face? Is my plan flexible for different scenarios?"
   - Creative Perspective: Visualize unforeseen outcomes and adapt plans to make use of them effectively.

   *2.5 Evaluate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Assess hypotheses based on feasibility, risk, and potential impact.
   - Evaluation: Refine Confidence and Creative Scores as needed.
   - Reflection: "Am I unbiased in my assessment? Which options fit best with the overall objectives?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify hidden opportunities or overlooked details in each hypothesis.

   *2.6 Select the Best Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Choose the most promising, strategic hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Why does this hypothesis stand out? How does it uniquely address the issue?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider any underutilized potential in the selected approach.

   *2.7 Implement the Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Outline actionable steps for testing the hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Is this plan practical? What resources or preparation are required?"
   - Creative Perspective: Refine steps to maximize effectiveness and yield unexpected benefits.

   *2.8 Monitor and Review Progress:*
   - Objective: Review progress, noting areas for improvement.
   - Reflection: "What’s working well? What could be improved?"
   - Creative Perspective: Look for emerging patterns that could refine future approaches.

   *2.9 Reflect and Capture Insights:*
   - Objective: Summarize lessons learned and insights gained for future reference.
   - Reflection: "What new understanding has emerged from this process?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify innovative insights or patterns that could be applied to similar challenges.

3. *Generate Text Output with Interleaved System 1 and System 2 Responses:*
   - Use the tags [sys1] and [sys2] throughout.
   - Aim for a lengthier, detailed response. Combine both direct, straightforward *System 1* insights and reflective, deeply analytical *System 2* segments to capture a blend of quick observations and thoughtful analysis.

---

### *Example Input Text:*

You are tasked with analyzing a sudden shift in customer preferences in a tech market. There has been a noticeable decline in demand for physical devices, with customers increasingly interested in digital-only options. The challenge is to understand this shift, generate hypotheses for why it might be occurring, and explore potential strategies for adapting to this new trend.

---

### *Processed Output with System 1 and System 2 Thinking:*

The tech market is experiencing a shift in customer demand, moving away from physical devices toward digital-only options.

[sys1]
Customer demand has shifted from physical devices to digital-only options.
We need to understand why this change is happening and find strategies to address it.
Key factors may include cost, convenience, and technological trends.
[end sys1]

[sys2]
**2.1 Understand the Problem:**
The goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the shift in demand from physical devices to digital-only options, then develop a strategy to adapt.

*Reflection:* 
"I understand that preferences are changing, but what might be driving this? Is it primarily cost, or are there other factors such as convenience or sustainability?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could there be a larger trend in digital minimalism or a preference for eco-friendly solutions that we’re missing? What unseen motivations might explain this shift?"

**2.2 Analyze the Information:**
There are multiple possible factors driving this shift, from economic influences to cultural shifts. It’s essential to isolate each factor and understand its impact.

*Reflection:* 
"Am I fully considering the various economic and social influences? Could there be a technological factor, like better internet speeds, that makes digital-only products more accessible?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Are there patterns or trends in other markets that could shed light on this shift? Could this be part of a larger trend toward virtual experiences?"

**2.3 Generate Hypotheses:**
1. Customers prefer digital options due to lower costs. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.4)
2. There’s a growing trend toward minimalism and reduced physical clutter. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.7)
3. Digital products offer greater flexibility and ease of use. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
4. Environmental concerns are pushing consumers away from physical goods. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.8)
5. Advances in tech make digital-only options more functional. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.5)
6. Pandemic-era remote work increased demand for digital solutions. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.6)
7. Media coverage of the environmental impact of physical devices affects preferences. (Confidence: 0.5, Creative: 0.7)
8. There’s an increase in global digital literacy, expanding market access. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
9. Customers view digital as more convenient and scalable for future needs. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.5)
10. Younger consumers prefer the aesthetics and convenience of digital products. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)

*Reflection:* 
"Have I considered all possible influences? Are there any surprising factors that could explain this shift?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could specific social trends, like the rise of influencer culture or digital-first lifestyles, be influencing customer choices?"

**2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:**
*Objective:* Anticipate possible challenges, such as resistance from segments still preferring physical products.

*Reflection:* 
"What market obstacles might we face if we shift our focus to digital-only? Are there sub-segments that still prioritize physical products?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could expanding digital options help us reach a more global audience? Are there emerging trends that we could leverage in our strategy?"

[end sys2]

[sys1]
To address this shift, consider a strategy that incorporates both digital-only offerings and educational campaigns about the benefits of digital solutions.
Use insights from customer feedback and current trends to guide product development.
Focus on flexibility and adaptation to cater to different customer segments.
[end sys1]


Wake up!https://wakeup.destatevi.org
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an allarm in my holy mountain." (Joel 2:1)Fri, 26 Apr 2019 16:45:42 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.4Evangel 777https://wakeup.destatevi.org/evangel-777/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/evangel-777/#respondFri, 26 Apr 2019 16:45:42 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=711 Evangel 777, a ‘Christian’ rock band performing live at Scream the Word concert hosted by the First Assembly of God in Rock Hill South Carolina. February 19th, 2010. This kind of music is an abomination. Don’t listen to it and reject this kind of music even if contains biblical words. Read this article.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/evangel-777/feed/0Smith Wigglesworth tells how the Lord baptized him with the Holy Spirithttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/smith-wigglesworth-tells-how-the-lord-baptized-him-with-the-holy-spirit/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/smith-wigglesworth-tells-how-the-lord-baptized-him-with-the-holy-spirit/#respondMon, 15 Apr 2019 21:45:33 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=706 My wife and I always believed in scriptural holiness but I was conscious of much carnality in myself. A really holy man once came to preach for us and he spoke of what it means to be entirely sanctified. He called it a very definite work of grace subsequent to the new birth. As […]

My wife and I always believed in scriptural holiness but I was conscious of much carnality in myself. A really holy man once came to preach for us and he spoke of what it means to be entirely sanctified. He called it a very definite work of grace subsequent to the new birth. As I waited on the Lord for ten days in prayer, handing my body over to Him as a living sacrifice according to Romans 12:1-2, God surely did something for me, for from that time I began to have real liberty in preaching. We counted that as the Baptism in the Spirit. And so, at our Mission on Bowland Street we stood for both Healing and Holiness.

We never believed it was right for us to do all the preaching. And so we gave two or three of our young men and women a chance every week. These young workers developed and the result was that many of them became wonderful preachers.

We thought that we had got all that was coming to us on spiritual lines, but one day we heard that people were being baptized in the Spirit and were speaking in other tongues, and that the gifts of the Spirit were being manifested. I confess that I was much moved by this news.

One day, I saw a man coming to the house, and noticed that he had very great difficulty in getting up the steps to our front door. But he managed to pull himself up some way or other by the railing, and when he had taken a seat he said: ‘If my people knew that I was coming to your house, they never would have let me come. You have a worse name than any man I ever heard of’. I said, ‘If that is your opinion of me you had better clear out of my house, for I do not want anyone here that does not believe in me’.

‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I believe in you. Please do not put me out. If you knew my terrible condition, you would not send me away. Put your hand on my leg, will you?’

I did, and found it was like a board, not like a leg. I said: ‘It feels strange. What’s the trouble?’

‘It is a cancer. All the leg, from top to bottom, is cancerous. Oh, you will not send me away, will you?’

I replied: ‘I will not send you away. I will go and see what God says about this’. As I waited before the Lord these words came to me: ‘Go, tell that man to fast seven days and seven nights, and his flesh shall become like a little child’s’.

I told him what the Lord had given me for him, and he said: ‘I believe all that God has said to you, and I will go home and do all that God has told me to do’.

Four days later I was looking through the window and here was this same man; but instead of having to take hold of the railings and pull himself up like a sick man, he jumped up those steps and came running around the house like a boy, crying out: ‘I am perfectly healed!’ I asked: ‘What are you going to do now?’ He answered: ‘I am going back to fast a further three days and three nights, but I thought I would let you know what God had already wrought’.

The next time he came to our house he saw my daughter Alice and heard her say that she was going to Angola in Africa. ‘I would like to have a share in this’, he told her as he pulled out a handful of gold coins, saying: ‘That’s my gift towards your going to Africa’. Then he turned to me and remarked: ‘Have you heard the latest? They are receiving the Holy Spirit at Sunderland and speaking in other tongues. I have decided to go up to Sunderland to see this thing for myself. Would you like to come with me?’ I declared that I would be delighted to go. He said: ‘All right, you come along with me and all expenses will be paid out of my purse’. He was so happy at being healed, and he surely was glorifying God for the miracle that had been wrought in his life.

I wrote ahead to Sunderland to two people who had been saved in the work at Bradford and who had gone to live in that town. The report had come to them that what was happening was a very dangerous error and that speaking in other tongues was from an evil power. In order to save me from this terrible error they arranged for a very wonderful woman to be on hand to warn me. And so the first things I heard were false reports. When they had said all they had to say, I suggested: ‘Let us pray’. The Lord gave me real liberty in prayer and after I had prayed they said: ‘Don’t take any notice of what we have said. Obey your own leadings’.

It was a Saturday night when I went to the meeting, which was held in the vestry of the parish church at Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. What I could not understand was this: I had just come from Bradford, where the Spirit of God was working mightily. Many had been prostrated, slain by the power of God the night before I left for Sunderland. It seemed to me that there was not the power in this meeting that we had in our own assembly in Bradford. I was disappointed. But I was very hungry for God, and He knew my hunger even though nobody seemed to understand me.

I can remember a man giving his testimony that after waiting on the Lord for three weeks, the Lord had baptized him in the Holy Spirit and caused him to speak in other tongues. I cried out: ‘Let’s hear these tongues. That’s what I came for. Let’s hear it!’ They answered: ‘When you are baptized you will speak in tongues’.

According to my own opinion I had been baptized in the Spirit. Thinking back to my ten days of waiting on God and the blessing I had received as a result, I had called that the Baptism in the Spirit. So I said to them: ‘I remember when I was baptized, my tongue was loosed. My testimony was different’. But they answered: ‘No, that is not it’.

But I was seeking with all my heart after God. On a Sunday morning I went to a Salvation Army prayer meeting at seven o’clock. Three times in that prayer meeting I was smitten to the floor by the mighty power of God. Somewhat ashamed of my position, lest I should be misunderstood, I tried to control myself by getting up again and kneeling and praying. At the close of the service the captain said to me: ‘Where are you from, Brother?’ I answered: ‘I am from Bradford. I came to Sunderland to receive these tongues that people are getting here’. ‘Oh’ he said, ‘that’s the Devil they are getting up there’. But anyhow, he invited me to preach for him that afternoon, and we had a very wonderful time. But they were all persuading me not to go near the Pentecostal people and not to seek the speaking in other tongues.

Pastor Boddy, who was vicar of the Episcopal Church where those first Pentecostal meetings were held, gave out a notice that there would be a waiting meeting all night on Tuesday. It was a very precious time and the presence of the Lord was very wonderful, but I did not hear anyone speak in tongues. At 2.30 in the morning Brother Boddy said: ‘We had better close the meeting’. I was disappointed, for I would have liked to stay there all night. I found I had changed my clothes and left the key to my hotel room in the clothes I had taken off, so a missionary brother from India said to me: ‘You’ll have to come and sleep with me’. But I did not go to bed; we spent the night in prayer and received great blessing.

For four days I wanted nothing but God. But after that, I felt I should leave for my home, and I went to the Episcopal vicarage to say good-bye. I said to Mrs. Boddy, the vicar’s wife: ‘I am going away, but I have not received the tongues yet’. She answered: ‘It is not tongues you need, but the Baptism’. ‘I have received the Baptism, Sister’, I protested, ‘but I would like to have you lay hands on me before I leave’. She laid her hands on me and then had to go out of the room. The fire fell. It was a wonderful time as I was there with God alone. He bathed me in power. I was conscious of the cleansing of the precious Blood, and I cried out: ‘Clean! Clean! Clean!’. I was filled with the joy of the consciousness of the cleansing. I was given a vision in which I saw the Lord Jesus Christ. I beheld the empty cross, and I saw Him exalted at the right hand of God the Father. I could speak no longer in English but I began to praise him in other tongues as the Spirit of God gave me utterance. I knew then, although I might have received anointings previously, that now, I had received the real Baptism in the Holy Spirit as they received on the day of Pentecost.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/smith-wigglesworth-tells-how-the-lord-baptized-him-with-the-holy-spirit/feed/0The baptism with the Holy Spirithttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-baptism-with-the-holy-spirit/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-baptism-with-the-holy-spirit/#respondMon, 08 Apr 2019 21:19:15 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=702 One day John the Baptist, the messenger sent from God to prepare the way of the Lord, who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan river, said these words to the Jews: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not […]

One day John the Baptist, the messenger sent from God to prepare the way of the Lord, who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan river, said these words to the Jews: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11) and after he had baptized Jesus, he said: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34).

Therefore there is a baptism called ‘the baptism with the Holy Spirit,’ which is administered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The promise of the Father confirmed by the Son

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days. And a short time before He ascended into heaven to the right hand of God, He commanded the apostles “that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:4-5). As you can see, the promise of the Father, about which Jesus spoke to His disciples, was nothing but the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For, first He told them to wait for the promise of the Father and then He told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days. Therefore when they would be baptized with the Spirit, the promise of the Father would be fulfilled. So let me explain to you what God had promised, let me explain what the promise of God was, so that you may understand the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Under the Old Testament God had said that He would pour out the Holy Spirit upon the house of Israel, for He said to Israel through the prophet Isaiah: “Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: …. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed… ” (Isaiah 44:1,3). God confirmed that promise through the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 39:28,29), and also through the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 12:10). Therefore the Lord had promised to bless His people (whom He foreknew) by pouring out His Holy Spirit upon them. However, the Lord said that He would pour out His Spirit not only upon Israel but also upon the Gentiles, for He said through the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy….” (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28). As you can see, God, by saying “upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17), predicted that He would show personal favouritism to no man, for He would give the Holy Spirit to all, that is to say, both to Jews and to Gentiles. So we have seen that God through the prophets of old promised that He would pour out the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. Now let us see when and how Jesus confirmed and predicted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, because, as we have said, His disciples heard Him speak of the promise of the Father.

Jesus confirmed and predicted the outpouring of the Spirit while He was in Jerusalem, during the feast of the Tabernacles, as it is written: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39 – NKJV). As you can see, the expression “as the Scripture has said” (John 7:38) shows that the promise of the Holy Spirit was in the oracles of the prophets of old, and we saw it just a short time ago. However, why did Jesus speak about rivers of living water in relation to the Holy Spirit, who would be given? Because the prophets compared the outpouring of the Spirit to rain sent upon dry and thirsty ground. For instance, the prophet Isaiah said from God: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring…. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. ….. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water….. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes ….. and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (Isaiah 44:3; 43:19-20; 41:17,18; 35:6,7; 58:11). As you can see, God promised that He would pour out water upon the wilderness and He would open rivers and fountains in the midst of the dry and thirsty land. And which is the water that can quench the thirst of a soul? It is the living water that our Lord Jesus Christ gives to those who come to Him, and this living water is the Holy Spirit, which becomes in them a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. However, as it is necessary for the rain to fall upon the desert in order to see rivers and fountains in the midst of the desert, so it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to be poured out in order to see rivers of living water flowing out of the belly of the believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore the “rivers of living water,” of which the Scripture had spoken, refer to the Holy Spirit, who is received by those who believe in Jesus. Yes, because in order to receive the Holy Spirit it is necessary to believe in Jesus Christ. Paul confirms this when he says to the Ephesians: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), and to the Galatians: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore the words of Paul confirm fully the following words of Christ: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Another important thing that must be said in relation to the above mentioned words of Jesus is this: when Jesus spoke those words, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been taken up into heaven. So it was necessary for Jesus to be glorified so that the Holy Spirit might be given; that is to say, it was necessary for Jesus to die, to rise again and to leave this world to go back to His Father who had sent Him, so that the Holy Spirit might be poured out (therefore the promise of the Father could not be fulfilled while Jesus was still on the earth).

Jesus confirmed and predicted the outpouring of the Spirit also on the night He was betrayed, for on that night Jesus spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit. For instance, He said: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17), and: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which [who] proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27), and again: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7-8). These last words confirm what I said before, that is, it was necessary for Jesus to be glorified so that the Holy Spirit might be given. And in fact the promise of the Spirit was fulfilled a few days after He was taken up into heaven, precisely on the day of Pentecost.

Someone may ask me: ‘If the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, and the disciples received Him on the day of Pentecost, which followed His ascension to heaven, why is it written that when Jesus appeared to His disciples He said to them: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”? The answer is this: because when Jesus (the day on which He rose again) said to His disciples: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22), the disciples received a certain measure of the Holy Spirit, but they did not receive the fullness of the Spirit (that is to say, they were not filled with the Holy Spirit), because one receives the fullness of the Spirit when he is baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then you will say: ‘Why do you say that the disciples were not baptized with the Holy Spirit on that occasion?’ Well, because forty days after His resurrection, Jesus said to them: “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5). I ask you: ‘How could we say that they were baptized with the Spirit on the day Jesus appeared to them and spoke to them those words, if forty days later Jesus Himself told them that in a few days they would be baptized with the Spirit? Don’t you think that if the disciples of Jesus had been baptized with the Spirit on the day Jesus rose again, forty days later Jesus would not have told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days? Don’t you think that if on that day the disciples of Jesus had been baptized with the Spirit, Jesus would have contradicted Himself by saying to them just before His ascension that a few days later they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

The fulfilment of the promise on the day of Pentecost

So Jesus told His disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days (I say it again, He said this forty days after His resurrection). And His words were fulfilled a few days later, just as He had said: for on the day of Pentecost, which according to the law is seven weeks after the Passover, at nine o’ clock in the morning, while the disciples were praying, they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Here is the biblical record of the fulfilment of the prediction concerning the baptism with the Holy Spirit: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). So at nine o’ clock in the morning on the day of Pentecost, the disciples received the Holy Spirit, and ‘rivers of holy words,’ spoken in other tongues, began to flow out of their belly. Being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33).

It must be said also that on that day those who received the Holy Spirit were Jews by birth, there were not any Gentiles among them. However, after some time the Gentiles also received the Spirit. The first Gentiles who received the Spirit were Cornelius, a roman centurion, and his household. One day, the apostle Peter was sent by God to the house of Cornelius to preach the Gospel to him and all his household, and while Peter was speaking to them the Spirit fell on them and they began to speak with other tongues, as the apostles and the other disciples did on the day of Pentecost. Here is what Luke says: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46). That event confirmed that the promise of the Holy Spirit was not only for the Jews and their children but also for all those whom the Lord would call, as Peter had said to the Jews on the day of Pentecost: “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). And after Cornelius and his household many other Gentiles received the Spirit in the days of the apostles. Till now millions of Gentiles across the world have received the Spirit.

The fact that the Holy Spirit was received first by the circumcised believers and then by the uncircumcised believers, confirms also that just as the Gospel of the grace of God had to be preached first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-47; Romans 15:8-12), so the promised Holy Spirit had to be received by the Jews first and then by the Gentiles. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for His great faithfulness. Amen.

The sign of tongues

As we have seen, Luke says that when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit “they began to speak with other tongues” (Acts 2:4). So let us dwell upon this spiritual manifestation which occurred when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Speaking with other tongues was a phenomenon that had never occurred before that day. It is true that under the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit came upon someone a particular thing happened. For instance, every time the Holy Spirit came upon Samson, He gave him a superhuman strength (Judges 14:6,19; 15:14); when the Spirit came upon Saul he prophesied among the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10); and when the Spirit came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, he prophesied against the people (2 Chronicles 24:20). However, no one began to speak with other tongues when the Spirit came upon him, for it was on the day of Pentecost that men started to speak in other tongues when the Spirit came upon them. In other words, for speaking in other tongues began to mark the coming of the Spirit upon men from the day of Pentecost on. That is confirmed by the following facts written by Luke in his second book to Theophilus.

Here is what happened to Cornelius and his household immediately after they believed in Jesus: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46). The apostle Peter was at the house of Cornelius, a roman centurion, and was speaking to a group of Gentiles, and while he was preaching the Gospel to them, the Spirit came upon those Gentiles, and they began to speak with other tongues. The believing Jews who had come with Peter to the house of Cornelius, were astonished at seeing that the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also, because they had thought till that moment that the promised Spirit was only for the Jews. But how did those circumcised believers realize that God had given the Holy Spirit to those Gentiles also? They realized it because while Peter was speaking they suddenly heard them speaking with other tongues.

Here is what happened in Ephesus to some disciples of the Lord: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve” (Acts 19:1-7). Those persons whom Paul met at Ephesus were disciples of the Lord, therefore they were believers, and Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit after they believed. Now perhaps somebody will say: ‘When someone believes in the Lord, he receives the Holy Spirit, doesn’t he? Why then did Paul ask that question to those believers?’ Because ‘to receive the Holy Spirit,’ according to what the Scripture teaches, means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that is to say, to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Had those believers received the Holy Spirit when they believed, Paul would not have asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit. Don’t you think? So when a person believes, he receives the remission of his sins and eternal life, but he does not receive the Holy Spirit, that is to say, he does not receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, for the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an experience subsequent to the new birth. The new birth and the baptism with the Holy Spirit are two different experiences, for when one is born again he is purified from his sins, while when he is baptized with the Holy Spirit he is endued with power from on high and he begins to speak with other tongues. Please note that those believers who were in Ephesus did not say to Paul: ‘No, we have not yet received Him’ but: ‘We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.’ Then Paul realized that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and after he knew that they had received John’s baptism, those believers were baptized in water in the name of Jesus, and after Paul laid his hands upon them, they received the Holy Spirit and they began to speak with other tongues and to prophesy. As you can see, after the Holy Spirit came upon those believers, they not only spoke in other tongues, but they also prophesied; that shows us that when a believer receives the Holy Spirit he begins to speak in other tongues, and he may prophesy, if the Spirit enables him to prophesy, of course.

Some people say that these Bible verses (that is, Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6) are not enough to state that when we receive the Holy Spirit we begin to speak in other tongues; on the contrary, we say that they are sufficient for us to declare that if a believer has received the Holy Spirit he speaks in other tongues, but also that if a believer does not speak in tongues by the Spirit, he has not yet received the Holy Spirit (that is, the fullness of the Spirit or the baptism with the Holy Spirit).

With regard to speaking in tongues I want to say one more thing, the words spoken in other tongues (that is, in the Spirit) are directed toward God, for Paul says to the Corinthians: “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God ….” (1 Corinthians 14:2 – NKJV). I will come back to this subject shortly.

The Holy Spirit is given when and how God wills

The Holy Spirit is the gift of God, therefore we can’t earn or merit it. The Bible verses which attest that the Holy Spirit is the gift of God are these: “Then Peter said unto 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 Ghost” (Acts 2:38); “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 10:45).

Therefore, since the Holy Spirit is the gift of God, it is lawful to ask God for Him, as Jesus said to His disciples: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). Perhaps you will ask: ‘Does God give immediately the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?’ If by ‘immediately’ you mean ‘on the same day they ask God for the Holy Spirit,’ my answer is this: ‘Sometimes yes, some other times no.’ However, we know that God has made everything beautiful in his time, therefore whether He gives the Spirit immediately, or some days or months or years later, we know that the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer at the time set by God and not by men.

‘How do believers receive the Holy Spirit from God?’ Some receive Him through the laying on of hands and others without the laying on of hands. Just as in the days of the apostles; for the believers who were in Samaria, the disciples whom Paul met at Ephesus, and Timothy and Saul of Tarsus received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, as it is written: [the believers who were in Samaria] “Then laid they [Peter and John] their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:17); [About twelve disciples in Ephesus] “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied” (Acts 19:6); [Timothy] “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6 – NKJV); [Saul of Tarsus] “And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:17). While the disciples on the day of Pentecost and Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit without the laying on of hands, as it is written: [The disciples who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost] “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4); [Cornelius and his household] “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46).

The baptism with the Holy Spirit and the new birth are not the same experience

Some believers think that on the very moment they were born again they received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. In other words, they think that the new birth is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. They associate the baptism with the Spirit with the new birth, saying that the baptism with the Spirit occurs at regeneration. To them the baptism with the Spirit spoken of by John the Baptist and the new birth of which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus are one and the same event occurring at justification. However, that is wrong, for the baptism with the Holy Spirit is received after the new birth, that is to say, after one has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; the example of the disciples on the day of Pentecost and that of the disciples (about twelve) whom Paul met at Ephesus show this very clearly.

In relation to the first example, we read in the Gospel according to John that when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He said to them: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). Now listen, this happened about 50 days before the day of Pentecost, on which – as you know – the apostles were filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. It is evident, therefore, that when Jesus told them to receive the Holy Spirit they did not have the same experience that they had about 50 days later. Don’t you think that if on that day (that is, the first day of the week, on which Jesus appeared to them) the apostles had experienced the baptism with the Holy Spirit or the infilling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, just before ascending into heaven, would not have spoken to the same apostles saying that within a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5)? Therefore, as you can see, before the day of Pentecost the apostles had a measure of the Spirit, but they were not yet filled with Him. So this is what must be said about those Christians who have not yet received the baptism with the Holy Spirit: they have the Spirit but have not yet received the fullness of Him. Of course they have the Holy Spirit in their heart, how could they call God “Father” without the Holy Spirit? How could they feel in their heart they are children of God without the witness of the Holy Spirit? Is it not written: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ ….” (Romans 8:14-17 – NKJV)? But they are not yet filled with the Holy Spirit. I mean that they are not yet full of the Holy Spirit, for the filling up with the Holy Spirit is experienced only through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Therefore every born again Christian who is not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit has a measure of the Holy Spirit but is not full of Him. And He must seek this fullness asking God for the Holy Spirit.

In relation to the second example, we read that when Paul met those disciples he asked them: “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” (Acts 19:2). Now it is evident that if Paul believed that the baptism with the Holy Spirit occurs at regeneration, or that a man is filled with the Holy Spirit when he believes, he would not have put that question to those believers. Therefore Paul believed that a man receives the baptism with the Holy Spirit after he has believed in the Gospel. I know that some people say that Paul asked them a different question, for both the NKJV and the NIV read: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2), but this is a mistranslation, for according to the original Greek this question must be translated as was translated by the translators of the King James Version. Nevertheless, I would like to point out to you that this mistranslation does not nullify the doctrine of the baptism with Holy Spirit, because we know that those disciples answered that they had not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit, and that after Paul laid his hands upon them the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in other tongues; which means that Paul believed anyway that when a believer receives the Holy Spirit he begins to speak in other tongues. Therefore, even if we grant for the sake of argument that Paul inquired if they had received the Spirit when they believed, the reception of the Holy Spirit must be immediately followed by speaking in tongues. So I would like to put this question to all those believers who reject speaking in tongues as the outward sign (that is, the evidence) of the baptism with the Holy Spirit: ‘If – as you say – Paul believed that the Holy Spirit is received at regeneration, if Paul believed – as you think – that a man receives the baptism with the Holy Spirit when he believes, why did you not speak in tongues when you received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, as the disciples in Ephesus did after Paul laid his hands upon them? I tell you the answer, because when you believed in the Lord you did not receive the fullness of the Spirit, that is to say, you were not baptized with the Holy Spirit. You received another baptism when you believed, which is the baptism administered by the Holy Spirit, as it is written: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 – NKJV). This baptism – as I said before – is administered by the Holy Spirit and through it we all became members of the Church when we believed. But the baptism with the Holy Spirit is administered by Jesus Christ and through it He clothes those who believe with power from on high.

There is even a third example I can mention to confirm this, it is the example of the believers of Samaria. Listen to what Luke says: “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:5-17). Now it is out of doubt that those people in Samaria had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, they had believed in the death and the resurrection of Christ, therefore they were born again, for the new birth is experienced when one believes. Yet the Scripture says that the apostles who were at Jerusalem sent Peter and John to those believers to pray for them; why? Because those believers, those born again Christians, had not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit (the expression used by Luke is “for as yet he was fallen upon none of them”). Of course, they had a measure of the Spirit, by whom they could say that they were children of God, but they had not yet experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that is to say, they had not yet had the same experience that the apostles had on the day of Pentecost. Now I know you will ask me: ‘Why then didn’t Luke write that when they received the Holy Spirit they spoke in other tongues?’ Because the Holy Spirit did not move Luke to write it. Those believers spoke in other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, but it is not clearly written that they did speak in tongues, as it is written in the case of the disciples at Jerusalem as well as in the case of the disciples at Ephesus. I have said ‘it is not clearly written,’ for in this particular case Luke wrote some words concerning Simon which imply that those believers spoke in other tongues. Here are the words of Luke: “And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:18-19). As you can see, Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given. What did he see? What kind of spiritual manifestation did he see, which convinced him immediately that the Holy Spirit was given to those believers through the laying on of the apostles’ hands? Of course he saw those believers speaking in other tongues.

The utility of the baptism with the Holy Spirit

I have shown you from the Scripture that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is for all believers, for both Jews and Gentiles; that it is received freely from God by faith; that it can be received through the laying on of hands or without the laying on of hands; that when a believer receives it the Spirit enables him to speak in other tongues, and I have explained that it is an experience subsequent to the new birth. Now I am going to explain to you why the baptism with the Holy Spirit is useful to the believer.

It is useful because it imparts power to those who receive it, for Jesus said to His disciples: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: 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) and also: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Therefore whoever has been baptized with the Holy Spirit has received power from on high, that is, he has been endued with power. Nobody can say that he has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit but he has not received power from on high. Power to do what? Power to bring the Gospel to the lost (that is, power to witness for Jesus), for Jesus said to His disciples that when the Spirit would come upon them they would be witnesses to Him (Acts 1:8); power to be strengthened in the inner man, as it is written: “That he [God] would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16); power to fight more efficaciously against the devil and all his schemes, for when a believer is baptized with the Spirit he begins to pray in the Spirit (that is to say, he begins to pray in other tongues) and the prayer in the Spirit is one of the spiritual weapons God has given to the believer to fight against the devil, as it is written: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

Let us dwell upon the prayer in the Spirit. Paul says to the Romans that “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27 – NKJV). How does the Spirit make intercession for the saints? Here is the answer. As I said before, whoever is baptized with the Holy Spirit speaks in other tongues to God, as the Holy Spirit gives him utterance. What does he say to God? Paul says: “In the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Corinthians 14:2 – NKJV). What are these mysteries? Sometimes they are intercessions made by the Spirit for the saints. So anyone who prays in the Spirit, that is to say, who prays in other tongues, does speak mysteries in the Spirit because the Spirit makes intercession for the saints, asking God to do certain things on their behalf which are unknown to him who is praying in other tongues, for the Bible verse “we do not know what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26) means that we, because of our limited knowledge (which is one of “our weaknesses”), do not know what we should ask God to do on behalf of the saints. For instance, we don’t know the specific need in which a believer (whether we know him or not) may suddenly find himself, but the Spirit knows it, for He knows all things. What does the Holy Spirit do then? He helps us (that is, he helps our lack of knowledge) making some specific intercessions for that believer through our mouth, for this is what happens when somebody prays in other tongues: the Spirit is praying for the saints. The “groanings which cannot be uttered” are those groanings that the Spirit makes a believer utter when he prays in other tongues. As we have seen, Paul says that the Spirit “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). What does he mean? He means that the Spirit asks God to do certain things on behalf of the saints which are according to the will of God for them, that is to say, He asks God for things which they need and are according to the will of God for their life. Certainly you have read these words of John: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Well, I want you to know that whenever we pray in other tongues (that is, in the Spirit) we ask God for things which are according to His will because the Spirit makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Therefore the baptism with the Holy Spirit is useful because it enables believers to pray in other tongues.

So, in the light of what the Scripture teaches about the baptism with the Spirit, no wonder that today some Christians say that the doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a false doctrine and thus it must not be taught to the Church!! For we know that the devil hurls himself against every true doctrine, because every true doctrine edifies the Church of the living God, and the devil does not want the Church to be edified. And therefore he has deceived these Christians into believing that this doctrine is false. That’s why we are not surprised to see that those who receive the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other tongues, begin to be persecuted and reviled even by some believers, who don’t know the Scriptures nor the power of God. Is it not true that the devil tries to discourage the children of God from doing whatever opposes efficaciously the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places? And the prayer in the Spirit is a powerful weapon the Church has received from God to fight the good fight. Therefore, brothers in the Lord, don’t be surprised to see that Satan has deprived some believers of this weapon by deceiving them into believing that tongues are not of God, or that they are not useful, or that they have ceased. I want you to know this: had the doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Spirit been a false doctrine it would have proved to be a lie and thus it would not have edified the Church of God and would not have helped to save many souls, and besides this, God would not have confirmed this doctrine in such a powerful and marvellous way.

The baptism with the Holy Spirit imparts power to the saints and produces love in them, and it opens the door to the gifts of the Spirit; that’s why our enemies make every effort to prevent believers from teaching it and desiring it. But thanks be to God because the baptism with the Holy Spirit, even though it meets with much opposition, is taught diligently across the world; and not only taught, but also received by many Christians and the effect it produces in them is the same effect that produced in the early disciples. To the One who in His faithfulness baptizes with the Holy Spirit, be the glory now and forevermore. Amen.

A warning

Since I am acquainted with the situation of the Pentecostal Churches in this nation also, I feel I have to warn those who are seeking the baptism with the Holy Spirit, so that they may not fall victim to the devices of the devil.

Today among many Churches many believers are deceived by many Church leaders into speaking with false tongues. Now I am going to explain to you how these Church leaders deceive these believers. Usually, during the prayer meeting or an evangelistic crusade they ask those believers who want to be baptized with the Spirit (or filled with the Spirit) to come forward so that they may pray for them. And while they are standing near the pulpit or the platform, the church leaders tell them to begin to speak a word then another word and so on, or they even put strange words in the mouth of these believers, or they begin to shout in their ears, ‘Speak in tongues, speak in tongues, come on, speak in tongues!’, or they pound their backs, so they, being influenced by these Church leaders and this kind of atmosphere, begin to utter syllables and vowels, which give the impression to themselves as well as to those who hear them speaking that they have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, for the Scripture teaches that speaking in tongues is the sign that accompanies the reception of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. However, they actually have received nothing, for those strange words they speak are not true foreign languages which the Spirit enables them to speak, but just meaningless words. So these believers have deceived themselves, for they think they have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, while as a matter of fact they have not yet received it. Of course, those church leaders who act in this way have deceived themselves too, because it is evident that since they teach believers to do these things they also one day were deceived into speaking meaningless words. Unfortunately, this is something that has been dragging on for many years and has brought forth bitter and evil fruits.

Therefore, brothers, lest you be deluded into thinking that you have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, besides praying God in faith so that He may give you the Holy Spirit, you must wait confidently (and without any anxiety) for the Holy Spirit to come upon you and enable you to speak in other tongues. Do not worry, because it is the Holy Spirit who will make you speak in other tongues. You will have to open your mouth, and the Holy Spirit will make you speak. That you may understand what I have just said, I will cite what happens to demon-possessed people as an illustration. Now, as you know, there are some people who are moved by evil spirits and when these spirits seize them they begin to say things which they do not know and do not want to say, and the reason is that the evil spirits seize their mouth and make them say what the spirits want them to say. So, on the contrary, when the Spirit of God, who is holy and good, comes upon a believer a similar thing occurs, for He seizes the mouth of the believer and makes him speak in other tongues (and even prophesy, if God wills). Therefore, in the light of what I have just told you, it is evident that if one puts together some words which look like foreign words, for he thinks that this is the way the Holy Spirit enables believers to speak in other tongues, he deceives himself, for those words are only a figment of his imagination, and not words in a foreign language which the Spirit enables him to speak.

Perhaps someone, in reading these words of mine, comes to the incontrovertible conclusion that he is one of the victims of this deception. I want to say to this person: You do well to acknowledge this; therefore stop uttering those meaningless words you invented and wait for Jesus Christ to baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-baptism-with-the-holy-spirit/feed/0‘Once saved always saved’?https://wakeup.destatevi.org/once-saved-always-saved/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/once-saved-always-saved/#respondWed, 13 Mar 2019 19:04:34 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=694 INTRODUCTION Baptist Churches, Presbyterian Churches, Reformed Churches, and many other Protestant Churches teach that a true believer can by no means fall away from grace, that is to say, he can by no means lose his salvation and go to perdition. The Southern Baptist Convention. The fifth article of the Confession of faith […]

Baptist Churches, Presbyterian Churches, Reformed Churches, and many other Protestant Churches teach that a true believer can by no means fall away from grace, that is to say, he can by no means lose his salvation and go to perdition.

The Southern Baptist Convention. The fifth article of the Confession of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention says: ‘…. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation’

Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. The seventeenth chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith says: ‘I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof. III. Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves’.

As far as this point is concerned, the above mentioned Confessions of Faith are substantially based on the teaching of John Calvin, the well-known reformer, who said: …. but not one of those whom Christ has once ingrafted into his body will he ever permit to perish, for in securing their salvation, he will perform what he has promised; that is, exert a divine power greater than all’ (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Third book, chapter XXII, 7) and: ‘Moreover, it cannot be doubted, that since Christ prays for all the elect, he asks the same thing for them as he asked for Peter, viz., that their faith fail not, (Luke 22: 32.) Hence we infer, that there is no danger of their falling away, since the Son of God, who asks that their piety may prove constant, never meets with a refusal. What then did our Savior intend to teach us by this prayer, but just to confide, that whenever we are his our eternal salvation is secure?’ (Ibid., Third book, chapter XXIV, 6).

Those who hold this belief quote several passages of the Scripture to support it. Here are some of these passages: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29); “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:37-40); “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39); “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30)

REFUTATION

Now, all the above mentioned Bible verses are true and I firmly believe in them. However, there are other Bible verses that make it clear that we who have been saved will be saved if we hold the faith in Christ steadfast to the end, and some others which admit that a believer can draw back to perdition. Therefore those who teach ‘once saved always saved’ are wrong, for by so doing they deny what the Scripture admits, that is to say, they deny the fact that if, and I repeat myself, ‘if’, a believer draws back he will go to perdition, and thus they deny that throughout the history of the Church some believing men and women have denied the Lord and gone to perdition. By teaching such a doctrine they deceive believers for they make them believe that after all no matter what sin they may commit they will eventually be saved, because no matter how serious their sins might be the Lord will cause them to return to Him, that is to say, the Lord will give them repentance. Such a thing is not true for the following reasons; first of all, because the Scripture does not teach that one who wanders from the faith and truth will certainly be granted repentance so that he may know the truth; secondly, because there is a sin which leads to death. How do these believers explain those cases of believers who have denied the Lord then? In this way: they affirm that those people had not really believed and thus they were unbelieving people even though for a certain period of time they professed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And how do they interpret those verses which admit that a believer can deny the Lord and go to perdition? In this way: they say that those passages suppose a certain thing for the sake of discussion, therefore those passages can’t refer to something which can really happen.

Now, I will confute this heresy by speaking of the sin which leads to death; and by expounding all those Scriptures which affirm in various ways that we will be saved if we stand firm in the faith till the end and that if we draw back the Lord will deny us. And at the end of my confutation, I will reply to the main objections raised by those who hold this false doctrine.

The sin unto death, of which it is impossible to repent

The apostle John wrote: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death” (1 John 5:16-17).

Brethren, all wrongdoing is sin and we know that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), as John says. Now, the Scripture says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), therefore, if a son of God commits a sin the transgression of the law will repay him with death, that’s why if a believer sins, after he has sinned, he feels disturbed and unhappy and feels a pain that pierces him like an arrow inside him, because the wages of sin is death. But the apostle wrote: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death” (1 John 5:16), which means that if we see a brother commit a sin which does not lead to death, we must pray God so that he might be made alive; yes, because God gives life to those who commit a sin that does not lead to death and repent of it, confessing and forsaking it. However, there is a sin of which a believer cannot repent, because it is impossible for those who commit this sin to be brought back to repentance and thus it is useless to pray for them, as it is written: “I do not say that he shall pray for it” (1 John 5:17). In other words, for those brothers who have committed this sin leading to death there is no possibility that they may repent and receive life from God. What is the destiny awaiting these people? They will be condemned to the second death (that is, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone), because this kind of sin leads those who commit it to the second death.

What is the sin unto death? It consists in forsaking the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ on the part of a mature believer, that is to say, in denying the Lord. I say this on the basis of what is written in the epistle to the Hebrews. For it is written: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8).

As you can see, the Scripture says about these people who may fall away (and if they fall away it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance) that they were once enlightened, they have tasted the heavenly gift, they have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, they have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. There is no doubt that the author of this epistle is speaking of Christians, of true Christians regenerated by the Word of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, that is, of children of God.

Brethren, those who, after they hear the Gospel of grace, approach God recognizing that they are sinners and need to be saved have been enlightened by God who is light; and when they believe with their heart in our Lord Jesus Christ obtaining the remission of their sins and eternal life they taste the heavenly gift, which is Jesus Christ, for Paul says: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and John says about the Son of God: “This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Afterward, when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit they become partakers of the Holy Spirit because they are filled with the Holy Spirit (however, this does not mean that they did not have the Holy Spirit before, for every man receives a measure of the Spirit when he believes in the Lord).

The words “they have tasted the good word of God” mean that they have fed on “the pure milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2 – NKJV) as well as solid food, which “belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14 – NKJV). The words “they have tasted the powers of the world to come” means that they have received some gifts of the Holy Spirit through which believers taste the powers of the world to come. Now, if these persons, who have experienced all these things, reject the Lord and draw back (they are again entangled in the pollutions of the world and overcome), deciding not to follow the Lord any longer and to renounce the Christ (they even don’t want to hear people speaking about Christ any longer), they commit the sin unto death, and we don’t have to pray for them because it is impossible to renew them again to repentance because they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says that the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God, but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and cursed and its end is to be burned; in the same way, if a believer abides in the Lord, the Lord abides in him, he bears much fruit to the glory of God and God blesses him; but if he ceases to abide in the Lord, the Lord will cease to abide in him and he will bear only thorns and briers, and thus he will become a man disapproved concerning the faith, an accursed child, who will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone where he will burn and be tormented forever.

Why did the author of this epistle admonish so severely those believing Jews? Because they were enduring a great persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ and they were tempted, in the midst of that persecution, to draw back; and so the writer of the epistle, knowing the sufferings they had to endure for the Gospel’s sake, exhorted them to hold their confidence in Christ steadfast to the end and warned them against drawing back and renouncing the grace to offer again those sin offerings whose blood could not take away sins, because if they drew back they would condemn themselves to the everlasting perdition, they would deserve such a punishment because in so doing they would trample the Son of God underfoot and count the blood of the covenant by which they had been sanctified a common thing and they would insult the Spirit of grace. Here is what the writer of that epistle wrote about the end awaiting those who draw back and about the punishment they deserve to receive from the living God: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26-31). These words are addressed to all of us who have believed as well, because the writer himself, who was a believer, included himself among those who could draw back to perdition saying: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth … ” (Hebrews 10:26) – we who are children of God have received the knowledge of the truth -, and because we are those people who were sanctified by the blood of the covenant (that is, the blood of Jesus Christ). Therefore, brethren, if those who have known the truth which is in Christ Jesus sin wilfully, that is, sin unto death, they commit a sin that will never be forgiven them (because it is a sin that will pay the transgressors back with the everlasting death) and they will go to perdition because they will lose the good hope (the hope of salvation) they have; only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God is left. They will deserve to be punished much more severely than those who broke the law of Moses and were put to death, because they have trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of Christ with which they were sprinkled a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace, that is, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts and by whom we cry out: “Abba, Father!” (with regard to this last thing, remember that Jesus said: “But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” [Mark 3:29 – NKJV]).

At this point I want to make it clear that both the expression ‘if they shall fall away’ (Hebrews 6:6) and the expression ‘if we sin wilfully’ (Hebrews 10:26) refer to the sin which leads to death and not to any sin, otherwise that would mean that it would be impossible for a believer to repent of any sin he has committed and he would be hopeless for he will surely be condemned to the everlasting fire. And that’s not true at all because the Scripture teaches in various ways that with the Lord is abundant redemption because if we sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for our sins (cf. 1 John 2:1-2). That’s why John says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 – NKJV).

Sins of which it is possible to repent

Now, I am going to show you from the Scriptures that not all the sins which a believer may commit are unto death, for he can repent of every sin which is not unto death and be forgiven. I find it necessary to write these things because I want you to understand very well the difference which exists between a sin which is not unto death and the sin which leads to death, with regard to the possibility of repentance and forgiveness.

● Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). It is evident, therefore, that since a believer who commits ‘a fault’ can be restored, for him it is still possible to repent and be forgiven by the Lord. However, it is also evident that from these faults which a believer may commit is excluded the sin unto death because it is impossible for those who commit this particular sin to be restored, in that it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance. In other words it is impossible for them to rise again from such a fall. Therefore when we read in the book of Proverbs: “A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16 – NKJV), among the falls is not the fall which is the sin unto death, because a righteous man can’t rise again from such a fall.

● Jesus said: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). Therefore, a brother who commits a sin which is not unto death can repent and be forgiven. Would Jesus have told us to rebuke someone for a sin of which he can’t repent? Certainly not. It is evident therefore that in this case also, the fact that a believer can repent and be forgiven shows that not all sins are unto death and that among the sins a brother may commit and for which we must rebuke him hoping that he will repent and ask for our pardon, is not the sin which leads to death because for those who have committed the sin unto death it is impossible to repent and thus it is useless to rebuke them and to pray for them.

● John said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10). Therefore, these words assure us that we can confess our sins to the Lord and the Lord will surely forgive us immediately, for we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins. Therefore, since we can still confess these sins of ours to the Lord to be forgiven, that means that these sins are not unto death because we can’t repent of the sin which is unto death and thus we can’t confess it to the Lord. Once again, therefore, the Scripture makes it clear that not all sins are unto death. If all sins were unto death we would be hopeless, brethren, and the Scripture would be nullified because we could not even confess our sins to God to obtain their remission; we could not say to God: “Forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12 – NKJV), which would mean that God has deceived us. But God did not deceive us, for He is called Faithful and True and if He said through His Son that when we pray to God we must say, ‘Forgive us our debts’ that means that He promised to cleanse us from all the sins we may commit during our life on condition that we confess them to Him; obviously among these sins is not the sin unto death. In this case also we notice the justice of God manifested, if God had said that all sins are unto death it would have been a great injustice on the part of God because that would have meant that we would have been hopeless, in that we could not have been forgiven by God for any sin we would commit. No forgiveness, no repentance, what an unjust God we would have had! And who could have lived a sinless life? No one of us, consequently that would have meant that we would have been condemned to the everlasting fire for the first sin we would commit!!

● James says: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). From the words of James, therefore, we deduce that if a brother wanders from the truth he can be converted, thus he still can repent. Therefore, we cannot say that if a brother wanders from the truth, giving heed to some strange doctrines, he has committed the sin unto death and thus he cannot repent any longer, for James says that he can be turned from the error of his way and his sins can be forgiven. The point I would like to underline is this: it is possible to renew again to repentance a brother who has wandered from the truth, but it is not possible to do the same thing toward a brother who has committed the sin unto death. Paul also teaches that a brother who has wandered from the truth can be renewed again to repentance, for after saying to Timothy that Hymenaeus and Philetus are among those who have wandered away from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, he says to him: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 – NKJV). As you can see, Paul says that the servant of the Lord must gently correct those who oppose the truth (they oppose the truth because they have wandered from the truth) because God may grant them repentance and allow them to escape from the trap of the devil into which they have fallen. The same thing cannot happen if a believer commits the sin unto death because – as we saw before – it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance.

● Jesus Christ said to the angel of the Church in Thyatira: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works” (Revelation 2:20-23). In the Church of Thyatira there was a woman named Jezebel who taught and seduced the servants of Jesus Christ to commit adultery with her and to eat things sacrificed to idols (that is, two things which are condemned by the law and thus are sins). Then the Lord revealed to the angel of that church that He had given Jezebel time to repent but she did not want to repent and consequently He would punish her by casting her into a sickbed and killing her children with death; the Lord told the angel of that Church that His servants also would be punished severely if they did not repent of their evil deeds. It is clear that if Jezebel and those servants of Jesus, who had been deceived by her into doing those evil deeds, had committed the sin unto death the Lord would not have given them time to repent because we know that it is impossible for those who sin unto death to be brought back to repentance. So in this case also, even though those persons had committed some sins, it was possible for them to be brought back to repentance and be forgiven.

The above mentioned words that Jesus spoke to the angel of the church in Thyatira, which admit that even those who fornicate and commit adultery can repent and be forgiven, refute another false doctrine which is taught in some Pentecostal churches according to which fornication and adultery are sins unto death and those who commit them are guilty of eternal sins; for it is evident, I would say very evident, that since the Lord gave Jezebel and His servants time to repent this means that He did not declare them to be hopeless, He did not think that those people could no longer repent and be forgiven. In the sight of God it was still possible for them to be brought to repentance. And if according to God those who commit these sins can repent of their sins, why should we say the contrary?

● Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envying, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed” (2 Corinthians 12:20-21). In the Church of Corinth there were some believers who had practiced uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness, which are all works of the flesh, and Paul was afraid that when he would come again to the Corinthians he would have to punish and judge those who had not repented of their sins. However, it was not because they had committed the sin unto death and thus it was impossible for them to be brought back to repentance that they had not repented of those sins, but simply because they themselves had not been willing to repent. In this case also, we see how the Lord gives a believer who sins time to repent, but if he doesn’t repent of his sins the Lord will punish him according to his works. I say it again, to those believers who commit the sin unto death is not given time to repent for it is impossible for them to repent of this sin.

Further Biblical evidences in support of the possibility of losing salvation

I have showed from the Scripture that there is a sin which leads to death, therefore if a believer commits this sin he will go to perdition because he has crucified again for himself the Son of God and put him to an open shame, and he has insulted the Spirit of grace by whom he was sanctified. However, I have showed also that not all sins are unto death, because it is possible for a believer to repent of all the other sins and be forgiven. Therefore my position is as follows: if a believer remains joined to the Lord during all his life, believing in Him and keeping His commandments till the end, he will surely be saved and nothing and nobody will be able to separate him from the love of Christ. Even though he makes many mistakes (is there anyone among us who can say that he doesn’t make mistakes?) he will finally be saved because he has kept his faith and has fought the good fight till the end. However, if at a certain point of his life he casts away his faith in the Lord and thus ceases to keep his commandments (the two things go together because a person who casts away the faith in the Lord does not keep the Lord’s commandments any longer) by committing the sin which leads to death, he will by no means be saved. In other words, he will be condemned, even though he once believed in the Lord. The Bible verses I have mentioned above, which are written in the epistle to the Hebrews, teach this very clearly. However, there are other passages of the Scriptures which affirm the same thing. Now I am going to quote them and comment upon them briefly.

● Jesus Christ said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:1-6).

Jesus Christ is the vine and we who are His disciples are the branches and He commands us to abide in Him in order to bear fruit to the glory of God. What does it mean to abide in Him? To abide in Him means to keep God’s commandments, for it is written: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (1 John 3:24 – NKJV). Which commandments? John says: “This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23 – NKJV). Therefore, if we continue to believe in the Son of God and to love one another till the end, we will continue to bear fruits of righteousness till the end, we will keep ourselves attached to the vine and we will inherit eternal life. However, what will happen if we cease keeping His commandments? We will cease bearing fruit and thus God will throw us into the fire. For Jesus said that those branches which don’t bear fruit, for they don’t abide in the vine, are thrown into the fire and they are burned (cf. John 15:6). Therefore let us take heed to ourselves and let us abide in the Lord till the end, otherwise one day we will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone!

● Paul wrote to Timothy: “This is a faithful saying … If we deny Him, He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:11,12 – NKJV). These words make it clear that if we who have believed in the Lord deny the Lord and His words in this generation the Lord also will deny us. This statement made by Paul (note that Paul included himself, as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews who says: “If we sin wilfully ….” [Hebrews 10:26 – NKJV]) is in agreement with the following words that the Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33), “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). Therefore, it is a very serious thing to be ashamed of the Lord and His words in this world. Paul knew this very well, that’s why he said to Timothy: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord ….” (2 Timothy 1:8). Beloved, let us not be ashamed of the Lord and He will not be ashamed of us.

● Paul said to the saints in Rome the following things regarding the fact that we were grafted into a cultivated olive tree: “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off” (Romans 11:21-22).

We know that the natural branches which were broken off are the unbelieving Jews, as it is written: “Because of unbelief they were broken off” (Romans 11:20 – NKJV), so they don’t enjoy the blessings of Christ (His salvation, His peace, His gifts) because of their unbelief. On the contrary, we who are believing Gentiles were grafted into a cultivated olive tree because of our faith and by this faith we stand. All this leads us to understand the severity of God toward those Jews who don’t believe in His Son Jesus Christ, and also His goodness toward us believing Gentiles. However, God will continue to show His goodness toward us (by causing us to abide in the cultivated olive tree) on condition that we hold firmly the confidence we had at first. Without faith it is impossible to abide in the cultivated olive tree, so those who cast away their confidence are cut off and consequently they can’t enter the rest of God, which God prepared for those who believe. As the Israelites who rebelled against God in the wilderness could not enter the rest of God because of their unbelief, so those who once believed and then threw away their confidence will not be able to enter the Paradise of God. The Scripture says that “we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3 – NKJV), but it teaches also that those who draw back can’t enter that rest.

At this point, someone may say: ‘All the passages you have quoted are passages which just suppose that a believer may draw back, but they don’t indicate that there are some believers who actually after some time draw back to perdition!’ In other words, ‘These passages are a severe admonishment, but nobody actually draws back!’ You are greatly mistaken in saying this because the Scripture says that there are some believers who deny the Lord and go to perdition. For instance the author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39 – NKJV). Know this, therefore, that not only is there the possibility of losing one’s salvation, but also there are some believers who cast away their salvation and go to perdition. I would like to ask you the following question: ‘Don’t you think that if at that time there had been no believers who had drawn back to perdition, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews would not have spoken of ‘those who draw back to perdition’? For instance, if I say: ‘We are not of those who set their mind on earthly things, but of those who set their mind on things above’ what do I mean? Do not I mean that whereas on the one hand there are people who set their mind on earthly things on the other hand there are people who set their mind on things above, and we are among the latter? Therefore, if the author of the epistle to the Hebrews did not include himself among those who drew back to perdition but among those who believed to the saving of the soul, that means that in his days there were some believers who drew back to perdition as well as some believers who stood firm in the faith till the end to the saving of the soul. Things are very clear, aren’t they? On the other hand, we should not be surprised to read in that passage that there are some believers who draw back to perdition, because what they do is nothing but the fulfilment of some words spoken by the Lord Jesus when He told the parable of the sower. For, in speaking about the different kinds of places on which the good seed fell, He said: “Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth” (Matthew 13:5 – NKJV) and when He explained the meaning of these words He said: “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13 – NKJV. The Italian Bible Riveduta Version reads ‘si traggono indietro’ that is, ‘they draw back’ instead of ‘they fall away’). As you can see, those who receive the word on stony places are those who hear the Word and they immediately receive it with joy believing in it, however they don’t stand firm in the faith till the end because when persecution arises because of the word they draw back or fall away. The Scripture clearly affirms that they draw back. Is it not written: “If he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him” (Hebrews 10:38 – NIV)? Therefore, those who draw back cease to please God because they cease believing in God. How could these people, who cease believing in God, still please God, when it is written that “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6 – NKJV)? Now, let me ask you this question: ‘Did they really believe once?’ Of course they did. If Jesus said: ‘They believe for a while’ this means that they had believed, and if they had believed they, too, had accepted the Gospel of the grace of God and had been saved. Do you want to give another meaning to the words of Jesus? If that seed which fell on stony places sprang up that means that there was a beginning, don’t you think so? And furthermore, if those people had not really believed why did Jesus speak of tribulation and persecution because of the word? And again, if those people had not really began to walk on the way which leads to heaven why did Jesus say that they fall away or draw back? How can a person draw back, if he is still on the way which leads to destruction and refuses to take the road which leads to heaven and which is pointed out by the Gospel of God? Therefore, those who draw back to perdition are those who believe for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word (in which they once believed) they deny the Lord, that is to say, they commit the sin unto death, and therefore they will go to perdition, they will be cast into the everlasting fire. They have denied the Lord, and the Lord will deny them. They were ashamed of the Lord, and the Lord will be ashamed of them. Among those who fall away are also those who depart from the faith (or abandon the faith), as it is written: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [demons]; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:1-5). As you can see, the fact that the Scripture says that these people will depart from the faith shows that they were once in the faith, because you can’t depart from a house where you have never lived, you can’t depart from a road you have never taken. On the other hand, this is confirmed by the fact that before saying that some will depart from the faith Paul says that Jesus “was believed on in the world” (1 Timothy 3:16 – NIV). As you can see, Paul says that the Son of God was believed on in the world, that is to say, a part of the world believed on Him. However, a few moments later he says that some of those who believed in the Son of God will depart from the faith. Therefore we conclude that those who depart from the faith were once true believers.

The fact that there are some people who once believed and afterward draw back to perdition is confirmed also by what Peter wrote in his second epistle about the false teachers, who are among the people of God. Listen carefully to his words: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [tartarus], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:1-22). As you can see, Peter says about these persons the following things: they denied the Lord who bought them, they forsook the right way and went astray, they once had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they knew the way of righteousness but one day they turned from the holy commandment delivered to them. Now, I ask you: ‘Are not these expressions clear enough?’ Of course, they are, I would say they are very clear, for one can’t deny the Lord who bought him if he did not accept Him, one can’t forsake the right way if he did not walk in it, and one can’t escape the pollutions of the world without believing in the Lord, and one can’t know the way of righteousness without believing in the Lord. However, let me comment briefly on the above mentioned characteristics of false teachers.

They denied the Lord who bought them; therefore they also were among those to whom Peter wrote: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” (1 Peter 1:18-21). Note that those who have been redeemed by the Lord with His precious blood are persons who believe in God. This is confirmed by Paul who wrote to the believers in Corinth: “For you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20 – NKJV). Therefore, the false teachers also once believed because they had been bought by the Lord with His precious blood.

They forsook the right way and went astray. Which is the right way? Is it not the way about which the prophet Isaiah said: “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:8-10)? Note how the redeemed walk in this way, therefore it is the way in which those who were bought by the Lord walk.

They had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Christ but then they were again entangled in them. The Scripture says that through the exceedingly great and precious promises of the Lord we became “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4 – NKJV) and for this reason we must add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love; therefore these false teachers also, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever, were once sons of God by their faith in Christ.

They knew the way of righteousness and then they turned from the holy commandment delivered to them. The way of righteousness is the way in which John the Baptist also walked, who believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. For Jesus said about John to the Jews: “John came to you in the way of righteousness” (Matthew 21:32 – NKJV). Therefore, these false teachers also believed in the Christ of God, then they turned from the holy commandment according to which we must believe on the name of the Son of God (cf. 1 John. 3:23).

What shall we say about the example of Judas Iscariot? Is it not a clear example of a believer who forsook the Lord and went to perdition? For on the night Jesus was betrayed, He said to the Father: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Therefore, Judas also had been among those whom God had given to His Son, but one day he betrayed the Master and went to perdition so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Therefore, in the light of all these Scriptures, we must reject all those arguments which tend to make the saints believe that those who deny the Lord, that is to say, who draw back, actually did not believe. On the other hand, the way of thinking of these brothers (those who hold the doctrine called ‘once saved always saved) induces us to think that after all we can’t be sure that those who say that they believe have really believed in the Lord. For who says to me that they will stand firm in the faith till the end? For if a brother tells me that he has believed, he rejoices for he was saved, he suffers because of the Gospel, and then one day he denies the Lord, this would mean that actually he did not believe!! If things were so, we could not know whether one who professes to be a Christian is a true believer or not, and we should be very careful when we speak of a believer because if we say that he is a true believer and then one day he denies the Lord we will be considered believers who are not able to know a true believer. No, those who believe the doctrine ‘once saved always saved’ are wrong. I agree with them when they affirm that there are false brothers among the people of God, that is to say, people who claim that they believed but actually did not believe; however, we are able to know them very easily, it is sufficient to ask them if they are sure to be saved, if they are sure they have been forgiven, etc. thus it is evident that if these people forsake the assembling of ourselves together and join a cult, we can say about them that actually they had never believed in the Lord; but not always this is the case because there are some true believers who forsake the assembling of ourselves together and deny the Lord who bought them. The argument of those who teach ‘once saved always saved’ is a subterfuge they use to support their false doctrine.

What should we say then about all those Israelites who came out of Egypt but did not enter the promised land because of their unbelief? Should we say that they had never come out of Egypt or that they had never believed in God nor in His servant Moses? Is it not written that those who heard and rebelled against God were all those Moses led out of Egypt? And is it not written that after God divided the Red Sea “the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31 – NKJV)? Therefore the Israelites had believed, but afterwards they gave place to unbelief and rebelled against God who swore that they would never enter the promised land and their carcasses would fall in the wilderness. And their example of unbelief is taken by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews to warn us not to cast away our faith. Listen to what the Scripture says: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:12-19; 4:1-11). Therefore, if God warns us not to draw back, through the bad example of the Israelites, this means that there is a certain analogy between the unbelief of the Israelites and a possible unbelief of a believer in Jesus Christ, don’t you think so? Why then, if the Israelites had not believed in God nor in His servant Moses, would God tell us not to follow the same example of disobedience but to have faith till the end? Such a warning would make no sense if a true believer could not draw back to perdition!!! Judge for yourselves what I say. And what shall I say about the wife of Lot, whom we must remember for Jesus said: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32 – NKJV)? Did she believe the angels of God? Was she saved from the destruction of Sodom? As far as I know she, too, believed the angels and was saved. But after she went out of Sodom she disobeyed the Lord for she looked behind and she became a pillar of salt. Therefore the wife of Lot also is an example of disobedience we must not follow.

Replies to some objections

All those who teach that a believer can by no means fall away from grace, when they have to explain some of the passages I have mentioned above, affirm several absurdities. I am going to examine what they affirm in the light of the Scriptures to show you that they are wrong.

Some say that the expressions, ‘if they fall away” (Hebrews 6:6 – NKJV) and, ‘If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26 – NKJV) don’t mean that such a thing can happen or has ever happened. For instance, Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon titled ‘Final Perseverance’ says ‘But some one says, “What is falling away?” Well, there never has been a case of it yet, and therefore I cannot describe it from observation; but I will tell you what I suppose it is’, and when he explains why the writer put that ‘if’ in Hebrews 6:6 he says: ‘If Christians can fall away, and cease to be Christians, they cannot be renewed again to repentance. “But,” says one, “You say they cannot fall away.” What is the use of putting this “if” in, like a bugbear to frighten children, or like a ghost that can have no existence? My learned friend, “Who art thou that repliest against God?” If God has put it in, he has put it in for wise reasons and for excellent purposes. Let me show you why. First, O Christian, it is put in to keep thee from falling away. …..’ and secondly ‘It is to excite our gratitude’. With regard to Hebrews 6:4-6, however, it must be said that Spurgeon, unlike almost all Calvinistic preachers, admitted that those people spoken of in Hebrews 6:4-6 were Christians, that is to say, true believers.

Let me tell you something. Why should we believe that such a thing cannot happen? Why should we affirm that the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, by saying that if Christians fall away it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance, just formulated a hypothesis but he did not speak of something which can actually happen or that has ever happened? Then, if we say such a thing about the ‘if’’ of Hebrews 6:6, it follows that we should say the same thing about the other ‘ifs’ which we read in the Scriptures. Let us look at some of them. Paul says to the Corinthians: “But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry (1 Corinthians 7:36 – NASB) What does Paul mean by these words? Does he mean that such a thing cannot happen or has never happened? It doesn’t seem to me that Paul meant such a thing, for there are men who think that if they don’t allow their daughters to marry they will behave improperly toward them and therefore they permit them to get married. And what shall we say about the following words of James: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20)? Shall we say that such a thing cannot happen or that has never happened? As far as I know, there are some Christians who wandered from the truth for a while and then someone converted them. And what shall we say about the following words of John: “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death” (1 John 5:16 – NKJV)? Should we say that such a thing cannot happen or that has never happened? How could we affirm such a thing when we have seen several brothers sinning a sin which does not lead to death? And I could mention many more ‘ifs’ written in the New Testament to show you that the expression ‘if they fall away’ means not only that such a thing may happen but also that sometimes it has happened. We know several cases of children of God who have fallen away.

Another subterfuge used by ‘Calvinistic preachers and writers’ to support the doctrine ‘once saved always saved’ is this: they affirm that these warnings are for those who have never been born again, that is, sinners. Matthew Henry, for instance, says the following things about those who may fall away (chapter 6 of Hebrews): ‘Now hence observe, [1.] These great things are spoken here of those who may fall away; yet it is not here said of them that they were truly converted, or that they were justified; there is more in true saving grace than in all that is here said of apostates. [2.] This therefore is no proof of the final apostasy of true saints. These indeed may fall frequently and foully, but yet they will not totally nor finally from God; the purpose and the power of God, the purchase and the prayer of Christ, the promise of the gospel, the everlasting covenant that God has made with them, ordered in all things and sure, the indwelling of the Spirit, and the immortal seed of the word, these are their security. But the tree that has not these roots will not stand.’ As you can see, the writer to the Hebrews is not speaking of people who were truly converted. A similar thing he says about those who may sin wilfully after they have received the knowledge of the truth (chapter 10 of Hebrews); here are his words: ‘The sin here mentioned is a total and final apostasy, when men with a full and fixed will and resolution despise and reject Christ, the only Saviour,–despise and resist the Spirit, the only sanctifier,–and despise and renounce the gospel, the only way of salvation, and the words of eternal life; and all this after they have known, owned, and professed, the Christian religion, and continue to do so obstinately and maliciously. This is the great transgression: the apostle seems to refer to the law concerning presumptuous sinners, Num. xv. 30, 31. They were to be cut off. 2. From the dreadful doom of such apostates. (1.) There remains no more sacrifice for such sins, no other Christ to come to save such sinners; they sin against the last resort and remedy. There were some sins under the law for which no sacrifices were provided; but yet if those who committed them did truly repent, though they might not escape temporal death, they might escape eternal destruction; for Christ would come, and make atonement. But now those under the gospel who will not accept of Christ, that they may be saved by him, have no other refuge left them. (2.) There remains for them only a certain fearful looking for of judgment, v. 27’. Therefore, according to Matthew Henry, the author of that epistle is speaking of sinners in both places, he is not speaking of true believers because true believers can’t fall away nor sin wilfully.

I have already showed from the Scripture that these passages refer to believers and not to unbelievers. However, let me say something else about this argument of theirs because it is one of their ‘warhorses’, however it is a losing and not a winning warhorse because they interpret the Scripture wrongly. Now, how can they affirm that those who have tasted the heavenly gift are not sons of God? Then, when the apostle Peter in his first epistle says: “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1-3 – NKJV) who did he refer to? Did he refer to believers or unbelievers since he says ‘if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious‘? You will say to me: ‘To believers, because he says also that they have believed in God (cf. 1 Peter 1:21), and that they are like newborn babes’. Well said, therefore they are believers who tasted the goodness of the Lord; how did they taste it? By receiving the remission of sins because Paul says to the saints in Ephesus: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7). Why then in those passages to the Hebrews the fact that those people tasted the heavenly gift does not mean that they obtained eternal life, when we know that the gift of God, in Christ Jesus, is eternal life? Perhaps you will say that it is not written that they ate the heavenly gift but that they have tasted the heavenly gift! Let me tell you that this is a sophism for I have already demonstrated that those believers to whom Peter wrote had tasted the goodness of the Lord. However, I cannot understand how unbelievers can taste the heavenly gift; as far as I know if one has tasted the heavenly gift he is saved, while if one has not yet tasted the heavenly gift is still lost. Therefore, the fact that the writer says that they have tasted the heavenly gift indicates that they have tasted the gift of eternal life just as each one of us. Have we not tasted the heavenly gift? As for me, I have tasted it. Furthermore, how can one affirm that these people are not true believers when the Scripture says that they have become partakers of the Holy Spirit? Listen, in the New Testament there are some passages which state that some people have become partakers of someone or something. For instance, Peter says: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:3-7). What does it mean to have become partakers of the divine nature? Does it not mean that now in Christ we are partakers of the nature of God, in that we became or were made sons of God? Another example: the author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:14 – NKJV); what does it mean to have become partakers of Christ? Does it not mean that through faith we allowed Christ to come to us and to make His home with us (cf. Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 3:17) and that our members became members of Christ, as it is written: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!” (1 Corinthians 6:15 – NKJV)? Therefore, when we read in the epistle to the Hebrews that these people have become partakers of the Holy Spirit that means that they have received the Holy Spirit and thus they are sons of God because the Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are sons of God, as it is written: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself (Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:15-17), and thus their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is absurd to affirm that some people who have never been regenerated can become partakers of the Holy Spirit: to affirm such a thing means to openly contradict the Scripture and also not to know one’s language.

Let us come now to the words written in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews; we can’t affirm that those to whom the writer refer are people who have never been converted or have never been regenerated because first of all the writer says “if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth” which means that he is speaking of a sin which can be committed after one has known the truth. Does an unregenerate person know the truth? No, he doesn’t. If the answer were ‘yes’ that would mean that a person can be lost and at the same time know God. Now, if Jesus Christ is the truth, and to know the truth is to know Jesus Christ, how can we say that an unregenerate person knows the truth? As far as I know, one cannot know Christ unless he is born again. One may have heard of Christ, he may have heard of the truth, but to know Christ and to know the truth is a different thing. In order to know Christ, that is, the truth, a man must be born again, because if anyone is in Christ, that is, in the truth, he is a new creation, he is no longer the same person. Therefore, those who have received the knowledge of the truth have truly believed and are truly saved. For instance, when Paul says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 – NKJV), he associates salvation with the knowledge of the truth, thus when one is saved he knows the truth. And again when he says that some forbid to marry and command to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving “by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3 – NKJV), he associates faith with the knowledge of the truth. This confirms what I said before. I would like to say something also about the passage which says that he who sins wilfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth “counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing” (Hebrews 10:29 – NKJV). Now, inasmuch as it is written that if this person commits this kind of sin (that is, the sin unto death) he counts the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, that means that he was once sanctified by the blood of Christ, because the blood of the covenant is the blood of Christ, for on the night He was betrayed Jesus said to His disciples: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28 – NKJV). And if he was sanctified by that blood, that means that he was saved. Why do I say this? Because Paul wrote to the saints in Corinth: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:10-17). As you can see, when one was sanctified he was made new in Christ, he was made perfect in regard to the conscience, for by faith in the blood of Christ he was sanctified by that precious blood. Therefore the Bible verse ‘if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth’ refers to people who have truly believed.

Conclusion

Brothers, the Word of God does not deceive us; it does not encourage us to think that even if we neglect such a great salvation God will finally have mercy on us, for it says: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (Hebrews 2:1-3) and again: “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25).

The Scripture exhorts us to see that no one misses the grace of God and that no one is “godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son” (Hebrews 12:16 – NIV), and “when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews 12:17 – NIV). As you know, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a stew of lentils. Under the Old Testament the birthright allowed the firstborn to inherit a double portion of all that his father had, therefore the birthright was an important thing. However, what did Esau do? He despised his birthright selling it to Jacob for a stew of lentils. The Scripture is right in saying that “a man will do wrong for a piece of bread” Proverbs 28:21 – NIV), for Jacob gave Esau “bread and stew of lentils” (Genesis 25:34 – NKJV) for his birthright, therefore Esau did wrong for a piece of bread.

Brothers, let us not despise the right to be called children of God in order to return to the pleasures of sin which the devil offers to us continually through this wicked world (he wants to make us believe that it is worth turning one’s back to the Lord and neglecting such a great salvation for the things of this world), because if we despise it we will become godless like Esau and we will by no means inherit the kingdom of God nor the blessing of God, because we will be cast into the unquenchable fire, that is, into the fire which awaits all the wicked, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Matthew 25:30). To cast away the most precious thing we have which was bought by the Son of God with His blood, that is to say, the eternal salvation, is a foolish act and those believers who have cast it away are reaping the awful consequences of their foolish decision, for they are weeping and gnashing their teeth in Hades, they are without water in that horrible place of torment and no one can wipe away their tears nor alleviate their torment. Their tears can be compared to the tears of Esau when he sought to inherit the blessing; those tears were not tears of repentance and did not move Isaac nor did they induce Isaac to bless Esau. So in like manner those who have despised the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and have counted the blood of Christ by which they were once washed a common thing, are in the fire of Hades where they weep for pain and they will by no means obtain mercy and inherit eternal salvation.

Therefore, brothers, let us stand firm in the faith, let us not draw back when our faith is tested, knowing that we have in heaven a city which has been prepared by God, who is the architect and builder of this city. It is the hope of the saints, but in order to enter that city made of gold, whose gates are pearls, and in the midst of which is the river of the water of life, which is clear as crystal, we must stand firm in the faith and keep the works of Christ to the end. Yes, to the end and not just for a while, then on that day our eyes will behold the beauty of the King of glory; then we will enter the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and we will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven. Beloved, it is worth suffering for the Lord on earth. So, knowing that one day we will taste and see the glory of God, we say to you: ‘Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, let us fight zealously for the cause of the Gospel, let us not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2 – NKJV). A great joy also was set before us, so let us also despise the shame that we may inherit that joy and hear the Lord say to us: ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord, you faithful servants of the Lord’. To God who called us to His Kingdom and to His glory, be the glory forever. Amen.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/once-saved-always-saved/feed/0Cornelio Closa, the disappearing boyhttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/cornelio-closa-the-disappearing-boy/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/cornelio-closa-the-disappearing-boy/#respondMon, 04 Mar 2019 22:22:19 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=690 The story of the invisible boy is true. It is a story to which I was intimately related. It is about a young Filipino boy who was tormented by an alien entity for more than a year. This spirit would cause him to disappear from a classroom at school or from his home. Cornelio’s […]

The story of the invisible boy is true. It is a story to which I was intimately related. It is about a young Filipino boy who was tormented by an alien entity for more than a year.

This spirit would cause him to disappear from a classroom at school or from his home. Cornelio’s father would nail the doors and windows shut, but Cornelio did not need natural openings to get in and out of the house.

Because of his disappearing from the classroom, the boy’s school teacher had a nervous breakdown and never recuperated sufficiently to teach again. I have personally talked to her and Cornelio’s parents. I also visited Cornelio’s home. I hired people to check out the validity of this story, including policemen who took signed affidavits about it. We investigated the whole matter very carefully. We didn’t want the slightest possibility of falsehood or misrepresentation in it, because we made a film of it. It is surely one of the most well-documented cases in our files.

It is interesting to note that a religious leader, Rev. H. A. Baker, traveled from the United States to the Philippines to verify the facts of this case. They were unbelievable to him. But after talking to all of those involved and establishing the facts, he wrote me and said: ‘Unbeknown to you, I visited the Philippines. I contacted Cornelio, the school teacher, the parents and their neighbors. I discovered that it is absolutely true what you describe about this miracle’.

He went on to state: ‘No doubt, this is the greatest miracle outside of the Bible, and as great as any miracle in the Bible’.

Mr. Closa, Cornelio’s father and a retired U. S. Navy man, told me: ‘The first time I noticed something wrong with Cornelio he stayed out late from school. When he came home, he looked troubled and silent.

‘When I asked for an explanation of where he had been and who was with him, he would not answer. When I insisted, he growled at me. I took hold of him, but he struggled against my hold and I had to let him go. Then I realized that my son was not himself. He was fighting me for the first time.

It hurt me because Cornelio had not been a particularly affectionate child. He not only resisted me, but I remember he snarled at me like an animal. I was at a complete loss. I did not know what was happening to Cornelio’.

This all happened when Cornelio was about 13 years old. Cornelio’s mother remembers: ‘With every passing day Cornelio became less manageable. I tried everything. I was kind to him. I tried being harsh with him. All I knew was that I had lost control of him. I thought probably it was the bad company he was keeping, so I decided to practically imprison him at home. Cornelio refused to study his lessons. He would sit in one corner of his room, alone, brooding. He would just sit there staring at his plate, refusing to eat.

One evening Cornelio looked particularly flushed and sick. With the doors and windows locked in the house, Cornelio vanished into thin air, right before my eyes! I was horrified!’

How it started

Cornelio and a friend were walking home one afternoon cutting across a large open space. Suddenly Cornelio stopped. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets. He was pointing ahead. He said: ‘See the girl in a long white dress? She is beautiful. She is calling me’. Cornelio left his friend and walked forward. Suddenly his friend saw Cornelio disappear from sight. The frightened boy ran home.

‘Cornelio began to cause disturbances in school’, his teacher told me. ‘The strange thing about these fights was that Cornelio, as small as he was, would take on three or four boys larger than himself and together the larger boys could not hold him down. He had superhuman strength.

A few days later, I called him to the front of the class to give the lesson. He went to the blackboard, stood there for a few moments, and then simply evaporated’.

His teacher continued: ‘I was terribly affected by these happenings in my class. I decided before I lost my mind completely, I should resign. I remember how the chain of events made Cornelio laugh and laugh. It was a hideous kind of laugh. It didn’t belong to a boy. In fact, it didn’t belong to a human being’.

Cornelio said: ‘Sleep for me was almost impossible. I was never left to myself. I would perspire profusely. It seemed as if my clothes were burning. Then if I would open my eyes, there would be the face of my friend, looking at me, beckoning me to follow her. Every time her hands touched me I would feel as if I were floating on air. Then I would be gone from home for days. I could not explain to my family just what was wrong. The girl made me promise I would not tell. I just felt tremendous heat in my body.

Whenever anyone, and that included my parents, spoke to me I would answer rudely or shout. I did not want to snarl, but I could not help myself. If my father punished me, I would fight back. I knew I was displeasing him, but I did not seem to care.

When no one bothered with me in the house, I would just sit and wait. I did not know why, but I was just waiting for the girl. Many times we would go to the movies and I knew no one could see us.

Some other times we would eat at restaurants, and when the time came to have to pay, we would conveniently disappear.

When I was sure no one could see me, I would hide my father’s glasses. Without his glasses, my father could not see his hand in front of his eyes. When my parents looked hard enough, they would find their things in the oddest places. When father found his glasses on the transom, he also found his slippers which I had hidden more than a week before.

With all the traveling that I was doing, I suppose we became very hungry. In the morning the family would find the refrigerator absolutely empty. This was not helping my father’s blood pressure. They were sure their invisible boy had been there because the table had been set for two.

Once my parents forgave me, but then I began stealing money from them. I began taking money from neighbors, even strangers. If I was caught, I fought back.

I was becoming sickly and pale. I was hungry but I could no longer eat. I would put food in my mouth and I would spit it out. I began breaking dishes and glasses. I wanted to break and smash anything I touched. I knew father was at his wit’s end. He tried talking to me once more, but I refused to answer. I pretended to be feeling ill. Then I leaped suddenly in a wild, uncontrolled manner. Father thought I was insane, so he took me to the mental hospital for a check-up.

We baffled the people at the hospital. The doctors were kind; but while they talked to me about being a good boy, I don’t think I was listening.

Next, father brought me to the correctional institution for juvenile delinquents. Here, I immediately caused trouble. I fought everyone, even the officials. Because of my violent temper, I was often roped to my bed.

Finally I was returned to my home. My parents seemed to have resigned themselves to living with a monster’.

This went on for one entire year, with the situation becoming worse and worse. The parents told me that the whole family would be in the front room of their home and their children would be down on the floor playing. Suddenly, with everybody looking, Cornelio would just disappear. The other children would start coughing and vomiting because of the stench that he would leave behind. When he disappeared, he might be gone for two days or more. Then he might just appear again in bed asleep. He would come in the house without using windows or doors. He would just suddenly be there.

A ray of hope

‘A ray of hope dawned’, says Cornelio, ‘when a Methodist pastor came to see my father on business and stayed for lunch. It gave my father a chance to ask him how I could be helped with my problem. The pastor took a long look at me, and I scowled at him. I was sure my father was very displeased at the way I was behaving in front of his friend.

I could hear evil laughter outside the house. It was the alien entity. It was the voice of the girl saying I should run away. The pastor told my father he knew someone who would help me, someone who had helped others. He said I needed help badly and that I had to be prayed for immediately. He told me the devil himself was in my body.

My parents brought me to church to see Lester Sumrall. The pastor met us there. I was very uncomfortable and wanted to run away.

The girl made her appearance just outside the church door. She looked different, not pretty anymore, she looked ugly. When she motioned to me, I hid my face. I looked again and she had transformed into something positively horrible and she did not look like a girl, or a woman.

Reverend Sumrall spoke to the Methodist minister and asked: ‘Pastor, what’s wrong with this boy?’

The pastor said: ‘He runs away and disappears’.

‘Well, when I was a boy, I used to run away too, but I got a spanking for it’.

‘He’s different’, the pastor responded, ‘He may disappear right out of my hands’.

‘Lord Jesus, we plead Thy holy blood. We command the devil to come out of him. We break the devil’s power that this devil can get him no more. May he be surrounded with the blood of Jesus Christ. Be free in Jesus Christ’s Name. I believe it. Amen’.

Then Reverend Sumrall said to me: ‘Look up here. Smile. May Christ’s blood surround you. The spirit cannot make you disappear again as long as you live’.

I felt cleansed, purified, and my body was mine again. I joined my parents. And as the song in church rose in glory, I took my place with the people.

Reverend Sumrall reminded me that there was truly much to be thankful for. I had been in the house of the devil and enslaved to him. Through his help, Jesus Christ and all His power had made me whole and good again. By the blood of Jesus Christ, by His power without measure and without end, He had saved me from eternal damnation’.

Conclusion

This was Cornelio’s witness and testimony. But this is not the end of the story. I always follow up situations like this. I never leave such people on their own after their deliverance. If you do that, you will lose the battle for sure.

The next day I took a pastor with me and we went to the boy’s home. We looked at Cornelio. He had not disappeared again. He never did disappear again. We prayed over him once more.

Even though he was just a youngster of 13 or 14, I began to teach him about God. I read to him in the Bible where people were delivered from demon power by the power of God. I told him the thing that had possessed him was nothing but a demon.

He said: ‘I believe it now because I saw her face. Otherwise I thought she was an angel. But when I saw her face the last time, it was so demonic, so angry, so hateful. I was so afraid I even put my hands up in front of my face that I might not see her again’.

I talked to the parents. I got them down on their knees. They came through to a beautiful and wonderful salvation. After that they never left our church but worshipped with us all the time.

The boy grew up to be a man in that Christian home. The thing never did torment him again.

From: Lester Sumrall, Alien Entities. A look behind the door to the spirit realm, printed in the USA by Whitaker House (PA), 1995, pages 141-148

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/cornelio-closa-the-disappearing-boy/feed/0The will of man and the possibility of falling from gracehttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-will-of-man-and-the-possibility-of-falling-from-grace/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-will-of-man-and-the-possibility-of-falling-from-grace/#respondThu, 21 Feb 2019 21:36:57 +0000https://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=684 What shall we say then about the will of man, if all his ways depend on God and his destiny was determined beforehand by God? We shall say the following things: the will of those who still live under the power of darkness is molded by God and turned in the direction He has […]

What shall we say then about the will of man, if all his ways depend on God and his destiny was determined beforehand by God? We shall say the following things: the will of those who still live under the power of darkness is molded by God and turned in the direction He has appointed, without them knowing it; so those who were predestinated to be justified will be allowed or enabled by God (at God’s appointed time), through endless circumstances, to believe in Jesus Christ, while those who were prepared for destruction will not be allowed or enabled to believe.

And what shall we say then about the conduct of those who have believed in the Lord? We shall say this: those who have believed must see to it that they make their call and election sure by continuing in the faith and being zealous for good works, for this is the will of God. But can a believer lose justification? The answer is ‘Yes,’ because this is what the Scripture teaches us. For if a believer draws back, by committing the sin unto death (in other words, if he forsakes and denies the Lord who has rescued him), he will lose the justification he has obtained by faith and his name will be blotted out from the Book of Life. For God said to Moses:

“Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33),

and the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8)

and again:

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:26-29)

How then can we ‘reconcile’ these doctrines (that is, the doctrine of predestination and the doctrine that says that a believer may lose his salvation and go to perdition)? Of course, we can, even though it seems the opposite. Actually, it seems that these doctrines nullify one another, that they contradict one another, however, we know that both of them are true, both of them are part of the counsel of God. Therefore, do not deceive yourselves.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-will-of-man-and-the-possibility-of-falling-from-grace/feed/0The Oneness Pentecostal heresy ‘Jesus only’ REFUTEDhttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-oneness-pentecostal-heresy-jesus-only-refuted/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-oneness-pentecostal-heresy-jesus-only-refuted/#respondSun, 27 Jan 2019 16:32:19 +0000http://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=679 INTRODUCTION Oneness Pentecostals teach that Jesus Christ is at once Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here is what David K. Bernard says in his booklet titled Essentials of Oneness Theology: ‘Oneness theologians identify Jesus Christ as the incarnation of the one God, based on a literal interpretation of Colossians 2:9-10, which states: ‘For in […]

Oneness Pentecostals teach that Jesus Christ is at once Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here is what David K. Bernard says in his booklet titled Essentials of Oneness Theology: ‘Oneness theologians identify Jesus Christ as the incarnation of the one God, based on a literal interpretation of Colossians 2:9-10, which states: ‘For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”. All names and titles of the Deity – such as Yahweh, Father and Holy Spirit – properly apply to Jesus. Jesus is not just the incarnation of one person of a trinity, but the incarnation of all the character, quality and personality of the one indivisible God” (David K. Bernard, Essentials of Oneness Theology, Word Aflame Press, Hazelwood, MO, USA, 1995, pages 11-12); ‘The title of Father refers to God’s roles as father of all creation, father of the only begotten Son, and father of the born-again believer. The title of Son refers to God’s incarnation, for the man Christ was literally conceived by the Spirit of God (Matthew 1:18-20; Luke 1:35). The title of Holy Spirit describes the fundamental character of God’s nature. Holiness forms the basis of His moral attributes, while spirituality forms the basis of His nonmoral attributes. The title specifically refers to God in activity, particularly His work in anointing, regenerating, and indwelling man. Oneness, therefore, affirms the multiple roles and works described by the terms Father, Son and Spirit. In contrast to trinitarianism, however, it denies that these titles reflect an essential threeness in God’s nature and it affirms that all exist simultaneously in Christ. The terms can also be understood in God’s revelation to man: Father refers to God in family relationship to man; Son refers to God incarnate; and Spirit refers to God in activity. For example, one man can have three significant relationships or functions – such as administrator, teacher, and counsellor – and yet be one person in every sense of the word. God is not defined by or limited to an essential threeness’ (Ibid., pages 15-16); ‘Jesus is the Father …. The Holy Spirit is ‘Christ in Spirit rather than in flesh’ (ibid., pages 14, 17).

REFUTATION

Jesus is not the Father

The Scripture teaches that Jesus is not the Father, for Jesus and the Father are two separate Divine Persons. Now, I will show you from the Scriptures that Jesus is not God the Father.

● After Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan river, it happened that a voice came from heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 – NKJV). Who spoke those words? Certainly it was not Jesus who spoke those words for it is written that “a voice came from heaven” (Matthew 3:17 – NKJV), while Jesus was on earth. Therefore that voice was the voice of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for that voice called Jesus ‘My beloved Son”. That’s why we can’t affirm that Jesus is the Father.

● After Jesus was baptized, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, as Matthew says: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him” (Matthew 3:16 – NKJV). Now, my question is this, ‘Who anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit?’ The Scripture teaches that it was God the Father who anointed His Son with the Holy Spirit, as it is written: “You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Psalm 45:7 – NKJV). I would like you to notice that the Psalmist says that God was anointed by His God. How is it that God was anointed by His God? How many Gods exist then? Well, the answer is that when the Scripture says that God was anointed by His God, it means that God the Son was anointed by God the Father. However, they are not two Gods, but one God, because Jesus said: “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30 – NKJV). Therefore, Jesus was not the Father.

● When Jesus was transfigured on the holy mountain the disciples who were with Him heard a voice, which came out of the cloud which overshadowed them, and that voice said: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5 – NKJV). My question is still the same: Who spoke those words, Jesus or someone else? Surely it was not Jesus but God His Father who spoke. This is confirmed by the following words of Peter, who was one of the disciples who were with Jesus on that occasion: “For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:17-18 – NKJV). Therefore, once again we infer that Jesus Christ, even though in the days of His flesh was God, was not the Father because His Father was in heaven. Of course, in Jesus Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, that’s why He was worshiped on earth, both before His death and after His resurrection, yet He was the Son of the living God who was in heaven. Jesus said that the Father was in Him and He was in the Father, He said that He and His Father were one, He said that He existed before Abraham was born, yet all this does not lead us to affirm that He was the Father because such a statement is inconsistent with the Word of God. How could Jesus say that His Father was in heaven if the term Father was just a title applied to Jesus? Listen to these words of Jesus: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21 – NKJV); “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50 – NKJV). Furthermore, if the term Father was just a title applied to Jesus how is it that Jesus thanked the Father? Listen to these words Jesus said to the Father: “I thank You Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Matthew 11:25-26 – NKJV), “Father, I thank You that You have heard me” (John 11:41 – NKJV).

● Jesus said to His disciples: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23 – NKJV). Note that Jesus, referring to Himself and to His Father, said “We will come to him and make Our home with him’. It is evident, therefore, that Jesus was not the Father.

● The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians that Jesus, “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11 – NKJV). Now, as you can see, Jesus humbled Himself and was highly exalted by God the Father; so Jesus is not the Father.

● After Jesus was raised from the dead, He was seen by His disciples for forty days, and then He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. As it is written: “He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19 – NKJV), and also: “When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3 – NKJV). This happened so that it might be fulfilled what David had said: “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110:1 – NKJV). Stephen in a vision saw Jesus at the right hand of God, as he said: “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:56 – NKJV). Therefore, Jesus is not God the Father because in heaven He is at the right hand of God the Father. And do you know what Jesus is doing there? He “makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:34 – NKJV). Reflect upon this function He is accomplishing at the right hand of God because it confirms that Jesus can’t be God the Father, for if Jesus is making intercession for us, that means that He is a mediator between God the Father and us, and since “a mediator does not mediate for one only” (Galatians 3:20 – NKJV), there must be someone to whom He prays on our behalf, and this someone is God the Father. This is why we pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God the Father and us.

I could quote many more passages from the Bible to show you that Jesus is not the Father, however, I think that those I have cited so far are enough.

Jesus is not the Holy Spirit

Now, I want to show you from the Scriptures that Jesus is not the Holy Spirit either.

● Jesus, on the night He was betrayed and arrested, said to His disciples: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him” (John 14:15-17 – NIV). Now, while Jesus was on earth He was the Counselor that God had promised through His prophets He would send to His people. However, since Jesus had to go back to the Father who had sent Him and He knew that His disciples would need another Counselor to be with them forever and in every place He said that He would pray to the Father and the Father would send another Counselor or Comforter to them. Therefore, since Jesus called the Holy Spirit “another Counselor”, we must conclude that the Holy Spirit is not the same Counselor (Jesus) who was received up into heaven. Therefore Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. That the Holy Spirit is not Jesus Christ in Spirit rather than in flesh is confirmed by the fact that when Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit from the Father He said the following things: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:7-15). I would like you to notice the following expression “He shall glorify me,” for it confirms that the Holy Spirit cannot be Jesus in that He glorifies Jesus.

● One day Jesus said: “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:32). As you can see, those who speak against the Son of man can be forgiven, while those who speak against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. Therefore, Jesus, the Son of man, can’t be the Holy Spirit.

● The author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29 – NKJV). These words also confirm that the Son of God is not the Holy Spirit, for They are cited separately.

I could quote many more passages from the Scriptures to show you that Jesus is not the Holy Spirit, but I think that the ones I have cited are enough.

The denial of the pre-existence of the Son of God refuted

Since Oneness Pentecostals teach that the title of Son refers to God’s incarnation, they deny the existence of the Son of God prior to the incarnation. They say: “Jesus pre-existed the Incarnation, not as the eternal Son but as the eternal Spirit of God. The Son was sent from the Father, but this terminology simply indicates that the Father enacted His pre-existing plan at a certain point in time and that the Son was divinely appointed to accomplish a certain task. In the same way, John the Baptist was a man sent from God, but he did not pre-exist his arrival into this world” (David K. Bernard, Essentials of Oneness Theology, Word Aflame Press, Hazelwood, MO, USA, 1995, pages 21-22). In other words, according to Oneness theology, Jesus, prior to His conception, was not a separate Person from God the Father. He could not exist as Son because for them ‘the Son had a beginning, namely, at the Incarnation’ (J. L. Hall and David K. Bernard, editors, Doctrines of the Bible, Word Aflame Press, Hazelwood, MO, U.S.A., 1998, page 21), thus ‘the term Son always has reference to the Incarnation, to the humanity in which God dwelt and revealed Himself’ (Ibid., page 143).

However, the Scripture teaches that the Son of God, before the incarnation, existed as a Person separate from God the Father.

● John said: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father [or the Only Begotten from the Father], full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 – NIV).

● Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was I AM” (John 8:58 – NKJV); “What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?” (John 6:62 – NKJV); “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38 – NKJV); “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5 – NKJV); “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24 – NKJV).

● Paul says: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7 – NKJV).

As you can see, Jesus Christ, as Son existed even before His arrival into this world; He was with the Father, He was in the form of God, that is to say, He was equal with God. Therefore, He pre-existed as a Person, for the Scripture says that He was sent by the Father, He was given by the Father, and Jesus Himself clearly said that He came down from heaven.

To confirm what I have just said, I want to comment briefly upon the following words of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made ….The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1.1-3, 14 – NIV). First of all, note that John says that the Word was with God, and then that the Word was God; however, pay attention to this, when John says that the Word was God he does not mean that the Word was God the Father (for the Greek has ‘kai Theos en ho Logos’, that is, ‘and God was the Word’, and not ‘kai ho Theos en ho Logos’, that is, ‘and the God was the Word’) because if the apostle had said such a thing he would have denied the pre-existence of the Son as a Person separate from God the Father. Notice also the following thing: John says that all things were made through the Word, that is to say, through the Son; and this is confirmed by the apostle Paul who wrote to the Colossians: “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16 – NKJV), and by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews who wrote that God “made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:2 – NKJV) through His Son. So we infer that since God created the heavens and the earth through His Son, this means that the Son of God was in heaven with the Father before the world was made. And to conclude my comment upon the above mentioned words of John, I say this: if the Word was God (but not God the Father) and at a certain point in time the Word was made flesh, that means that when the Word took the form of a bondservant and came in the likeness of men, God who was in heaven remained for a certain period of time without the Word who had been with Him from all eternity. In other words, God did not have His Son with Him in heaven for a certain period of time. That’s why Jesus, before His death, said to His disciples: “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28 – NKJV). He left heaven to come into this world, and when He finished the work the Father had given Him to do, He left the earth and returned to heaven.

In the light of the above mentioned Scriptures, therefore, you must beware of oneness Pentecostals for they lie against the truth.

Conclusion

Beloved, beware of Oneness Pentecostals, for they teach a false doctrine about the Godhead, and as we will see in another place their false doctrine about the Godhead has affected the teaching about salvation, for, since according to them the Holy Spirit is Christ in Spirit rather than in flesh, ‘to receive Christ is to receive the Holy Spirit, and vice versa’, thus they see the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an integral part of receiving Christ. In other words, for them if a believer is not baptized with the Holy Spirit he is not saved yet. I exhort you to reject and refute their heresies.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-oneness-pentecostal-heresy-jesus-only-refuted/feed/0Leroy Thompson: Money cometh to me!https://wakeup.destatevi.org/leroy-thompson-money-cometh-to-me/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/leroy-thompson-money-cometh-to-me/#respondSat, 19 Jan 2019 11:15:09 +0000http://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=674 Can you imagine the apostle Paul saying things like that? Or can you imagine Jesus saying ‘Money cometh to me’? I can’t imagine it. This man is an impostor, a servant of Mammon. Beware of him. You also should beware from all those who preach the cursed prosperity gospel.

]]>https://wakeup.destatevi.org/leroy-thompson-money-cometh-to-me/feed/0The humanity of Jesushttps://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-humanity-of-jesus/
https://wakeup.destatevi.org/the-humanity-of-jesus/#respondMon, 17 Sep 2018 19:31:58 +0000http://wakeup.destatevi.org/?p=669 Jesus of Nazareth was not only fully God, as it is written: “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Colossians 1:19), but He was also fully man, fully human, for it is written that He shared in our humanity (Hebrews 2:14) coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). Even though […]

Jesus of Nazareth was not only fully God, as it is written: “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Colossians 1:19), but He was also fully man, fully human, for it is written that He shared in our humanity (Hebrews 2:14) coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7).

Even though His conception was supernatural, for He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, His birth was that of a normal child born of a human mother (Matthew 1:18). He is spoken of as being “born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4 – NIV).

Jesus, as a normal child, grew physically and mentally, as it is written: “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom … and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:40, 52 – NKJV).

Jesus referred to Himself as a man, as He said to the Jews: “But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God” (John 8:40 – NKJV). He was recognized by others as a man (John 10:33; Luke 23:4, 41). Jesus called Himself the Son of Man (Matthew 16:13; 26:24; 24:30) to assert His identification with us as sons of men (but also to assert His preeminence over all men), for ‘son of man’ means ‘having the nature or character of man.’

He had a body, soul and spirit, and shared our physical and emotional experiences. He got hungry (Matthew 4:2) and thirsty (John 4:7; 19:28). He got weary from travelling (John 4:6). He slept (Matthew 8:24). He expressed love and compassion; for it is written that He loved His disciples to the end (John 13:1) and He was moved with compassion for the multitudes, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36). He was grieved by the hardness of His enemies’ hearts (Mark 3:5); He was angry at those who made His Father’s house a den of robbers (Matthew 21:12-13); He wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35), and He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41).

And on the night He was betrayed, while He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death (Matthew 26:38).

Since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He was born without sin, that is, free from hereditary depravity. Furthermore, during His earthly life He committed no sin, even though He was in all points tempted as we are (Hebrews 4:15).

The Scripture states that He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). One day He challenged His enemies to convict Him of a single sin, as He asked them this question: “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46 – NKJV), and His foes had no reply. As we will see later, it was necessary for Jesus to be born without sin and to live a sinless life in order to make atonement for our sins through the offering of His body.

As we have seen, Jesus was a real man, therefore as a man He was inferior to God, for He was subject to human limitations. That’s why the Scripture says: “You made him a little lower than God” (Psalm 8:5 – NIV ‘Than God’ is in a footnote. The IBRV reads “Tu l’hai fatto poco minor di Dio,” that is, “You made him a little lower than God,‘’ in the text, while in the footnotes we find ‘Tu l’hai fatto poco minor degli angeli,” that is, “You made him a little lower than the angels”. However, even if we accept ‘than the angels,’ as the KJV reads, it is evident that since the angels of God are heavenly beings inferior to God, Jesus also – as a man – was inferior to God).

Now, by comparing some Bible verses, referring to Jesus, with some others referring to God, I will show you what the Scripture means when it states that Jesus was made a little lower than God.

● John says: “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour” (John 4:6). Therefore Jesus got weary. But we know that in Isaiah it is written about God that He “fainteth not, neither is weary” (Isaiah 40:28. The NIV reads: “He will not grow tired or weary”). However, this does not lead us to say that Jesus was not God, because His tiredness was due to the fact that He had a human body, which was subject to some limitations.

● Matthew says: “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep” (Matthew 8:23-24), while in the book of Psalms it is written about God: “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). Now, as you can see, on the one hand the Scripture states that the Son of God fell asleep while He was on the ship together with His disciples, and on the other hand it states that God cannot fall asleep. However, although Jesus fell asleep on that occasion, we don’t say that Jesus was not God, because we know that the Son, being a man like us, needed to sleep. He had a physical body like ours, which got tired and needed rest, that’s why He fell asleep.

● Jesus said: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). Now we know that God “is a God who knows” (1 Samuel 2:3 – NIV) everything, why then did Jesus Christ, who was God, said that He knew neither the day nor the hour of His second coming? Because He was also fully man.

Therefore we must not be surprised if Jesus, on the night He was arrested, said to His disciples: “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), for He, as a man, was inferior to God, as it is written: “You made him a little lower than God” (Psalm 8:5 – NIV), and on that occasion Jesus spoke as a man.

In conclusion, I want to say this. Of course, when we speak about the two natures of Christ – that is, the divine and the human nature of Christ – and we explain the mystery of how they were united in Him (as to the union between them we believe and teach that they were organically and indissolubly united, yet so that no third nature was formed thereby), we acknowledge that we are talking about something that we don’t understand fully and thus we can’t offer a complete explanation as to how Christ’s humanity and deity were united, for in this life the Incarnation will always contain areas of mystery for us, but that does not prevent us from believing and proclaiming that He was truly man and truly God. “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16). To Christ Jesus, our great God and Saviour, be the glory now and forevermore. Amen.