I’m old, and my memory is moth-eaten. But I believe I’ve heard Pentecost referred to as the day the church was born. In that case, this Sunday – Pentecost Sunday – might legitimately be celebrated as the Church’s birthday.
The Pentecost described in Acts 2 was truly a dramatic day. Violent winds blew through the house. Tongues of fire appeared. The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, began speaking in languages they didn’t know. And a brilliant sermon by Peter resulted in about 3,000 conversions.
Doing a New Thing
This spectacular opening scene demanded a monumental second act. And, indeed, the early days of the Church were exciting times. But they weren’t exciting just for the sake of excitement. God has a reason for everything He does. And in this case, you might say He was updating the Old Testament with a new plan. As such, it was necessary for Him to: 1) impart His new plan, the New Testament and 2) authenticate His message.
The imparting of the New Testament involved prophecies, words of knowledge, and tongues. (Plus letters.) The authentication of the message involved amazing signs, miracles, and wonders. It was both a thrilling time and a terrifying time. But, over the years, as the Lord’s apostles moved on to Glory, the Church wisely recognized that the message was complete, that it was powerful, and that the mission of the Holy Spirit had evolved.
Yet, in this last century or two, denominations have arisen that claim God is moving in the old way – that He expects His followers to speak in tongues, to proclaim prophecies, and to deliver words of knowledge. Some of these pentecostal and charismatic sects even expect the Lord to heal “on command” and to enrich His followers.
I “lost” about 20 years of my life to the charismatic movement. This series of articles is the result of those lost years.
Part I – Escape from Charismania
Once upon a time, I was young and idealistic. I went off to college believing I could be anything, do anything. And the deepest desire of my heart was to please Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who literally died for me. Little did I know that during those college years I would lose my way spiritually and stumble into a deep darkness I would call “Light.”
It started in my Sunday school class. Some of the other college students talked about Jesus with an excitement and earnestness I had never observed before. I felt the same intensity in my own heart, but I’d never known people who were so outwardly thrilled with their faith and their Lord. I wanted to be like them, to be part of the excitement. And I soon learned that their enthusiasm was an overflow from the church they were attending on Sunday night and during the week – a nondenominational, Charismatic Church.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
It was only a matter of time before I had abandoned the mainline church of my childhood and become part of that wonderful(!) Charismatic Church. When the preachers and teachers talked about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I smiled smugly. I knew about Pentecost. I knew the baptism in the Holy Spirit was part of church history. And so I accepted everything the Charismatic leaders said about the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues being a modern, everyday practice for Christians. I didn’t open my Bible and try to find out why these things weren’t being practiced by denominations with a much longer track record than the Charismatic sect. I just swallowed the bait – hook, line, and sinker.
The transfer of my membership and affection to a Charismatic Church was the beginning of a 20-year trek into darkness. I’m ashamed to admit that I became involved in the name-it-and-claim-it branch of charismania. I accepted numerous so-called “prophecies” as being straight from the mouth of God and even gave a couple myself. Worst of all, I taught heretical doctrines to others.
Bogged in Darkness
I was so deeply entrenched and thoroughly enamored with Charismatic teachings that no one could have pried me out of those beliefs with any form of logic or wisdom. It terrifies me to remember how misled I was and how determined I was to remain in that deep darkness. Only the miraculous grace of God poured out over a period of years was able to reach me and lead me back to sound doctrine and true joy. (See Parts II and III of this series for some of the understandings that delivered me from charismatic error.)
My Great Escape
Since my escape from charismania, I have been disturbed to observe that mainline churches are not providing the information I needed with I was young and naive. I have heard no teaching about the days of the Acts of the Apostles being a transition period when God was doing a new thing, using unusual methods to launch His Church. I have heard no explanation for the fact that some churches seek a “baptism in the Holy Spirit” and others don’t. Nary a word have I heard against outrageous “prophecies” being presented as new Word from God, messages supposedly on a par with Scripture.
I will be forever grateful that I was delivered from Charismatic darkness. But my heart trembles for our youth who go off to college as young and idealistic and gullible as I was 50+ years ago.
The Power of Fiction
I have longed to do some small part in warning others against the foolish path I followed. Since I have a conviction that fiction is one of the most powerful weapons the devil uses in his campaign to corrupt people and nations, I decided to use fiction to serve a worthy cause – exposure of charismatic fallacy and destruction. My first book, Darkness Under His Feet, a cozy mystery, is available online. You may read it here free. If you enjoy it, I hope you will choose to purchase the sequel, also a cozy mystery: Out of Darkness.
Photo credit: RobertCheaib on pixabay
Click here for Part II of “Pentecost – Then and Now”
Here are links to my blog indexes, which will make it quick and easy for you to find another post to read.
Blog Index – Lists blogs 1-35
Blog Index 2 – Lists blogs 36 to the latest post