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Other articles in this section of our web site discuss questions such as:
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we first began our ministry in Virginia Beach a Navy chaplain asked me
the question: "What's a 'Pentecostal' Hospitality House?" He then
added in jest, "Does your house speak in tongues?" My immediate tongue
in cheek response was obviously, "No, my house doesn't speak in tongues,
last time I checked."
Many critics of the Pentecostal experience argue that Pentecostals are only about 'tongues'; others contend that being Pentecostal is simply about a particular style of religious worship. Still others say Pentecostals have an inordinate focus on the Holy Spirit. Even among people who attend Pentecostal churches, when asked the purpose of the 'baptism in the Holy Spirit' the same two responses are given: to speak in tongues and for lively worship.The problem is, that while the Pentecostal experience includes speaking in tongues, the gifts of the Spirit, and in many instances is associated with a particular worship style, this is not the primary focus of the experience recorded in the Scriptures. By maintaining the debate at the level of whether or not tongues have ceased, or whether the one should or shouldn't clap or raise their hands in a worship setting, the heart of the Pentecostal experience often gets lost and buried beneath heated and divisive rhetoric. Being Pentecostal is first and foremost about a relationship. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ! That relationship is made possible because God the Father loved the world - us (you and me) - so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to take the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross of Calvary. John 3:16. (When the Son is lifted up). But Jesus' death wasn't the end of the story. He came back to life again; He rose from the dead; and He is alive today! Whoever receives Jesus Christ as their savior receives eternal life. This individual becomes a child of God at the moment of receiving Jesus Christ. John 1:12. Rev. 3:20. The relationship with Jesus begins at the moment an individual opens the door to their heart and invites Jesus into their life. But it is not the "prayer" that saves an individual, but the ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ! 1 John 1:6-7. It's this relationship with Jesus Christ that makes us and keeps us Christian. While Jesus was on earth even His didsciples didn't understand this concept fully. At Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist the voice of God the Father said "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." On the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, in his enthusiasm, suggested building three "booths", one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah, again the voice of God the Father was heard saying: "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!" God The Father's focus was on Jesus Christ, His Son. He intended the disciples' focus to be on Jesus as well. The apostle Paul talks about the mystery that was hidden from the ages but which has now been revealed is "Christ in you, the hope of glory". Jesus foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. The Holy Spirit was to have two distinct functions: to convict the world (non-believers) of sin, righteousness, and judgement to come (John 16:8); and to teach believers and remind them of Jesus' teaching (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit's focus was to be on Jesus Christ; to convict unbelievers and draw them to Jesus Christ, and to teach believers and remind them of Jesus' words. Jesus Christ's focus was also on Himself. He knew why He was in the world. Jesus said He did not come into the world to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for sin. He also said that He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He said that when He was lifted up that He would draw all people to Himself. So, first and foremost, being Pentecostal is about being focused on Jesus Christ - the author and finisher of our faith! (Hebrews 12:2). When Jesus was still on earth He said that His followers would "do the works He had done" and "greater works" as well John 14:12. What were the works Jesus did? He went about preaching the Kingdom of Heaven, evangelizing, healing the sick, casting out demons, bringing salvation to lost people. Before leaving this earth Jesus gave His followers this mandate: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20). They were to evangelize, making disciples of Jesus Christ. Second, being Pentecostal is about being intentionally evangelistic. This mandate was repeated
with an interesting addition in Mark 16:15-20 "
Finally, this mandate is
repeated again in Luke 24:46-49. "
This is very similar to what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." In Acts 1:4-8 Jesus connects the reception of the promised Holy Spirit with the promise of being baptized with the Holy Spirit at John's baptism of Jesus. He tells his followers that they will soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And He reminds them of the promise He made that after the Holy Spirit comes upon them that they would receive power, and that as a result, they would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. So, third, being Pentecostal is about being divinely empowered to carry out Jesus' mandate to evangelize the lost.
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