The Feast of Pentecost: the problems of Pentecostalism • Deshen Daily

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. (Matthew 13:28 kjv)

Today is day 7 of Deshen Daily devotionals miniseries on the Feast of Pentecost! Let me conclude this series with an “elephant in the room” whenever the word “pentecost” is mentioned, and that is, “Pentecostalism”. In brief, Pentecostalism is the label given to believers that believe there is a distinct post conversion encounter with the Holy Spirit that brings in power and the gifts of the Spirit. Or as some have put it, Pentecostals are those who believe what happened at Pentecost continues even today.

Pentecostalism has split the Church artificially into two groups, whether in doctrine or in practice: Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals. As was shared previously, I was born and raised in a pentecostal background and I am thankful for this exposure. However, I recognize there are errors that continue with the pentecostal movement mainly because our fathers probably did not fully understand certain aspects of their spiritual experience as we do today. For example, some Pentecostals believe those who do not speak in tongues are not true Christians.

However, the non-Pentecostals have had their own share of errors: they do not embrace the Holy Spirit and His works in the scriptures as clearly revealed in the Book of Acts based on “doctrines”. If I were to choose again between the two errors, I will choose the error of the Pentecostals: to embrace the power of the Spirit and yet make some mistakes because of incomplete understanding rather than embrace a Christianity that is empty of that power.

Satan has succeeded in sowing this destructive seed of division in the Church. An enemy hath done this.

MEDITATE

Did the early Church and the first disciples divide themselves into “Pentecostals” and “non-Pentecostals”?

APPLY THE WORD

The only means by which God will break the horrible doctrinal walls regarding the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ is for the believers themselves to get grounded on the Truth. This is my advice: forget your church doctrine (Pentecostal or non-Pentecostal), drop every book you are reading about the Holy Spirit (for now), stop listening to any teachings or sermons (for now), pickup your Bible and answer the questions of the Holy Spirit yourself. You have resources and grace today that our fathers of old did not have.