What is the Difference Between the Baptism and the Filling?

Charismatics often confuse spirit baptism, which places the Christian in the body of Christ, and the fullness of the Spirit, which produces effective Christian living (see Eph. 5:18, 6:11).

Nothing in all of Acts, Chapter 2, says believers asked for the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4 teaches two distinctive truths.  At Pentecost, Christian believers were baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body.  Then the Holy Spirit filled those believers to give a miraculous testimony -- the ability to speak in other languages.  Believers since that time have all been baptized with the Holy Spirit by the Lord Jesus Christ at conversion.  How are we filled?  When we yield to the Spirit who is already there, we have access to the Spirit's power and fullness.  Paul told the Ephesians to be kept filled with the Spirit as a constant pattern for living (5:18).

Nowhere in Scripture is the Christian taught to tarry and wait for the baptism. Nowhere in Scripture are we taught to get with a group of people who can teach us to speak in tongues.  Christians are admonished to keep being filled with the Spirit, but that is not the same thing as waiting to be baptized by the Spirit.  There is one simple key to knowing the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit in your life:  obeying the Lord.  As you walk in obedience to the word of God, the Spirit of God fills you and energizes your life (see Gal. 5:25).

Not only have believers been placed into Someone (Christ), but they have had Someone placed into them (the Holy Spirit).  As Christians we have the Holy Spirit.  Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19).  God Himself indwells our bodies (II Cor. 6:16).  All the resources are there.  The promise of the Holy Spirit has already been fulfilled for us.  The Bible is absolutely clear on that point.  There is nothing more to wait for.  The Christian life consists of yielding to the control of the Spirit who is already in us.  We do that through obedience to the Word (Col. 3:16).

Significantly, charismatic writers are not all agreed on how believers are to receive the baptism of the Spirit.  Why all the confusion and contradiction?  Why is it that charismatic writers do not quote the Bible plainly and let it go at that?  The reason no charismatic writer can do that is the Bible never tells how to get the baptism of the Spirit; it only tells believers that they are already baptized with the Spirit.  

One of the greatest realities the Christian will ever have is contained in two brief and fulfilling statements.  One is by Paul,  The other is by Peter:

"In Him, you have been made complete" (Col. 2:10).  

"His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

There is no point in seeking what is already ours.

- John F. MacArthur

Pentecostals are wrong.  
Faith Movement are wrong.  
Victory Churches are wrong.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

Satan is responsible for what is going on in these churches -- not God.

The Wrong Jesus

CHRISTIANS MUST SPEAK IN TONGUES

JESUS DIED TO GIVE US HEALTH & WEALTH

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A SUBSEQUENT EXPERIENCE

THE EXISTENCE OF MODERN DAY PROPHETS AND APOSTLES

GOD SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO OUR PASTOR

EMPTY PROMISES OF FAITH HEALINGS 


DEMANDING GOD PERFORM MIRACLES EVERY WEEK

NEW EXTRA-BIBLICAL REVELATIONS

EXPERIENCE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DOCTRINE

EXTREME EMPHASIS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
 
PASTORS RULE THEIR CONGREGANTS WITH AN IRON FIST

GIVE MORE MONEY TO RECEIVE THE GIFTS

 
TREATING FAMILY LIKE STRANGERS AND STRANGERS LIKE FAMILY

PASTOR IS THE NEW HEAD OF THE CHURCH, NOT CHRIST

EXPOSING YOUR CHILDREN TO SATAN AND HIS COHORTS

PRE-ARRANGED MARRIAGES EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN THE CHURCH

PASTOR IS CONSULTED ON ALL MAJOR DECISIONS

ONLY YOUR SPIRITUAL FAMILY CAN GIVE ADVICE
 

NO TIME FOR FRIENDS OR RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

TITHING EXHORBITANT AMOUNTS OF YOUR INCOME

EMPHASIS ON GIVING IS KEY TO PASTOR'S LAVISH LIFESTYLE

OUR PASTOR DESERVES TO HAVE THE BIGGEST HOUSE

FORMER MEMBERS LIVING IN FEAR OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY


"IT'S ALL ABOUT ME" RELIGION INSTEAD OF GOD


WE HAVE THE PERFECT CHURCH

THE DISGRUNTLED ARE PARTICULARLY PRONE TO BEING LURED IN

WE MEET YOUR NEEDS SO YOU BECOME OBLIGATED TO US

LEAVING REQUIRES YOU TO LEAVE ALL YOUR FRIENDS BEHIND

GIVE SOMEBODY A CAR AND THEY WILL BECOME EXTREMELY DEVOTED

PASTOR PERSONALLY COMES TO YOUR HOME TO PICK UP TITHE 

 
THIS IS THE CHARISMATIC JESUS.
(PENTECOSTAL, WORD OF FAITH, VICTORY CHURCHES)

THIS NEW JESUS IS NOT IN THE BIBLE.

IF YOU BELIEVE IN THIS NEW JESUS,

1. HEAVEN IS NOT IN YOUR FUTURE
2. YOUR ETERNITY IS IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY
3. YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO AT THE PEARLY GATES

 WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK IT IS ?

HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE ABOVE ! 

BROAD IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION AND MANY THERE BE THAT FIND IT...

... NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.

PERHAPS THIS VERSE IS TALKING ABOUT THE PENTECOSTAL/CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT WHICH IS ATTRACTING SO MANY PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.

FOLLOWING THE CROWD WILL MOST CERTAINLY LEAD TO DESTRUCTION.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED IS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE.

HOW FAR AWAY FROM THE TRUTH CAN YOU GO BEFORE GOD WILL SAY "DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU?"



A Few Comments from Our Readers:

Can't Leave My Name says
How true are these statements!  It's time that all of these crackpot church leaders got a lesson from God.  They are leading so many innocent people astray that something really needs to be done.  I hope that this message reaches tens of thousands so that the revolt can start (particularly with the Barrie Victory Centre).  It's time they were shut down before they ruin even more families and lives.

Beverley Shaw says
I think that you have hit the nail right on the head when it comes to these charlatans.  It's about time that someone spoke out about the issues of what people believe!  Thank you.  I am sending this to my brother as I am sure that they are involved in one of these places.

Tessie Malton says
It's refreshing to see that there is someone who is not afraid of these pastors who rule their congregants with an iron fist.  I hope that you are able to be strong and continue to stand up for what is biblically right.  Keep up the blog..do not get discouraged!
 

  WHO YOU SAY JESUS IS, MATTERS !

To quote Shakespeare, 
"Something is rotten in the
State of Denmark." 

It All Starts with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

One reason experience is the touchstone for charismatics is their undue emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a post-salvation experience. Charismatics generally believe that after someone becomes a Christian, he or she must seek diligently for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who get this baptism also experience various phenomena, such as speaking in tongues, feelings of euphoria, visions, and emotional outbursts of various kinds. Those who have not experienced the baptism are not considered Spirit-filled; that is, they are immature, carnal, disobedient, or otherwise incomplete Christians.

That kind of teaching opens the floodgates for believing that vital Christianity is one sensational experience after another. It sets in motion a contest to see who can have the most vivid or spectacular experience. And, of course, those with the most awesome testimonies are held in highest esteem spiritually. Incredible claims are made, and they almost always go unchallenged. Instead of responding to a proper interpretation of God's Word, Christianity is collecting fantastic and preposterous experiences. The Bible is either mangled to fit those experiences or simply ignored altogether. The result is pseudo-Christian mysticsm.

Mysticsm is a system of belief that attempts to perceive spiritual reality apart from objective, verifiable facts. It seeks truth through feelings, intuition, and other internal senses. Objective data is usually discounted, so mysticsm derives its authority from within. Spontaneous feeling becomes more significant than objective fact. Intuition outweighs reason.

Irrational mysticsm is also at the heart of the charismatic experience. It has subverted Biblical authority within the movement and replaced it with personal experience. The practical effect of charismatic teaching is to set one's experience on a higher plane than a proper understanding of Scripture. (Charismatic Chaos - John .MacArthur, Jr.)