No Crisis Experience Commanded #6

Introduction to the Principle: No Crisis Experience Commanded

0:06 This adult Sunday school class was held on November 21st, 1982, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, for any who may be new amongst us in our adult class, just a word of introduction and very brief review would be in order. We are presently engaged in a study entitled, Some Major Principles of Living the Christian Life.

0:46 And for a number of weeks, our attention has been focused upon the fourth of these major principles, which I have expressed in this language, that there is no crisis experience commanded or promised as essential to living the Christian life. When we turn to the scriptures, we discover that there is no crisis experience commanded or promised as essential to living the Christian life. Now, in opening up this principle, we've done several things. First of all, we've identified the various forms of teaching which assert otherwise.

1:30 The various kinds of teaching which say that a crisis experience subsequent to conversion is both promised and commanded and necessary if one is to live the Christian life as he ought. Well, what is the crisis experience? Well, what is the crisis experience? Well, what is the crisis experience?

1:46 Well, what we've done after identifying the various strands of teaching that assert that is to consider them in the light of the teaching of the word of God and have sought to demonstrate that the overarching teaching of the scriptures does not support their assertions or the assertions of those who propound this teaching, but rather the principle that we've articulated, no crisis experience is commanded or promised as essential to living the Christian life. Now, today, I want to fulfill my promise to begin to examine with you some of the passages

Establishing the Undisputed Fact: Miraculous Spirit Reception in Acts

2:25 in the Acts of the Apostles which are so frequently used to support various strands of crisis teaching. Now, as we do this, I must of necessity begin with a little more direct lecturing. I don't like to do this in the class, but it will be essential to set the framework for our hands. Now, as we begin, we'll begin, first of all, by establishing an undisputed fact from the scriptures and then examine a burning question which arises out of that fact, all right?

3:05 What is the undisputed fact of the book of the Acts of the Apostles? Well, the undisputed fact is this, that God has recorded in the book of Acts, several instances of a reception of the Holy Spirit attended with miraculous and visible signs, especially speaking with tongues. Now, that is an undisputed fact which is borne out by the text of the book of Acts. The undisputed fact is that there are several instances of a reception of the Holy Spirit,

3:46 attended with miraculous and visible signs, especially speaking with tongues. Now, we'll look very briefly at these passages, only to become aware of them, to become location conscious, before we begin to examine them in detail. The first, of course, is Acts, chapter 2. Here, 120 believers are gathered.

Examining Instances of Miraculous Spirit Reception: Acts 2 (Pentecost)

4:13 They are in a context of expectation. They are in a context of expectation. They are in a context of expectation. They are in a context of expectation.

4:17 They are in a context of expectation. They are in a context of expectation. They are in a context of unity and of prayer. And the Scripture tells us in Acts, chapter 2, beginning with verse 1, And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.

4:33 And the altogether are numbered approximately 120 people, according to verse 15 of chapter 1. That these are believers is clearly established from the fact that those who are named are Our apostles, minus Judas, who had gone to his own place, Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is now obviously, or always was, as far as we can discern, what we would call an Old Testament saint, a believer in the framework of the light and privilege of the old covenant.

5:07 And these believers, these Christians, these saved people, are in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder like as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5:44 Now here is the record of a reception of the Holy Spirit called in this passage a filling of the Spirit, which according to chapter 1 in verse 5 is to be equated with being baptized in the Holy Spirit, for that was the promise of the Father, originally articulated through John. And it is attended with these unusual, visible, miraculous signs, tongues, and in this instance, visible tongues of fire, sitting above each one of them, and then the sound of a rushing mighty wind.

6:24 So it's an undisputed fact, if we believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit through Dr. Luke the historian, that here is a reception of the Spirit attended with miraculous signs. Now over to Acts chapter 8.

Examining Instances of Miraculous Spirit Reception: Acts 8 (Samaria)

6:47 Philip has gone down to the city of Samaria, and there preaches the gospel. Notice very carefully verses 4 and 5 of chapter 8. They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.

7:09 He preached Christ in terms. Of the revelation of God in the Lord Jesus, and the apostolic understanding of that revelation, he preached what we would say is the full-blown New Testament gospel. And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did. And then we read in verse 12, But when they believed Philip, preaching, good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women.

7:53 Now the language is very plain, very simple, very straightforward in describing that there was a great work of conversion, that many were brought to faith in the gospel of the grace of God as preached by Philip. But now we read in verse 14, Now when the apostles that 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 Spirit. So there was something yet in the way of a reception of the Holy Spirit that they had not experienced.

8:35 Obviously it was by the operation of the Spirit that they were brought to attend to the word, to repent and to believe, and then confess that faith in baptism. Yet the apostles Peter and John come down and pray for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet it was fallen upon none of them, only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

9:07 Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of his hands, he had received the Holy Spirit, Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of his hands, he had received the Holy Spirit, when Simon saw that through the laying on of his hands, he had received the Holy Spirit, he offered them money. Now the passage does not say that they spoke in tongues, it doesn't say that they danced a holy jig, but it does seem to indicate that there was some visible manifestation of their reception of the Holy Spirit on this occasion. What that manifestation is, this passage does not tell us. Now our Pentecostal friends say, Well, it is obvious that...

9:43 No, the only thing that is obvious is that Peter and John prayed for them. When Peter and John prayed for them, and notice there's nothing about talking to them about tongues, and seeking tongues, or coaching them to get tongues, or giving them seven conditions that they had to meet. It's very straightforward and simple. They come down, they put their hands on them, they pray for them, the Holy Ghost is given, and there's some sign that it's given.

10:09 That's all the text says. Now if you get anything else out of the text, you only get it out because you put it in. But the text clearly teaches, here was a reception of the Holy Spirit with some kind of visible evidence that was readily, quickly probably discernible, though again, we can't press that with absolute certainty, but the whole pressure of the passage seems to indicate it was not a matter of observing over a period of time that there had been this unusual reception, which they witnessed. of the Spirit with his fruits, there was some kind, apparently, of an invisible sign. It may

10:48 have been speaking in tongues. It may have been rapturous praise. But all we know for certain is it was an unusual reception of the Spirit with some kind of visible sign. Now, the third passage is Acts chapter 10. Now, this one, of course, causes a little problem for those who say you

Examining Instances of Miraculous Spirit Reception: Acts 10 (Cornelius)

11:13 need a crisis subsequent to conversion. So many times they'll try to prove that Cornelius was a saved man before Peter ever came and preached the gospel to him and to his household. And they'll try to prove it by saying that his prayers had come up as an alms before God, and since God does not hear the prayer of the wicked, he was a righteous, a saved man. Well, the problem with that is there's just so much in the entire incident that's recorded in Acts to indicate that this was the occasion of Cornelius's salvation. Notice very carefully the passage

11:53 that addresses itself to this in chapter 11, when Peter is reviewing what happened. Verse 13, and he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house saying, Send to Joppa, fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall speak unto you word, whereby thou shalt be, what? Saved. Not words, which will declare to you that you're already saved, but words by which you shall be saved. And then in verse 18 of chapter 11, after they

12:33 hear the report, they hold their peace and glorify God, saying, Then to the Gentiles has God granted repentance unto life. In other words, he has saved, pagan Gentiles. All right, now the account itself is given to us in verses 44 to 48 of Acts 10. But just to give you that little background, because again, people will rest the scriptures when it doesn't fit their theories. Others say, well, that evidence is so clear,

13:04 what you have here is an unusual case where they got saved and baptized with the Holy Ghost back to back, all at once. But that's not the ordinary pattern, because Acts 2 indicates they were saved before. The people at Samaria had received the word of God, and then subsequent to that, they received the Spirit. So here, God sort of piggybacks the two things, but they are separate and distinct things. All right, while Peter

13:31 yet spoke these words, and if you'll look at the passage, as I hope you'll do in your homework assignment, you'll see that these words say nothing about tongues. They say nothing about a baptism in the Holy Spirit. They say nothing about a baptism in the Holy Spirit. They say nothing about a baptism in the Holy Spirit. They say nothing about a

13:44 baptism in the Holy Spirit. All they are is words about Jesus. They are words of gospel proclamation. And while Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word. And they that were of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as

14:05 many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. His ministry is invisible and in the heart. Well, this is how they knew. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any

14:30 forbid the water that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Now here's the question.

Examining Instances of Miraculous Spirit Reception: Acts 19 (Ephesus)

14:45 Here's the undisputed record that there was a reception of the Holy Spirit by Cornelius and his household attended with visible signs in this instance, speaking in tongues and apparently a form of prophecy. They were speaking with tongues and magnifying God. And then there is one other passage, Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 verses 1 to 6. And it came to pass that

15:19 while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples. And so our charismatic and Pentecostal and some of our Wesleyan friends and others who teach the necessity of a crisis experience subsequent to regeneration say these were disciples. Now can the language be clearer? They were disciples. And he said unto them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

15:50 And they said unto him, No, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given. And he said, Into what then were you baptized? You see, they were marked as disciples because they had undergone baptism. And they said, Into John's baptism. And Paul said,

16:09 John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. In other words, John's baptism, was not a terminal experience. It was pointing towards the coming one upon whom their faith was to rest. But these people had no such faith. And so what did he do? And when they

16:36 heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. They were baptized with reference to the truths pertaining to the Lord Jesus. The assumption is, and a proper assumption when we compare Scripture to the Bible, that the Lord Jesus was baptized into Scripture with Scripture, that Paul had unfolded to them the full-blown message of the Gospel as revealed in the Lord Jesus in his person and work. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. And there

17:13 were in all about twelve men. So here again, we have a reception of the Holy Spirit attended by the Holy Spirit. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, by miraculous and visible signs. In this instance, very clearly, the text says, speaking with tongues and prophesying. So here you have these four instances that establish our undisputed

The Burning Question: Is Acts a Normative Pattern?

17:36 fact. Four instances in the book of the Acts in which a reception of the Holy Spirit is attended with miraculous and visible signs, predominantly speaking with tongues and prophesying. Now that leads to a very burning, inescapable, and profoundly important question. Can you anticipate what the question is? After looking at these instances, what is the question

18:05 that arises out of these passages? Anyone want to take a stab at it? All right, David. That's like going up to the plate with your bat in your back pocket and telling the ump to give you two strikes.

18:26 Go ahead. All right, so you say, the question that arises out of these passages is the whole question of the uniqueness, the

19:08 distinctiveness of the apostolic ministry in conjunction with these unusual receptions of the Holy Spirit. All right, someone else want to take a stab at it? Yes, Paul. All right, you've used even the language with which I've couched the question, so I won't fish any further.

19:32 I've landed my fish in the boat. The question then is this, is this record intended to set forth a divine pattern for the receiving of the Spirit in all ages and for all individual believers as normative Christian experience? That's the question. Why did God the Holy Spirit record these instances through the pen of Luke? Did he record these instances to set forth a divine

20:12 pattern for the receiving of the Spirit in all ages and for all individual believers as normative Christian experience? Now, it's that question that constitutes the great divide, because on the one side of it, our charismatic and Pentecostal and many of our Wesleyan friends and some of our Reformed sealers and others say, yes, yes. And I have the mimeograph notes, of a series of sermons brought by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones on this subject in which he uses

20:49 these very passages to support the theory that there is, as normative as the divine norm, though the church has lived beneath her privileges, this is God's will and purpose that there should be this reception of the Holy Spirit subsequent to regeneration. He did not say in those sermons that it must of necessity be attuned to the Holy Spirit. He did not say in those sermons that it must of necessity be attuned to the Holy Spirit assistant, depending upon the circumstances to which God holds our hearts. Nothing such asvels yet to be made different isbattened with tongues or prophecy or any other unusual external sign. Our Pentecostal friends say, in essence, Acts 2-4 is the watershed of their

21:29 whole theology, that if we have what they got in the way they got it, then we'll do what they did. And if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will then speak with other tongues as the Spirit gives us utterance. So then their position with regard to these passages is bad grammar, that we have to caspist-o pass the intersection to ask where or what we have stated and to visit each other. Maulvinkist자는 says, in thisas to recurring to these passages is that they are recorded by the Holy Spirit to set forth the divinely intended norm and pattern for the reception of the Spirit for all believers throughout all the ages until the coming of Christ. Now that's the position. We, on the other hand, say no. The record is not

The Negative Position and the Onus of Explanation

22:08 meant to constitute the paradigm or the pattern, the mold into which all of the people of God are to be poured throughout all the ages, and the moment we say no, that is not the purpose, then the onus is on us. Why, then, is it recorded? If it is not recorded to set forth the pattern for our experience, why is it recorded? Now that's a fair question. That's a

22:38 fair question. That's a fair question. That's a fair question. That's a fair question. That's a

22:38 fair question. And we who take the negative and say, no, it is not recorded in order to be a pattern, a norm for all of God's people, we must answer that question, and our answer must be derived from the scriptures themselves. They must not be derived from an attempt to cover over the embarrassment of not speaking in tongues. Our answer must be derived from the Word of God. And

23:10 if we're to derive it from the Word of God, and here's the crux of the issue, it must be derived from the Word of God in terms of a responsible handling of the Word of God, not merely dipping into a text here and a text there and a text there without any sensitivity to the overarching responsibility of the Word of God. The overarching interrelatedness of the biblical materials. And so of necessity, we've got to come to grips with some matters that in theology are called biblical theology. Often you will hear the term the history of redemption. And as we begin to grapple with this this morning, I want to lay

23:54 out several principles as time permits. I hope I'll have time for just two of them, then I'll give you a homework assignment, and then God willing, next week, we'll have a discussion. We'll have much more interaction as we follow through on these matters. All right? We start then with

Principle 1: Acts Records the Transition from Old to New Economy

24:09 principle number one, Roman numeral number one. That's a rough one. And it's this. The Book of Acts records the transition from the old economy to the new. The Book of Acts records the transition

24:29 from the old economy to the new. Now, when I use the word economy, I'm using it not in the sense that it has to do with finances in Jerusalem or in Palestine or in Judea and Samaria, but the word economy is used in the old writers in its more classic sense, and it even occurs this way in our modern dictionaries under one of the meanings, the management or the administration of a household. Now, the Old Testament people of God, the Old Testament age, the Old Testament economy,

25:05 God's administration of his household of his people was the age of preparation and anticipation. Now, we must understand that. The Old Testament age was the age of preparation and anticipation. From that first little seed promise in Genesis 315, in which God says to Adam and Eve, I will put enmity between the seed of the woman, the seed of the serpent, and the outworking of that enmity will finally result in the seed of the serpent bruising the heel of the seed of the woman,

25:47 but the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent. And from that beginning, there begins to flower out a history of God's dealings to fulfill that promise. He deals with the patriarchs, and then there's the patriarchs, and then there's the patriarchs, and then there's the patriarchs, and here is the call of Abraham, the formation of the nation, and then the whole history of that nation. But all the way through, God is continually pointing ahead by prophecy, by type, and by shadow in this period of preparation and anticipation. Now is that an arbitrary description of the

26:29 Old Testament age, or does the Bible describe that age in that manner? Of course not. However, God has the fundamental principle to say, which is to work with the perfect pridence, through the unbelief in the deutες and the faithfulness, according to what God told him about Abraham before that He was with Abraham Well, I want to demonstrate that the Bible describes the age in that manner. Open, if you will, please, to Acts chapter 3, and notice this summary statement.

26:47 Acts chapter 3.

26:51 Peter is preaching, and he quotes one of the key prophecies of the Old Testament. Verse 22, Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall you hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

27:21 Now, here's our text. Yea, and all the prophets, from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also, also told of these days. Now, see, that's one of the key texts in which the New Testament makes a judgment and a pronouncement upon the overarching climate of the Old. And Peter says, Samuel and all the prophets, as many as have spoken, have spoken of these days.

28:01 Now, we'll give you the words which characterize these days in a moment, but all we want to demonstrate, now, is that the Old Testament age, in all of its various stages of development, was the period of preparation and anticipation. Now, if you'll turn to Luke 24, we have it from the lips of our Lord Jesus, the great interpreter of his own word.

28:29 Luke chapter 24, verses 25 to 27. Remember, he's walking on the road to Emmaus with two disciples. He has discouraged disciples. And now he speaks to them in verse 25.

28:43 And he said unto them, O foolish men and slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses, that is the first five books of the Bible, and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And then you have a similar construction later on in the chapter, verses 44 to 49.

29:23 So here our Lord clearly demonstrates that all of the Old Testament scriptures from Moses and onward were characterized by this pointing toward the age of communion. So here our Lord clearly demonstrates of fulfillment and realization and then we have such passages as hebrews 10 1 with regard to all the levitical system the priesthood and the sacrifices what were all of these intended to be chapter 10 in verse 1 of hebrews for the law having a shadow of good things to come

30:02 not the very image of those things can never with the same sacrifices made year by year which they offer continually make perfect them that draw near so the law with all of its rituals sacrifices and the rest was but a shadow of the substance of something that was to come here was the substance in the reality and the shadow is cast backward upon the old testament and in a sense

30:32 You see, the shadow of the cross was seen in every bleeding lamb, in the blood poured forth from every sacrifice, but it was all pointing to the reality which made the shadow. And the reality was Christ himself, his person, his work, his priesthood. And then, of course, the very opening words of the book of Hebrews, a classic passage in this regard, God having of old times spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son.

31:14 God spoke in bits and pieces in many ways in this period of anticipation. Anticipation and preparation, but now he has spoken with fullness and finality in Jesus Christ. So, if the Old Testament age was the age of preparation and anticipation, the New Testament age, according to this passage, is the age of fulfillment and realization. So, if you can get those words embedded in your memory, anticipation and preparation, that's the Old Testament age.

31:51 The New Testament age is that of fulfillment and realization. And we can illustrate it this way, and I hope you will find this helpful, and you say, what in the world does that have to do with speaking in tongues? Hang in there, all right? Here's the Old Testament age.

32:10 Old Testament age. It is marked by preparation and anticipation. The New Testament age. The New Testament age is marked.

32:27 It is marked by fulfillment and realization. Now, the question is, when does this age wind down and this age get cranked up?

32:46 Well, you see, it doesn't happen at a certain moment in history, on such and such a day, such and such an hour, so many seconds. We find in the whole complex of events, beginning, of course, with the incarnation of our Lord, and prior to that, the announcement of the unusual, miraculous conception of John the Baptist, that from that whole section, with the miraculous conception of John the Baptist, and then the virgin conception of our Lord, the ministry of John the Baptist, the ministry of our Lord, his life, his death, his resurrection, the sending of the Spirit,

33:28 we have the winding down of the Old Testament. The whole economy, and the ushering in of the New. And in this period, there is an overlapping that has often been called, and it's very helpful to identify it this way, as the transition period. All right?

33:50 Now, we all know what a transition is. A new president is elected in November. He's actually installed in January, and between November and January, the two presidents and all...

34:03 all of the people surrounding them work together to effect a what? A smooth transition. A winding down of the existing administration, and the ushering in of a new administration. So, you understand what transition is.

34:18 We go through it every four years, or at the most, every eight years, thankfully. Well, I won't get into my views of Roosevelt. I'm determined to keep politics out of the pulpit. All right.

34:32 It's hard sometimes. But anyway, here we are in this transition period. Now, within that transition period, God ordained that the apostles should have a unique place, as we shall see, as the foundation stones in their doctrine and ministry of the New Testament church. But this transition period is the period that we're reading about when we open up the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

35:02 So that, when we take this... the position that what is recorded in the book of Acts is not normative for all the church throughout all ages, that is not an arbitrary imposing upon the scripture of our own prejudice. It is a perspective which is forced upon us by the scriptures themselves.

35:28 That this transition period is a period in which there is a mixture, and this was some of the problem that the early church faced, because you had people who for years had thought in terms of these categories. If you want to become a believer in the true God, in Jehovah, you must come within the framework of the covenant people. You must become a Jew. You must be circumcised. You must embrace Jehovah as your God and the entire framework of the

35:56 Mosaic economy. Now, that's no longer to be true, but that's been in their minds for so long. What happened? You had to have that whole thing thrashed out in Acts 15. Is it necessary to be

36:08 circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be a Christian? We say, what a stupid question. Yeah, but we have not been part of this for centuries and had that in our bloodstream and had it in our history and in our heritage. We live way, way out here after the transition, but within that transition period, that was a burning question, and it caused tremendous problems, and the scripture records it for us. Now, does it record it for us so that we must repeat that in every

36:41 age? Or does it record it that we might get the message of how God marvelously effected the transition from the closing down of the old age and the introduction of the new age? All right? Now, in that introduction of the new age, there are certain things unique to its introduction to confirm that God himself was making the transition. And when you turn to

Confirmation of the New Economy and Responsible Scripture Handling

37:11 Hebrews 2, you will notice how the writer to Hebrews emphasizes this. All right? Now, I hope you're not getting worn out thinking. I don't like to just do this kind of straight lecturing, but we have to start here before we can discuss. Otherwise, we'll just be floating around in

37:30 limbo. All right? Hebrews 2.1. Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the

37:40 things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, that is the word of God in this age of preparation and anticipation, the word that came through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which, having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard,

38:19 God bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and manifold powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will. Now, according to this passage, these signs and wonders and manifold powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit are confirmed unto us by them that heard. All powers and gifts of the Spirit according to his will had a distinct purpose. And what was that purpose? Give it to me in one word. Right from the text. Confirmation. It was to confirm the

38:56 validity of what was being articulated and established by these peculiarly chosen vessels of God to usher in the new age, namely the apostles, those that were chosen by God to usher in the new age. For eyewitnesses of all of these unique events of his crucifixion, of his resurrection, of the descent of the Spirit, and so to take the position that there may be certain things present in this transition period in conjunction with the ministry of the apostles in the apostolic age is not to find a clever way out of a dull, unbelieving state of the church. And I resent that allegation.

39:41 Because it simply is not true. It is not true. So when people say, well, I'm just a simple believer. My Bible says, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were full of the Holy Ghost and spoke with tongues and that's good enough for me. All right, then when someone gets nasty like that,

39:59 then answer the fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceits. And you say, all right, you base your experience on Acts 2? Where and when produce the witnesses who saw a cloven tongue of fire on the top of your head? Oh, but we don't need, oh, wait a minute now. Who says, if you say you've got to have the tongues,

40:17 you've got to have the fire. Produce the witnesses who heard a sound so loud that even people out in the street heard about it. Because the sound on the day of Pentecost, it says, was heard even by outsiders. Look at the text. Maybe you've never noticed that. But it does. Verse 5, now there were

40:37 dwelling in Jerusalem, devout Jews from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church. And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church. And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church. And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church.

40:44 And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church. And when this sound was heard, they were all in the church. The sound as of a mighty rushing wind. They heard the sound, and the multitude came together because every man heard them speaking in his own language. So they heard the tongues, heard the

40:58 sound. So when people say, well, I'm just a simple believer, it says they're full of the Holy Ghost, spoke with tongues, it's good enough. You say, my dear friend, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't

41:07 handle the word of God in such a light and cavalier manner. Because if you press your experience into here, you're going to get a lot of trouble. And if you don't, you're going to get a lot of trouble. And if you don't, you're going to get a lot of trouble. And if you don't, you're going to get a lot of trouble.

41:14 Then you've got to have it all. And then furthermore, you say, who was there on the day of Pentecost telling them they had to meet so many conditions? Who was there on the day of Pentecost urging them to just let themselves go and just relax and just start saying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, praise the Lord, hallelujah, hallelujah. Who was there coaching them? Who was telling them

41:34 marvelous experiences they had about, you say, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You say what you have is this. Then let's see more parallels.

41:44 Between your experience and how you came to it, and their experience and how they came to it. And there's a place to have a righteous anger with this kind of careless, sloppy handling of the word of God, which opens the door for all kinds of excess and fanaticism and things that ultimately cripple believers and dishonor our God. So we must begin with this great principle, and our time is gone already, that the book of Acts records, records the transition from the old economy to the new. Now next week, God willing, we'll lay our second major building block, which is this. I'll tell you what it is, and then hopefully open it up

42:28 next week. A major aspect of this new economy was the making of one new humanity in Jesus Christ. One of the major aspects of this new economy is that God's going to break down that middle wall of partition that separated us from God. And that's going to break down the middle wall of partition that separated the Jews from all the other nations. Ephesians chapter 2, 12 to the end

42:52 of the chapter, that's part of your homework assignment. Please read through and be familiar with the contents of that passage. A major aspect of the new economy was the making of one new humanity in Christ. And then we'll come to the question, how then did God accomplish this making of the one new humanity? And then we'll have the biblical key to unlock the significance,

43:16 of those four passages that we looked at together. And then you'll see the beauty of what God has recorded for us, how God has made it plain for all ages that every believer receives the Holy Spirit and enters into all the privileges of the new covenant on the basis of the person and work of Jesus Christ, embraced and received by faith and faith alone. So hang in there, don't be afraid. You've got to see these perspectives if you're responsibly to handle these portions of the word of God. So your homework assignment is please read Ephesians chapter 2 and then go back over the

43:59 Acts passages and see how they fit into the perspective of Ephesians 2, 12 to the end of the chapter and see if it begins to make sense to you. All right? And if it does, I think some of you ought to experience genuine excitement. You just might break out in tongues. I don't know.

44:16 I say that tongue-in-cheek. Now seriously, some of us who can remember very well wrestling with these passages early in our Christian experience, I didn't know much. I'd just been converted and had people take me through those passages and say, now don't you want all God has for you? I said, you bet your boots I do. They said, well then it's obvious there's something more for you.

44:45 And I know what it is to lie stretched out on the floor half the night praying, Lord, give me the baptism. I'm wide open. Anything you want, Lord, just give it to me. So I'm not speaking from a distance. I'm not speaking just to someone who's read books.

45:01 I've had people around me seem to be speaking in about five, six different languages. So dear people, please believe me. If I speak some of these things at times with some feeling, it's because I feel them as one who struggled through them and who desires to this day to have all God wants for me. And if I thought for one moment that there was something that God had provided for me, I would have done it. I would have done it. I would have done it. I would have done it.

45:25 If I did it in Christ, it would make you and make me better Christians. Woe be unto me if I did anything to discourage any one of us from seeking it and getting it at any cost short of sin. And it's in that consciousness that I say these things. And I want you to know that because some of you would have no way of knowing that unless I told you. So I've told you. Well, let's pray and ask

Prayer and Homework Assignment

45:46 God to continue to lead us in our study of his word. Our father, we approach you in the name of your beloved son.

45:58 Thank you that we live at this period, this consummation of the ages, the period of fulfillment and realization. How we thank you that we hold in our hands the infallible record of your mighty saving deeds and then the infallible interpretation of those deeds by apostles and by writers whose writing was recognized by the apostles as your word. And as the very word of the living God to his people for all ages. Oh, how we pray that you

46:36 will give us understanding in these things that we may not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but that we may be rooted and grounded in the truth as it is in Jesus. And then, Lord, give us grace not to use that truth as a club to sincere but misguided people, but by your grace to help others to learn the way of truth more perfectly. Holy Father, lead us by your spirit and give us hearts that both embrace and seek to obey all that you have revealed to us concerning

47:16 your will. Hear us and receive our thanks, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.