Fear & the Law

In the past year or so, I have been made aware of what has become a divisive controversy between the cessationists and continuationists.  When I discovered that John MacArthur had written a book, Strange Fire, strongly taking a stand against Charismatics, to me, the controversy reached a new high.  I felt increasingly troubled, as well as perplexed by the divisiveness of it, and so I prayed very specifically about it.  I understood already that some of the revivals and what seemed like strange goings on in the Charismatic camp had been brought to light.  And as I said before, many of these instances, isolated phrases, and short video clips that came into question as not of God, did not in any way describe the entire Charismatic Movement, but were pointed out as "proof" that anyone involved in the Charismatic or Pentecostal movement was off base spiritually and Scripturally.  I found it interesting, though, that I had never yet heard one cessationist be able to convincingly and Biblically point out their arguments that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with its evidences, have already ceased.  And so my quest to discover what is behind the cessationist beliefs continued in earnest.

 I became deeply interested in this controversy for a few of reasons.  One, I had already seen how divisive it was amongst believers I had fellowshipped with; two, I simply could not truly comprehend how someone could not understand what Scripture clearly and plainly has to teach about the Holy Spirit.  Thirdly, I became more and more convinced that what lay behind this issue may not really be that much of a misunderstanding, or deliberate omission of its Scriptural teaching; but, that its roots were based on a debilitating fear of trusting God in an area that involved taking a much greater risk in our willingness to live the way of the cross.  It is the third reason that I would like to discuss in this blog.

Many years ago, I was faced with exactly the same fear of receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  It wasn't that I didn't believe what Scripture teaches about it;  I knew from the thorough teaching I had been given, and I knew in my heart that it was true, and I never questioned that it wasn't of God.  I had seen people touched by God, and many times had seen and heard them speaking in tongues.  It was nothing out of the ordinary in my Christian experience.  I wasn't afraid of what I had seen, but the real fear lay within my own heart.  I knew in my heart, without question, that if I was to agree to receive this baptism, that somehow, and I didn't know how, it would be life-changing.  Back then, that was a frightening prospect to me.  It was much safer for me to say, "That gift is for those people, not for me."  Besides, I didn't even think I would qualify.  I was just a nobody; not anyone special, just someone who had greatly struggled in her Christian walk, but God had lovingly stepped in, and poured His love upon me, forgave me, and gave me a clean start.  But He definitely wanted more for me, even though I continued to resist His gentle prompts.

 I should have known this, but I never thought about God's "gifts" being always and only "good gifts."  He would never give me something that would be harmful or bad for me.  It would only be "good," and it would glorify Him, and greatly bless me and others.  That is the God I know and am so happy to serve.

 Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 When I did finally agree to receive this baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Lord was so gracious, and He honored my request that I not receive it publicly.  It was accompanied with so much joy from the Lord, that I could hardly contain it. And yes, it definitely was life-changing for me in only good ways, and in so many ways that I could write books about all that has happened since receiving this incredible "gift."  It wasn't until many years later, that I started to meet sincere people who truly believed and had been taught that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not from God, nor is it meant for Christians today.  I was quite shocked and even saddened to hear such things. I tried to explain to them the opposite, and even show them the many Scriptures to support otherwise, but they had been warned not even to listen to opposing views. 

 Many years later, it surfaced again, and this time, I really wanted to know more about what lay behind it.  After praying about it, one morning I woke up and began reading my Bible.  I had turned to Galatians 6. 

 Gal 6:12    As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.Gal 6:13    For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.Gal 6:14    But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.Gal 6:15    For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.Gal 6:16    And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.Gal 6:17    From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

There were other Scriptures I had read earlier that came to me as well.  As I read, it started to make sense to me.  Fear was behind it, but the cover for that fear had to do with the law!  When people resist the Holy Spirit, they turn to the law (you could also call it religion), and use it as a cover to avoid and deflect the real issue of going to the cross and dying to self. The children of Israel did exactly the same thing.  For example, when God required a sacrifice of their heart, they instead, gave Him a minimal sacrifice out of the law that was only a show of the flesh, and not an act from a contrite and repentant heart.

 Isa 29:13    Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

 In the New Testament, Jesus said this about the religious scribes and Pharisees:

 Mat 15:7    Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,Mat 15:8    This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.Mat 15:9   But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 NOTE:  You will find much more about this throughout Scripture that many people, when they are resisting God's call for a radically changed heart through repentance, or resist a calling, or even the gifts, will instead turn to religion, tradition, and man-made doctrine.  Others will pursue the things of the world and live according to their sinful desires with little to no thought of God’s Word.  To discuss it further would require a separate blog.

 The above Scriptures really rang true for me because I could also relate to it as something I had done before I really knew anything about trusting in a loving God, who desired fellowship and relationship with me.  Before attending Bible School, I was quite young when I started believing this view of the "law," and one that I had to somehow flawlessly follow.  I believed God to be mean-spirited and impossible to please, and so I gave up, and I backslid.  I wouldn't say that I was ever a religious person, but during that time, even though I was backslidden, I clung to the traditions of the law in ways that were predictable and safe, rather than embrace the life-changing way of the cross.  As a result, my beliefs were based on an unhealthy fear of God, rather than wanting to know and serve Him because He loved me.  After Bible School, where God and His Word had come alive for me, I continued an all-out critical and comprehensive search of the law vs. grace and God's love, and spent most of my time in Romans and Galatians, so that I could begin to understand why I had backslid in the first place.

My first understanding is that the law was made to draw us to God so that we would quickly see how, if we couldn't keep the law in its entirety, we couldn't possibly save ourselves.  We would then, out of our hopeless failings, turn to God for our salvation.  I understood this because in my own life, I knew that I was helpless to keep the law, and so I backslid.  I knew I couldn't do anything, in myself, to return to God, and it had to be God who did it all.  And so He did indeed set me free from my own failed efforts, and He brought me to Himself.

Rom 6:14    For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

 So in coming back to Galatians 6, more recently, it became clear to me that persecution and conflict are inevitable when we choose to stop being religious, and we instead, choose to go the way of the cross.  The way of the cross brings an end to self-effort and to living according to our very soulish nature.  It is not an easy way because we will be persuaded by others to forgo the way of the cross, and instead follow ritualistic and religious tradition taught by men.  We will pose a threat to others who, deep down, do not want to go the way of the cross, and are afraid to really follow Jesus in places that are unfamiliar and difficult.  Perhaps not everyone reading this have received the great gifts that come with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but this doesn't mean they do not exist.  It simply means that, just like we should never be afraid of taking up our cross and following Him, we should never be afraid of seeking Him for this gift, or for any other gifts He would so love to bestow on us.   And this is also not an argument to say that if a person has not received this Baptism in the Holy Spirit that they have not chosen to go the way of the cross.  It is to say that we (all of us) must be careful to examine our own hearts, whether we are seeking to receive these gifts or not, to make sure that we are not avoiding the promptings of the Holy Spirit, or turning away from Him and His Word in its entirety, and instead, turning to the law and traditions of man.