Thinking in Reverse

Next Part What Does “Pentecost” Mean?

Think for a minute! So many today are completely backwards from what God intends. They gather in “tarry meetings” to plead with God, over and over again, to send His Holy Spirit—to “send another Pentecost,” as in A.D. 31. Their repeated beseeching of God for His Spirit suggests that He is reluctant to give it. They beg, “seek” and generally agonize, believing that only by doing this, will God finally, ever so reluctantly, grant the power of His Spirit.

Is this a correct picture?

Sadly, it reflects the opposite of the way God thinks. He is more than eager to give His Holy Spirit to all who ask Him. Notice: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much MORE shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Lk. 11:13).

None need beg, plead or cajole God to give what He already wants to give. If you are sincere—and REPENTANT—God is eager to bestow His Spirit (also see Rev. 3:19-20). You just need to ask Him.

Here is where many go further astray. From Christ’s ascension, the disciples waited ten days for Pentecost. Sadly, many read this and think they must plead and cry, over a long period (represented by the ten days), until God relents and finally gives His Spirit.

Such terrible misunderstanding!

“Repent and Believe”

Return to Acts 2:1-47 and see what the apostles did teach about receiving the Spirit. Peter’s sermon included a direct statement to those who showed genuine remorse and sorrow for how their sins had crucified Christ (Ac 2:37).

Prepare to be surprised. If you are of Pentecostal background, it is not what you would expect. What you are about to read is the official “apostles’ doctrine” on the matter. Let’s read carefully—“REPENT, and BE BAPTIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ac 2:38).

The two—and only two—pre-conditions for receiving God’s Spirit are: (1) repent, and (2) believe. In Acts 20:21, Paul reminded the assembled elders at Ephesus that he had everywhere taught “REPENTANCE toward God, and FAITH toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” This describes the two conditions: repentance and belief (faith).

Acts 2:38 shows that God gives His Spirit at baptism, which takes place after repentance. But how is repentance achieved? Does one just declare, by simple assertion, “I have repented”? Is this all there is to it?

The answer is an emphatic NO! It is not that simple.

Repentance is a gift from God just as much as one’s initial calling. Recall that we read, in Acts 11:18, that “Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” II Timothy 2:25 speaks of circumstances where “God…will give…repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” Finally, Romans 2:4 explains that it is “God’s goodness” that leads to repentance.

People do not “work up” repentance, to require God to give them His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). They must seek God and ask for the GIFT of repentance. This does involve a certain amount of genuine, heartfelt and fervent prayer—sometimes more than a little. It is not automatic and should never be treated as such. But neither must one unnecessarily agonize over it for a long time. God grants repentance to all who seek it with their whole heart, as David did: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psa. 51:10).

But what should you repent of?

The Bible says, “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). What is sin? I John 3:4 states, “Sin is the transgression of the law.” This refers to the law of God, and the normal, fleshly or carnal mind is hostile to it (Rom. 8:7). People do not naturally obey God. Human nature disobeys—breaks—God’s law. Christians keep God’s law. Notice: “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13).

Therefore, God will only give His Spirit to one that He has conquered—to one who is willing to obey His Law (Acts 5:32). The world depicts God’s Law as harsh and burdensome.

But John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:3; Rom. 13:10). God’s Law is holy, just, good and spiritual (Rom. 7:12, 14) and, through His Spirit, one can obey Him and thereby practice real godly love. Romans 5:5 says, “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

Grasp this. The spirit-led mind reflects God’s Spirit by the manifestation of love that is “shed abroad” in us—not by the manifestation of tongues!

The repentant mind has turned from the selfish, “get” way of life, to the “give” way of life. The entire way a Christian thinks becomes transformed—completely changed—to a whole new way of looking at life.

Such a mind has turned from its own way. It wants to follow God. It is yielded to Him—and to His government, His authority in its life. Such a mind strives to copy Jesus Christ and produce the “fruits of the Spirit” (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance [self-control]) found in Galatians 5:22-23. In John 15:1-27, Christ talked about “bearing much fruit,” not “bearing many gifts.” He later inspired Paul to describe the “fruits of the Spirit.”

The Christian lives by faith (Heb. 10:38; Hab. 2:4), but it is the faith of Christ (Rev. 14:12), not human faith, that makes it possible for a person to obey God. Yet, the person must demonstrate faith that Christ has forgiven him at baptism (Acts 2:38). It is at this moment that a Christian’s prior slate of conduct has been wiped completely clean. It has become as white as snow—hidden by the blood of Jesus (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).

The initial human faith (Rom. 1:16) is then replaced by the faith of Christ. Since faith is one of the fruits of God’s Spirit, a small amount enters the Christian’s mind at begettal—conversion and baptism. (Read our free booklet What Is True Conversion? to much better understand.)

Do not misunderstand. God does not owe you His Spirit because you have repented and exercised faith. The Holy Spirit is a gift (Acts 2:38), as is repentance. Like salvation, God’s Spirit is not something that you can earn by your works (Eph. 2:8-9). Even faith to believe is a gift (same verse).

Does the Bible Teach “Tarry Meetings”?

The first verses of Acts 1:1-26 describe Christ’s last instruction to His disciples before ascending to heaven. He promised that they would soon receive God’s Spirit and told them to wait.

Notice: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but WAIT for the promise of the Father, which, says He, you have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Acts 1:4-5). Pentecost was just ten days later.

Pentecostals commonly cite this verse as proof for holding “tarry meetings.” Before discussing whether it and other Scriptures authorize such gatherings, we must describe them.

First, keep in mind that different Pentecostal groups describe them in slightly different ways. However, here is the general pattern that most meetings follow. One, usually referred to as a “seeker,” is told to join other “seekers” at a meeting that includes people who have supposedly already received “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Repetitious chanting and shouting of phrases like “praise Jesus!,” “hallelujah!,” and “glory!” are offered up.

Some groups tell their followers to hold their hands up. When they become too tired to continue, others assist. They are also instructed to speak faster and faster—more and more frantically—and deep into the evening or early morning hours, wailing and pleading with God for “the baptism.” As the evening wears on, some begin to “speak in tongues (unintelligible gibberish),” while others continue to ask God for the so-called “blessing” of power.

Is this what the Bible teaches? Did Jesus command His disciples to conduct such meetings?

Followers of this practice always cite Luke 24:49 as authority for what they do: “And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but TARRY you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.”

Is this the Bible’s command to hold these meetings? Read it again. What did Christ actually say? Did He tell them to hold a meeting for ten days? Of course not!

He told them to wait (tarry) “in the city of Jerusalem” until God’s Spirit would be sent “from on high.” There is nothing here about a meeting, only an instruction about WHERE to remain—to tarry or wait—until Pentecost, which was ten days later. That is all!

Notice the phrase stating that God’s Spirit will come “from on high.” This is merely a reference to the Joel 2:1-32 prophecy that it would be “poured out” from heaven one day. That event has happened. God’s Spirit has already come from heaven. Acts 2:1-47 recorded it.

Why did Christ tell the disciples to remain in Jerusalem? Because He did not want them dispersing before Pentecost. He wanted them to be “with one accord in one place” to receive the Spirit. Jerusalem was that place.

What does tarry mean anyway? Certainly not “pray, beg, plead, wail, cry, shout” or anything similar. It means “to put off going or coming: linger. To remain in the same place; abide; stay. To await; to delay; sojourn, stay.”

Technically, the most correct rendering of this verse, from the original Greek is: “Remain you in the city of Jerusalem.” It seems astonishing that any could derive authority for “tarry meetings” from such a simple statement by Christ. Yet they do.

When confronted with this obvious truth, many “tongues” believers cite Acts 1:13-14, which states, “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.”

It is asserted that this describes a “tarry meeting.” If so, it would have been a ten-day meeting. Of course, the verse says no such thing.

Can you imagine such a large group of people staying in one room for this long? What about bathing, sleeping and eating? Such an extended meeting would be completely unnatural. And note that absolutely nothing is said about shouting, begging, pleading, wailing or anything of the sort—just as there is no reference to such when Pentecost arrived and God’s Spirit was poured out “from on high.”

But there is another reason the disciples would not have been shouting, crying, praying and begging.