From: allan-sv@algonet.se   
      
          Baptism by the Holy Spirit and the new birth   
      
   The Pentecostal preachers use to say, it was the   
   Pentecostal Revival that conveyed the truth of the   
   baptism by the Holy Spirit. Yet, in the reality it was   
   on the contrary. What did the "Pentecostal Revival" do?   
   The "Pentecostal Revival" censored away a big part of   
   the truth of the baptism by the Holy Spirit.   
      
   In the Assembly of God (the Body of Christ) we are   
   all baptized by the Holy Spirit, but not all are speaking   
   with tongues. 1 Kor. 12:12-31. The Pentecostal preachers   
   have turned this back to front. They say that only those   
   who can speak with tongues are baptized by the Holy   
   Spirit, and the speaking with tongues is the only certain   
   sign of that someone is baptized by the Holy Spirit. This   
   is a dangerous denying of a work that Jesus and the Holy   
   Spirit have done, and legalization of false speaking with   
   tongues.   
      
   According to their doctrine, people can be members in   
   the Assembly of God and be right before God without the   
   baptism by the Holy Spirit. This is contrary to what the   
   Bible teaches. They preach that people must be born again   
   before they can become baptized by the Holy Spirit. Yet,   
   on the day of Pentecost Peter speak to people who were   
   not born again. "Repent and be baptized, each one of you   
   on the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins. And you   
   will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts. 2:38.   
   ( "... then you shall get the Holy Spirit as a gift." From the   
   Swedish Bible.)   
      
   Consider, Peter promised unsaved people who were not   
   born again, that they would get the Holy Spirit as a gift.   
   And what happened when they received the Holy Spirit?   
   Then they got the new life in Christ and were born again.   
   Observe. The Holy Spirit himself is the gift, not only the   
   experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Holy   
   Spirit gives us the new life in Christ so that we become   
   born again.   
      
   Observe. They got the Holy Spirit already the same day.   
   They did not need to wait and pray for months or years that   
   Jesus would baptize them by the Holy Spirit. But this is   
   usually in the Pentecostal churches. There are many members   
   which have been longing and praying for many months or   
   years that Jesus shall baptize them by the Holy Spirit. This   
   is because the preachers have preached a wrong doctrine   
   about the baptism by the Holy Spirit.   
      
   The Pentecostal preachers have all the time preached a   
   half-truth about the baptism by the Holy Spirit. They have   
   preached unbelief and enticed many Christians to think that   
   they are not baptized by the Holy Spirit only because they   
   do not speak in tongues. Yet, those who do not are speaking   
   with tongues can have received another gift of grace.   
      
   Because of this wrong doctrine about the baptism by the   
   Holy Spirit, people have not understood the connection   
   between the baptism by the Holy Spirit and the new birth.   
   When do folk become born again? How do they come   
   into the Assembly of God? Is it when they are sitting in   
   a meeting and become registered as members in a free   
   church and they say, welcome to the assembly, or is it   
   when Jesus baptizes them by the Holy Spirit, and the   
   Spirit gives them the new life in Christ so that they   
   become new creations? 2 Cor. 5:17.   
      
   Allan Svensson   
      
   If you have any questions after reading of this article   
   Please, visit my Web Site   
   http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/INDEX.HTM   
      
   The Whole Assembly of God is Baptized with the Holy Spirit   
   http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PAGE25.HTM   
      
   We are Born into the Assembly of God   
   http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PAGE20.HTM   
      
   The Promise of the Spirit that Jesus "forgot"   
   http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PAGE24.HTM   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)