It is not enough to assume you are saved because you go to church every week, serve in church or belong to a department, and most importantly obtained your salvation through the repetition of prayer during an altar call.
In the previous series, I wrote about the blessings that come through the Holy Spirit with the gifts that are bestowed in different measures on believers and also how we obtain righteousness, peace and joy through the comforter if we are born again. In this particular series, we will look at the blessing of speaking in tongues and prophecy and let you know the condition attached to this.
Blessing
Acts 19:6
“And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”
Condition
In the previous verses 1-5
“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
It wasn’t clear in the first four books of the new testament what kind of baptism John the Baptist (meaning John the Dipper) Performed, but now we clearly see that it is not enough to be dipped in water if we don’t repent of our sins, believe on the lord Jesus and be baptised in the Holy Spirit.
An interesting point to make now is for us to question ourselves, if we are truly saved, for it is not enough to assume you are saved because you go to church every week, serve in church or belong to a department, and most importantly obtained your salvation through the repetition of prayer during an altar call. Many people would argue that you must be baptised by water but I believe if baptism is not in the Holy Spirit and accompanied by the repentance of sin, the divine process is incomplete.
“The baptism of the Holy Spirit may be defined as that work whereby the Spirit of God places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was predicted by John the Baptist (Mark 1:8) and by Jesus before He ascended to heaven: “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4); for the first time, people were permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and the church had begun”. – Ref: GotQuestions.org
