What’s Wrong with the
"Full" Gospel? - Pt. 1
By Rev. Gary Osborne
A
Parable
Chris was a nice boy, well mannered
and liked by almost everyone. Therefore, it came as quiet a shock to his father
when he came home from school one day with not one, but two black eyes. As his
father hurried into the kitchen to prepare some ice packs for Chris’s eyes, his
son began telling his father of the events that led up to this ridiculous
scene. It all began during P. E. class when
Chris was approached by the leader of the biggest club on campus, Calvin.
Calvin was president of the largest chapter of the Founder’s Club, called the
Traditionalists. Chris knew there was
going to be trouble by the look on Calvin’s face. Ever since Chris had
petitioned the School Board and Principal to begin another chapter of the
Founder’s Club on campus, Calvin had disliked him. Up until then, there had only been one chapter of the Founder’s
Club, led by Calvin. But Chris had read
the original Founder’s Club charter very carefully and realized that the
present club on campus being led by Calvin wasn’t following all the bylaws, and
in fact, it had left out significant portions in its newer regulations and constitution.
Therefore Chris, desirous of being a part of the Founder’s Club as it had originally
been set up, started a new chapter called the Bereans. Thus began the
long-standing "rivalry" with Calvin, though Chris had no desire to
create it. He only knew that he couldn’t
support what the Traditionalists stood for in many instances.
As his dad came back into the
living room with the ice packs, he said, "I know Calvin has always
disliked you, but I didn’t think it would come to this! What happened son?" Chris then proceeded
with his story. "Well dad, it’s like this…," he said. He then began
relating the events of the day, one by one, to his father. It all started with
Kenneth; a young man in school who belonged to neither club, but always acted
as if he did. He was rude and obnoxious, and neither the Traditionalists nor
the Bereans were too fond of him. He cared nothing at all for the bylaws of
either group, and always talked about how he knew what the original Founder’s
Club was like, despite his disdain for the written history of the club! On this
particular day he was bragging to some people in the hall that he was not only
a member of the Founder’s Club, but was recruiting many individuals to join up,
since he saw himself becoming President of the Bereans chapter very soon! As he
was talking about all this Calvin walked by. He couldn’t help but hear what
Kenneth was saying and he naturally became infuriated. He couldn’t stand to
think that an individual like Kenneth was now a Founder, and he quickly got
into a fight with Kenneth! After all, Calvin reasoned, it was bad enough that
Chris had started a new chapter of the club, but for him to allow Kenneth in,
well that was just too much! It would make the entire school look on both
chapters of the Founder's Club with disdain and contempt.
Chris’s dad interrupted his son’s
story. "O.K. Chris, I know that Kenneth runs his mouth a lot, but what
does this have to do with your black eyes?" he said. Chris, throwing his
hands up said, "Hold on dad, I’m coming to that right now." "I’m
sorry, Chris. Go on," said his father.
As it turned out, getting into a
fight with Kenneth wasn’t enough for Calvin. He placed the blame for the entire
mess squarely on the shoulders of Chris. "If he hadn’t started that new
chapter of the Founder’s Club in the first place, none of this would have
happened," he thought to himself! Why couldn’t he be content with being involved in the
Trationalists chapter? Therefore, that
afternoon during P. E. the whole sad story came to a climax. Calvin was
determined to end this rivalry with Chris. He would associate Kenneth and Chris
together from that point on. Whatever Kenneth did would reflect on Chris and
the Bereans. So he walked up to Chris after the coach had dismissed everyone
and, without asking him if he had let Kenneth into the Berean chapter of the
Founders, he promptly socked Chris in the eye!
Chris picked himself up off the
ground and watched Calvin walk away with his friends. He did not even receive
an explanation for Calvin’s actions. Just then another student walked up to
Chris and told him what had happened in the hall earlier in the day between
Calvin and Kenneth. Just as the student was finishing the story, Kenneth
himself walked up to Chris. "Hey, what happened to you? Don’t tell me
Calvin hit you too," Kenneth said pompously. Chris quickly interrupted
him. "Did you tell people that you were in the Bereans earlier
today?" "Well, ugh… yea," Kenneth grinned. "You know that
isn’t true Ken," Chris said angrily! He continued, "You don’t want to
abide by any of the rules, and in fact you belittle all the bylaws and act like
they have no place in the club." "Well, they don’t! You and Calvin
are both just sticks in the mud and are mad at me because I want to make the
Founder’s Club a club that people can have fun in," Kenneth replied. Then,
without saying another word, he hit Chris in the other eye and walked away.
"So you see dad, I got two
black eyes, from two different fellows, and I don’t see where I did anything to
warrant getting a black eye from either of them," Chris said
frustratingly! Chris’s dad looked at his son and said, "Chris, would you
like to know why these two boys did this to you today?" "Well, I kind
of know why dad, but it’s still pretty frustrating. What do you think about the
whole thing," Chris asked. "Well, the way I see it," his dad
began…
An
Explanation
I make no claims to being a
novelist, or anything of the sort. However, I felt it would make what I am
about to discuss a bit more understandable if a story was behind it, to
illustrate the point. Let me explain the story to you.
The story is actually the way that
I personally see the Christian world today. You have Calvin and
the Traditionalists, who are the lay people, leaders, churches and
denominations that are non-Pentecostal. They would include groups like those of
the Reformed faith, the Baptists, and the Presbyterians. Kenneth
represents all the Charismatics (those who claim to be Spirit filled
Christians, but continue to hold to unbiblical doctrines and stay in
Non-Pentecostal churches and denominations). Chris, as you may
have guessed by now, represents all true Biblical Pentecostals. The Founders
Club, as it was originally created, is symbolic of the early church and Biblical
Christianity. All three of these "young men" are alive and well
today, and Chris (i.e. - a traditional, biblical Pentecostal) is being attacked
from both sides!
What
is Wrong With The Full Gospel Today?
The answer to this question is
becoming increasingly important as the "Day" (of Christ’s return)
draws near. The full gospel, or Pentecostal, message is undergoing as strong an
attack as I can ever remember. The Scriptures declare that attacks can come
from without and within. This has been the case recently as both
non-Pentecostals and "charasmaniacs" have hurt the legitimate
biblical view of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (the Pentecostal message).
Unlike many denominations, the Alliance of Biblical Pentecostals is committed
to proclaiming the message of the Full Gospel, not just parts of it. Moreover,
neither will A.B.P. proclaim a Gospel that has been perverted and distorted by
additions to the Word of God. Instead of falling into either extreme of adding
to or taking away from the Scriptures, we plan to continue to stand for the
truth of God’s Word, regardless of who it may offend. I hope you can understand
that what A.B.P. is doing is not optional.
We are commanded to defend the
faith, at all costs. Read the Apostle Paul’s words to Timothy just before he
was to be martyred for his faith in Jesus and His Word:
I solemnly charge {you} in
the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season
{and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and
instruction. For the time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from
the truth, and will turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 4:1-4 NAS)
This series of articles will
examine the recent trend of attacking and dishonoring the Full Gospel message
primarily by those from without Pentecostal ranks, although we will also
briefly look at some theological black eyes being given by those that are
"within" as well.
A
Bit of History
Since the time of the Reformation,
which the officers of A.B.P. have always been thankful for, there has been one
theological position that has held itself above all others. This system of
belief is known as Calvinism. From this system have sprang many denominations
and groups – such as Reformed Churches, Baptist Churches, Presbyterian Churches
and so on. In fact, it would not be stretching the truth to say that the vast
majority of mainstream Evangelical churches in the land today are directly
influenced, doctrinally speaking, by Calvinism. Calvinism is best summed up by
the following acrostic: TULIP. Each letter of the word stands for a fundamental
doctrinal position that Calvinists take, especially as it relates to the work
of salvation. The "T" stands for the Total Depravity of Man.
"U" stands for Unconditional Election. "L" stands for the
Limited Atonement of Christ. The "I" for Irresistible Grace. The
"P" for the Perseverance of the Saints, or as it is more commonly
known, Once Saved, Always Saved.
At this point, some may be
wondering how this relates to the attacking of the Pentecostal message. Well,
it really began to take shape, as far as Pentecostals are concerned, with John
Wesley. This tremendous man of God, who led one of the greatest revivals of all
time in Great Britain over 200 years ago, actually laid the groundwork for
Pentecostalism being as strong as it is today. He preached a "second work
of grace." He taught that this work is a sanctifying of the heart by the
Holy Spirit of God. He laid the groundwork for others like Charles Finney to
continue and develop the thought that there was a subsequent work of God in the
heart of the believer. And this eventually led to what we see today as
countless thousands are filled with the Holy Spirit in Full Gospel churches
around the world! A wonderful book detailing this subject is "Charles
Finney's Doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit", by John Gresham, Jr.
Well, during Wesley’s day, this
doctrine called Calvinism was in full swing as it held sway over almost all the
Christian churches. And although John and Charles Wesley did a fantastic job in
pointing out many of the errors in this system of belief, the Calvinists
continued to hold sway over the majority of the churches. Moreover, within this
belief system of Calvinism another thought seemed to run alongside it – namely
Cessationism. This doctrine held that miracles and the gifts of the Spirit
(such as speaking in tongues) were no longer for today! The proponents claimed
that all miracles and the gifts ceased once the Canon of scripture was
completed in the 1st Century. Well, the history of this is long and
complicated, and it would truly take many volumes to explain this in detail.
Needless to say now, over 200 years after John Wesley's time, the debate rages
on concerning Pentecostalism.
And
So Now Its Come To This!
As Biblical Pentecostals, we have
always had to deal with the critical attitudes and remarks of those who do not
agree with the Pentecostal understanding of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I
will never forget the tract that I was given by a non-Pentecostal one night.
This tract asked the following question, "If you are a Pentecostal and
speak in tongues, why aren’t you out on the mission field winning souls to
Christ with this gift?" The tract then offered this answer –
"Probably because you are not saved you wicked devil!"
Because of personal attacks like this, I am very much aware of the persecution
Pentecostals have taken from non-Pentecostals. However, as of late, many of the
Charismatics (those who claim Holy Spirit baptism yet stay in non-Pentecostal
churches) have also given true Pentecostals a theological black eye with their
unbiblical beliefs and practices.
A.B.P. and other
"discernment" ministries (of which there are many) have aptly pointed
out many of these unbiblical practices in the Charismatic world today! We have
even come together with non-Pentecostals in many instances to point out these
many errors. Yet despite this, my concern as I talk to scores and scores of
Spirit-filled Christians is that we as Pentecostals are allowing ourselves to
receive "black eyes" from both camps. Thus the Charismatics are giving us black
eyes by claiming to be “Spirit-filled” believers yet holding to and promoting
spurious doctrines and practices. And
that is bad enough. But the
non-Pentecostals are also giving us black eyes by lumping everything we believe
together with Charismatic extremes and doctrines that we don’t believe in. These “Traditionalists” can’t differentiate
between Pentecostal doctrines and Charismatic ones (and there is a huge
difference in many instances). I have read
many books and listened to many messages from a number of prominent
non-Pentecostal preachers and teachers. These teachers take legitimate Biblical
doctrines and practices (such as tongues) and then proceed to lump them
together with non-biblical practices (such as laughing, jerking uncontrollably,
and barking like animals)! The non-Pentecostals seem to have taken the attitude
of the young man Calvin in my opening story and decided to assume us guilty by
association (with extreme Charismatics)!
While we at A.B.P. have
"joined forces" with some non Pentecostals in our stand against
spurious doctrines and practices held by many Charismatics, I believe it is
time we take a stand for the entire truth. We cannot just major on the
doctrinal errors within our "own" ranks. It is well and good to point
out the dangers in the false revival movement of our day, but I firmly believe
that it is also vitally important to point out the tremendous errors in
non-Pentecostal denominations as well. Too many individuals are beginning to
head out of Pentecostal churches and are now attending non-Pentecostal ones.
I can’t tell you how much that it
hurts me when I hear of these reports. It really bothers me that people have to
call or write to us here at A.B.P. looking for a good Pentecostal church in
their area that is not into all of the foolishness of this current age. What is
more disheartening is that we can rarely recommend any church for them to
attend. Yet, it becomes even worse when they then share
with us that they will probably start attending the local non-Pentecostal
church because, as they often put it, "At least I know I won’t have to
worry about all kinds of craziness in the [insert name of any non-Pentecostal
denomination] church." No, they probably won’t have to worry about
Charasmania in these churches - but they could receive a message just as damaging to their spiritual
walk.
Those who choose this course will
now face two issues in their church going. First, they must realize that they
will never hear the glorious message of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as they
have experienced it in their life. Second, they will have to deal with a number
of false doctrines in those churches as well, and I’m not sure that is a whole
lot better! The old saying, "Lesser of two evils", comes to my mind
as I type this.
I fear that because of the abuses
that have gone on in the name of "Holy Ghost meetings," many
legitimate born-again, Spirit-filled believers are becoming disillusioned with
the great Pentecostal message. But let us make no mistake, the Baptism in the
Holy Spirit is still for today and is still as important a doctrine as it
was in the early Church. It is also my firm belief that any church that
denies, or does not lead its people into this great truth, is NOT preaching
the whole gospel - PERIOD!
Jesus made this perfectly clear
when he said to the disciples before His ascension in Luke 24: "Behold,
I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in
the city until you are clothed with power from on high." And then
Peter, on the day of Pentecost said the following in Acts 2:39: "For
the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many
as the Lord our God will call to Himself." So you see, if we
forsake the Pentecostal message because some are abusing it, we have put
ourselves in no better position . Moreover, those who deny this wonderful truth
are not preaching the true and full Gospel given by Jesus Christ and the
Apostles, but falsehood!
Therefore, this series will
primarily deal with the doctrinal "black eye" that the
non-Pentecostals have given us, and point out some of the serious errors that
they hold to themselves! It is my humble opinion that for too long they have
sat back in their ivory towers and thrown stones indiscriminately at all
Spirit-filled believers (which by default would include those of us here at the
Alliance of Biblical Pentecostals)! In the next issue of the Sentinel, we will
examine more closely one of the mainstays of non-Pentecostals, the false
doctrine known as "once saved, always saved."
Gary Osborne is the President of the Alliance of Biblical Pentecostals.
He graduated from Central Bible College and now resides in Spring Hill, Florida
where he pastors Berean Assembly.