Why Have You Not Been Baptized?

Roots: 3 Hindrances To The Baptism

Text: Acts 19:1–7 (ESV)

“And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.”

Key Thought: A life without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is a life without the fullness!

There are three big hinderances to receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit:

1. Reason one: I didn’t think it was for today

This is a theology issue.

    “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Vs 2).

    – These believers had an incomplete view of salvation.

    – These believers didn’t know about the Holy Spirit.

**What We Believe:

All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church.

Question: Doesn’t everyone receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved?

Jesus used three tenses in teaching the Holy Spirits interaction with us.

  • He is WITH you (John 6:44; John 16:8)
  • He is IN you (John 14:17; John 20:22)
    • Seven benefits the Holy Spirit brings INTO our lives AT SALVATION
      • The Holy Spirit will be another Helper/Comforter (John 14:16)
        “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
      • The Holy Spirit will dwell with and in believers (John 14:17)
        “Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
      • The Holy Spirit will teach and remind believers of all things (John 14:26)
        “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
      • The Holy Spirit will bear witness about Jesus (John 15:26)
        “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
      • The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8)
        “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
      • The Holy Spirit will guide believers into all the truth (John 16:13)
        “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
      • The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus (John 16:14)
        “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
  • He is UPON you (Acts 1:8)

Are the gifts still for today?

**Cessationists** believe the gifts of the Spirit are no longer in operation today…

**3 Problems With The Cessationist Argument**

– Cessationism offers no explicit text to support its case. 

– Cessationism ignores the explicit texts that support continuism

  • Mark 16:17–18 These signs will follow those who believe.
  • Luke 24:49 Wait until the promise of the holy spirit comes on you
  • Acts 1:8 You shall receive power when the Spirit comes on you.
  • Acts 2:38–39 This gift of the Holy Spirit is for you, your children, and those who the Lord calls.
  • 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 Different gifts the Holy Spirit gives as he determines.  
  • 1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue the gifts especially prophecy.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:39–40 Earnestly desire the gifts, and do not forbid tongues.
  • Ephesians 4:11–16 Jesus gave gifts to the church to equip the saints
  • Romans 12:6 We each have different gifts, use in proportion to your faith.
  • 1 Peter 4:10 Each has received a gift, use it to serve.

– Cessationism is selective in what gifts are for today.

2. Reason two: I didn’t think I was ready

This is an identity issue.

    “Into what then were you baptized?”

    The prerequisite for receiving the Spirit is being born again.

**Three Roadblocks To Receiving**

a. Resisting the Spirit (Acts 7:51 ESV)

b. Grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30–32 ESV)

c. Quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19 ESV)

“I am either full of the Spirit or full of myself, but I cannot be filled with both.”

3. Reason Three: I didn’t have someone bold enough to ask

This is a missional issue.  

    When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying (vs 6).

**What We Believe:

The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance. (Acts 2:4)

Because Paul was bold enough to ask the question, an unapologetically Pentecostal church was born in Ephesus.

Dead, dying, declining, or diminishing are not words that should ever be associated with a Spirit-filled church or Spirit-filled believer.

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