FORMULAS

There are some denominations that say you are not a Christian unless you are baptised in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues. If that is the case, how does one explain away the following passage of scripture in Acts 19?

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism” they replied.

Paul said “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, Jesus.”

On hearing this, they were baptised into the name of Jesus.

When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

First, the men that Paul spoke to were disciples. This word in the Greek is the same as when Jesus said in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples of all nations, so we assume that they were already followers of Jesus, even though they had not heard of the Holy Spirit and had not been baptised in water other than John’s baptism. As John never went to Ephesus, we have to assume that it was some other disciples that had gone there and spoken of John and Jesus and who had not been part of the day of pentecost experience.

Second, before they were baptised in the Holy Spirit, Paul baptised them in water and please note, he baptised them into the name of the Lord Jesus, not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In fact every recorded incident of baptism in the New Testament is never in the three titles. It is always in the name of Jesus.

This should not surprise us as Jesus said that we were to baptise in the name of the trinity, not the titles of the trinity in Matthew 28. To baptise in the titles of the trinity is to ignore the clear teaching of scripture and Jesus own words.

Third, once baptised in the name of Jesus, Paul laid hands on them and as he did so, the Holy Spirit came upon them. The fact that he hadn’t done so already did not mean that they were not disciples.

One of the things that stifles Christian expression is the demand for formulas such as the service always has to be done a certain way. You have to become a Christian this way. You cannot be a Christian unless this has happened. You have to dress this way. You are not a Christian unless you have been baptised in the spirit.

When this happens we tend to lose sight of what the scripture says and restrict everyone’s experience to set formulas and our formula is the way, the truth and the life.

That doesn’t mean that we ignore the essentials like salvation by grace alone and the new birth experience but it does mean that we have to avoid the danger of putting God into a box to satisfy our own denominational interpretation of the word of God which quite often is contrary to the Word of God.

John Wesley’s describes his experience of salvation as being “strangely warmed.” Does that mean he was not saved because he didn’t use the formula that includes the words “being born again” or the sinner’s prayer?

Of course not as his life was a testimony to his salvation.

Conversely, formulas can and do produce followers that have head knowledge of their salvation but fail to produce a changed life that a new birth experience provides. Quite often, this person is lost to the church within six months of their so called conversion or their experience in not much more that going through religious rituals each week to satisfy their need for absolution.

God is sovereign and the Holy Spirit is in charge. Therefore we must allow them to decide what does and does not happen. Only time will tell if the person is born again.

I know one thing. They won’t have much chance walking the walk if we don’t disciple them and that doesn’t mean asking them to attend Sunday morning meetings.