The Error Of The Jesus Only Doctrine

I will admit that non-Pentecostal Christians have for years made the mistake of confusing the ministry of the Spirit at the new birth with the baptism or infilling in the Spirit after the new birth. They have attempted to make these two separate experiences one and the same; however, I feel the Word of God makes it unquestionably clear that the baptism is a gift received subsequent (after) salvation.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not given as a cause of salvation but as a consequence(or because of) of salvation.

For instance, in Acts 11:17 Cornelius and his fellow Gentiles were "saved" by believing the words told them by Peter, and then God poured out the Holy Spirit upon them. There is not a single Scripture which states that one must be baptized with the Holy Spirit and speak withy other tongues in order to be saved. The disciples were not commanded to "tarry in Jerusalem" until they received an enduement of power which would save them, but to tarry for an enduement of power which would enable them to witness.

A teaching which states you have to be baptized according to the Acts 2:38 experience and also speak in tongues would not only bar from heaven many of the Christians in the world today but also countless millions of Christian believers who lived prior to the present-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit, not to mention all the hosts of not-Pentecostal Christians in the world today whose salvation is as genuine and scripturally correct as is my own.

I remember speaking to one of the adherents of the Jesus Only doctrine once. I asked him this question. What about D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney and several others I could name. These were great men of God who stirred the world and caused untold tens of thousands to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. These people were not baptized according to Acts 2:38, neither did they speak in tongues. Are you telling me they did not go to heaven? The man was very knowledgeable in his beliefs but he hedged strongly. He tried to repeatedly to change the subject. I kept pulling him back to it. Finally hesitated that God would have to take care of that, he just didn't know.

Well, of course, that answer is ridiculous because there are not several ways to be saved. There is only one, and that is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And if these people are correct, then basically no one was saved up until 1914, and then the only ones saved in the world today are those that adhere to their particular Acts 2:38 formula and other peculiarities of their doctrine. When one begins to look at this, you can see how ridiculous it seems but, of course, maybe their answer would be that these people were partially saved and not fully saved. I will let the reader form his own conclusions respecting that final statement.

IN CONCLUSION

I have tried to emphasize the distinctions between the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to refute the Jesus Only teaching that Jesus is some "created" being. I have tried to emphasize the sameness in nature of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.