Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Holy Spirit Baptism”
Categories: DOCTRINE, SALVATIONDoesn't the Bible (or Jesus) clearly state you must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to be saved or enter heaven? If so, how do I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?Sincerely,
Want To Be Holy
Dear Want To Be Holy,
You do not need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be saved. In fact, the book of Acts gives a clear example of a group of people who were christians but hadn’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:12-16). The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a miraculous event that endowed people with miraculous abilities. It happened to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and it happened to Cornelius and his household when the first Gentiles were preached to (Acts 10:44-45). Holy Spirit baptism doesn’t save you; water baptism is what saves you (1 Pet 3:21, Mk 16:16). In fact, when Cornelius and his household were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said that they still needed to be baptized in water (Acts 10:46-48). Holy Spirit baptism was a temporary miraculous gift used to spread the Gospel in the first century before we had the completed Bible, but now that we have a perfect Bible, there is no longer any need for miracles (1 Cor 13:8-10). If you want to have your sins forgiven, you need to be baptized in water. Read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” for further details.
