“Unrestrained Chaos”

Friday, August 17, 2018

In just about every service in Pentecostal churches, there are what the brethren claim to be the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in forms of people constantly speaking in tongues, people running around, people shaking (often aggressively), people jumping around, and people fainting to the ground when they are prayed for.  It makes me wonder if they are really feeling the Holy Spirit or if they are simply acting on their emotions. My question is: aside from speaking in tongues, are these type of manifestations of the Holy Spirit biblical? And if they are not biblical, are these people committing a sin for saying that it is the work of the Holy Spirit?

Sincerely,
Overly Spirited?

Dear Overly Spirited,

The Pentecostal church believes that the Holy Spirit works by aggressively taking over people’s bodies and minds… this isn’t how He worked in the past, and it definitely isn’t how He works today.  1 Cor 14:40 says that the church should do all things decently and in order... not chaotically with people howling and jumping around madly.  It also says that the real prophets that spoke through the Holy Spirit had the ability to control when and with what demeanor they spoke.  They were never out of control – their spirits were always subject to dignified restraint (1 Cor 14:32).  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit stopped giving the church miraculous abilities (gifts of healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc.) after the Bible was completed.  Read “Gifts That Stop Giving” and “What The Holy Spirit Does” for specific details on this subject.

What the Pentecostal church is doing isn’t biblical, and anything that can’t be found in your Bible is sinful (Rev 22:18-19).  They are teaching the doctrines of demons instead of the Scriptures (1 Tim 4:1-2).  Since these behaviors aren’t from God, they are from the devil, and the Pentecostal church is lying to people.

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