Charismatic Christianity

Being open to the Holy Spirit
 is a vital part of being a Christian

I used to identify simply as an Evangelical Christian, but these days I am adding Charismatic to that description.  What does it mean to be Charismatic?

The Charismatic Movement goes back to Easter 1960 when an Episcopal priest related his Pentecostal experience to his congregation.  From there the movement exploded and is now a worldwide phenomenon. 

Charismatics believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today as well.  This comes from the Bible:

"A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have." (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

There was a time when I believed that these gifts had ceased - mainly because I never saw them in the Churches I grew up in.  But I realised that this was the common experience of Christians in the first century. When I came back to Church after reconciling my faith and sexuality, I attended a Church which did believe the gifts were active today.  There I was able to meet people who had experienced the Holy Spirit directly.

In time I experienced this as well.

So, how are Charismatics different to Pentecostals?  The main difference is denomination.  Pentecostal Churches trace their history to the early 20th century whereas the Charismatic Renewal saw Charismatics remaining in their own Churches.  So a Charismatic Christian may be a Baptist, a Methodist, Roman Catholic, or an MCCer.  We share similar beliefs on the Holy Spirit, but retain our Christian traditions.  

Now that Easter is passed, we come to Pentecost in a few weeks.  Why not take time out to seek the Holy Spirit in your life?

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The Holy Spirit

For years as a Christian I wondered if "this was it".  Surely there must be "more".  For the last year, God has taken me on a journey, discovering who he is, and who the Holy Spirit is.  This is my summary of what God has been teaching me, and doing with me.

Who is the Holy Spirit?
Simply, the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4) living within believers today.  We receive the Holy Spirit when we become Christians (Galatians 3:2).

What does the Holy Spirit do?
In the world, the Spirit convicts us of our sin, and God's righteousness (John 16:8).  In believers He is God's presence within us (John 14:16-17).  He gives us spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1 and 1 Corinthians 12:7).  These gifts range from tongues to healing and prophecy.

For a long time I was suspicious of the charismatic movement, and still have issues with some of it, namely the "Prosperity Gospel".  But as I studied Scripture I realised that there is a massive difference between the experience of the first Christians, and many of us today.  As I researched my own Church (the Metropolitan Community Church) I found that there is a large charismatic movement within my own denomination as well - this is true of many Churches.  In fact the first Church to recognise the charismatic movement was the Roman Catholic Church.

The more I studied the Bible, the more I realised that there is more!  So I asked God to fill me with the Spirit (some people call it being baptised in the Spirit - don't get hung up on the terminology!).  Nothing happened at first until I was challenged to ask for, and use the gift of tongues.  Well, I wasn't doing that in public!

At home, I prayed again, and I opened my mouth to worship Jesus, and asked the Holy Spirit to speak through me, and sure enough, I did not understand the words coming out of my mouth!

I recently went to see a Christian who has the gift of prophecy.  I do not know her at all, I went on a friend's recommendation.  This is not all about the future, prophecy is being able to hear what God says, and speak it.  She knew about my life, what I prayed as a child, the kind of work I do, as well as what I would not accept as true!  And it wasn't vague, it was specific things only God would have known.

What about you?
Maybe you are wondering if "this is all there is" to the Christian life.  I'm learning that there is more!  I'm stepping out in faith into a new adventure with Jesus, and it's proving to be very exciting.

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Prayer

We talk about prayer a lot, but what is it?  How should we pray?  Why should we pray?

Prayer is simply talking with God.  One of the fundamental issues the Bible addresses is our relationship with God.  In John 17:3 Jesus said that to have eternal life meant that we are to know God.  In fact in Matthew 7:23 Jesus says that knowing him will make the difference between saved and unsaved come Judgement Day.

So If relationship with God is that important, how do we build that relationship?  Studying the Bible is obviously important - it's the main way God communicates with us.  But prayer allows us to communicate with God, too.  We can tell God what's on our minds, share our joys and sorrows with him, ask for forgiveness, pray for friends, family and even nations.

Some people pray as if they were presenting a shopping list to God, but I believe we should also listen to what Jesus is saying to us (John 10:16).  The communication needs to run both ways, so make time to listen to God as well.  Another thing we should do is meet with others to pray (Matthew 18:20).  If your partner is a Christian you should regularly pray together.  Keeping God at the centre of your relationship can only make your relationship stronger.

There is another aspect of prayer that I believe is important.  If you have the gift of tongues, you should also pray in tongues as this will also build you up (1 Corinthians 14:4).

Finally, when God is working in your life, talk about it!  Share it, tell others - give God the glory.  In other words, witness to what God is doing in your life.

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Trinity Sunday

Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday.  Coming from a Baptist background, a day for the Trinity was a new concept to me.  


Although the Bible never uses the term "Trinity", the concept is clearly taught throughout the Bible.  While it insists that there is only one God, it refers to Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit as God.  Each is seen to be a distinct personality, co-existent with each other.  

There is no single verse which explains the Trinity.  However the Bible is fascinating.  For example, in Isaiah we are repeatedly told there is only one saviour - God.  Then in the book of Titus we are given "God our Saviour" and "Christ our Saviour" interchangeably.  And then the statement, "We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed" (Titus 2:12-13).

Jonathan Sarfati explains:

• There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:8). Note that the Hebrew word for ‘one’ is echad which means composite unity — it is used in Genesis 2:24 where the husband and wife become ‘one flesh’. The word for absolute unity is yachid which is never used of God in the Scripture.
• The Father is called God (John 6:27, Ephesians 4:6).
• The Son is called God (Hebrews 1:8. He is also called ‘I am’ in John 8:58 cf. Ex. 3:14 — see below for more biblical proof). He has always existed (John 1:1–3, 8:56–58), but took on full human nature in addition to His divine nature at the Incarnation (John 1:14, Philippians 2:5–11).
• The Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3–4), and is personal (Acts 13:2), not some impersonal force as the Jehovah’s Witness cult believes.
• They are distinct, e.g. at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16–17 all three were present and distinct. The Son is baptized, the Father speaks from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, flies down and lands on the Son. See the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.’ Note that the word ‘name’ is singular, showing that all three Persons are one Being.

The Bible says much more, and there are many great books, and articles online which explain how Christians arrived at this understanding of God, such as the one on CARM which also answers a couple of objections against the Trinity.  It's at http://carm.org/cut-trinity 

While we can never fully understand God, we are invited into a relationship with him, and to be forever changed by knowing him.

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Reference: http://creation.com/jesus-christ-our-creator-a-biblical-defence-of-the-trinity

Pentecost

Today we celebrated Pentecost - the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ.  


In the book of Acts we read about the Holy Spirit coming on the disciples - and they began speaking in other languages.


People from all over the world were in Jerusalem for the holiday, and they recognised their languages.  The Holy Spirit blessed them all, no matter where they were from.  Jews by birth, converts, descendants of exiles, and presumably traders and travellers.


The blessings of God are for all of us.  Jesus once said that God makes the rain shine on the righteous and the unrighteous.  Where I live rain is a bad thing!  But in the middle east it's a blessing.


Because of Jesus we can all be forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit by faith.  No matter who we are, the Holy Spirit says that worldly distinctions - race, gender, social status, sexual orientation, marital status - none of that matters in the Church.  Jesus is for us all.


If anyone tells you anything else - they're wrong.


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Celibacy

When I was a young Christian I had been taught that gay men ought to be celibate.  There was nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian, but being intimate with another man (or woman) was always sinful.  Many Christians assume that this is a very compassionate view to take.


This view stands in contrast to the position that just being homosexual is sin.  Men and women who buy into that spend vast amounts of time and money on "reparative therapy" to become heterosexual.  I was once subjected to that by a counselor - and it gave me such hope!  Why?


These two views have very different outcomes.  In one I am condemned to life alone, if not condemned for who I am.  The other offers hope that change is possible (as Exodus International is fond of saying).  The obvious problem is that if sexuality is even partly rooted in biology, then it is not possible to change from homosexual to heterosexual.  This makes the Exodus position untenable.  It seems change is possible... to fake.


But someone might ask, can't God cure me?  Of course he can!  I do believe that it is even possible that some gay men have been cured by God - maybe the self loathing and hate was too much for them.  Our God is loving and compassionate.  But the question of cure assumes that there is something to be cured of!  If sexuality is innate then no sexual orientation is sinful - although any deviation from heterosexuality is of course a result of the fall.  But then so is being deaf or blind, and no one argues that being deaf is sinful!


So, if being gay is not a sin - there is only one question to ask.  Is it okay for two gay men who love each other, and commit to each other for life, to live as a married couple, and to express their love in sex?


For this we must turn to the Bible for answers.  There we see no condemnation of gay sex within the context of a loving relationship.  Instead we see that we are to live out our faith in love (Galatians 5:6).  It is better to marry than to burn with lust (1 Corinthians 7:9).  


It took me years to come over to the view I now hold.  I used to passionately defend the view that gay men must be celibate.  But the Holy Spirit is always teaching us new things.


Christians around the world are changing their minds on this issue.  Churches which once would not have thought twice about excommunicating a gay man now ordain partnered gay men.  You see, Christians have been wrong on many things in the past.  Slavery.  Women.  Geocentric-ism.  It's not that the Bible has changed - but the Holy Spirit has shown us that we didn't understand what He meant!


I believe that today, God is doing the same with homosexuality.  


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