Featured No need of Calvin, OSAS, Arminius, Spurgeon, Luther, and Boice

Either one knows for sure one is saved or one does not.

". . . He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, . . ." -- 1John 5:12-13.

". . . brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: . . ." -- 2 Peter 1:10.

". . . Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, . . ." -- 2 Corinthians 13:5.

". . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. . . . ." -- Romans 8:9.

". . . The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: . . ." -- Romans 8:16.

 

I agree, sir.
God's word alone has taught me everything I currently know about why I'm going to be with Him when I pass from this life.

With respect, I think that the reason they called themselves "Free Will Baptist" was because they believed and taught that man's will plays the decisive role in determining who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. Free Will Baptist beliefs about salvation also vary from congregation to congregation, from teaching and believing in "Eternal Security", up to and including the loss of salvation, if I'm not mistaken.

From my comparative denominational studies, they are somewhat similar to the "Churches of Christ", "Bible Missionaries" and "Nazarenes", as well as "Wesleyans", "Methodists" and many others in their understanding of the Gospel, but are different in some practices, including baptism. Essentially, they are descended from the "General Baptists" of England and are similar to today's "Anabaptists", who also believe and teach loss of salvation.

Some references:

National Association of Free Will Baptists, Inc

What Do Free Will Baptists Believe? - First Free Will Baptist Church, Dothan


" Man receives pardon and forgiveness for his sins when he admits to God that he is a sinner, when in godly sorrow he turns from them and trusts in the work of Christ as redemption for his sin. This acceptance of God’s great salvation involves belief in Christ’s death on the cross as man’s substitute and the fact of God’s raising Him from the dead as predicted. It is a salvation by grace alone and not of works. Therefore, we believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all true believers are kept by God’s power, through faith, and are thus secure in Christ."


The above is the exact, same thing I was taught growing up in IFB churches after I believed on Christ in 1978.



An analysis of the above quote, if I may:

"Man receives pardon and forgiveness for his sins when..."

Certain conditions are met, which I've bolded in the body of the text.
On the one hand, the church above, who calls themselves "Free Will Baptist", teaches that salvation is by grace and not of works, but on the other, that it is received ( gained ) by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, from my perspective, they teach that salvation is gained as a reward for performing an act, and is not strictly a gift given freely by God to whomever He wishes.
The recipient of God's grace is then "credited" with eternal life for doing something pleasing to God.

To me, this violates Romans 4:4 and Romans 11:5-6, as well as Titus 3:5-6... which states that it is not by works of righteousness, but according to His mercy He saved us.
In theory it may seem correct, but in reality it is not entirely of grace, but depends on some contribution of men to "seal the deal".

All it takes to pollute God's grace is one effort of men, and that moves it from grace, to works.
If anything in God's work of salvation relies on just one thing a person is responsible to contribute, it's no longer grace.

It moves from the operation of God, to cooperation with God.

Admittedly, up until 15 years ago, neither did I.
But after I read what the Bible has to say about how and why He saved me, I reluctantly had to leave the circle of churches I grew up in.

As I see it, the early church knew nothing of "free will", OSAS ( "Once Saved, Always Saved" ), or any other popular teacher or teaching of God's word excepting perhaps Paul, Peter, John, Apollos, and a few others. The apostle Paul's inspired writings are where we get most of our information regarding election, predestination, calling, justification and so forth, and mentions something he refers to as "will worship" in Colossians 2:20-23.
Peter concurs with Paul in his epistles ( since they preached the same Gospel, given to them by revelation, and not men ), and even goes so far as to say that some of what Paul had written in his epistles was hard to understand ( 2 Peter 3:14-16 ).

But that does not mean that is impossible for the child of God...just that it is difficult.



May God richly bless you, sir.

 

Please provide scriptural reference(s) to support that statement. If you can't, I conclude it is based on emotions like many of your memorable expediencies related to Merrimac Pentecostal Holiness church.

As was posted earlier:

Likewise, I have never heard of Pastor Vaught.

 

High praise from Charles Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Atlanta:

Charles Stanley's Pentecostal Holiness heritage

"I traveled back to my hometown of Dry Fork, Virginia, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Emmanuel Pentecostal Holiness Church—a church my grandfather, George Washington Stanley, planted....He set up his tent at the corner of Johnson Road and Dry Fork Road and preached his heart out."

"As I walked through the church, one person after another grabbed my arm to tell me how Grandad had led a dying loved one to the Lord, how God had done miracles of healing through him....It touched me deeply....But what struck me even more profoundly was the spiritual legacy that continued in that congregation. After 100 years, it was still healthy and reaching people with the gospel."

"My grandfather influenced me, so he has also had an effect on everyone I’ve ever spoken to about Jesus. And as each person I influence speaks to others, my grandfather’s impact expands. In this way, we see that if we are truly serving Jesus, those who follow after us grow our spiritual legacy exponentially."

 

I missed the scriptural references.

 

I missed the references for this, as well.

1) Salvation ( God granting the gift of eternal life ) by acknowledging Christ.
2) Salvation ( God granting the gift of eternal life ) by inviting Christ into the heart.

I see Scripture teaching this:

1) Salvation ( God granting the gift of eternal life ) based on His purposes and grace ( Ephesians 1:4-13, 2 Timothy 1:9 ), not based on any works of righteousness ( Titus 3:5-6 ).
2) Salvation ( God granting the gift of eternal life ) accompanied by a heart change ( John 3:6-7, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:4 ) and the Spirit of Christ indwelling the believer ( Ephesians 1:13 ) after He has caused them to "hear" ( John 8:47 ) the Gospel and believe ( John 6:29 ).

The sinner does not invite Christ in, He invades the life of one of His sheep and changes their heart ( Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 33:19 ) by His own power and grace ( again, Titus 3:4-7 ).
Christ then invites one of His sheep to open the door and let Him in ( Revelation 3:19-22 ) when they wander away from Him in their attentions.



"Calvinists" call it, "Irresistible Grace", while I call it a love that patiently waits and overcomes all obstacles in its path.
So...."Irresistible Grace".

God loves His children more than they will likely know this side of eternity...but it's all in His word ( Ephesians 2:4-10 ).

 

Respectfully, I know what a "revival" is, but I can't seem to find such a thing in Scripture.

Spiritual correction and admonition that leads to repentance, yes ( Psalms 38:18, Psalms 51, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 ), but not emotional "revival".
To me, the term "revival" denotes an event ( usually filled with appeals to the emotions and the will, like the "invitation system" I grew up with and that some say was popularized by Charles Finney ) that is designed to do one thing:

Promote religious zeal.

They attempt to cause people who were "dead" ( outwardly ) towards God to become "alive" ( outwardly ) to Him in their motivations.
However, based on Scripture, man-made "revivals" don't result in a permanent change, God's miraculous work brought on by His power and choice, does.

That's why man-made "revivals" tend to "peter out", and only last a few weeks or a few months, while real regeneration leads to a life-change that is characterized by a consistent, growing love for God and His ways, and is accompanied by constant, outward correction that is inwardly generated...repentance that comes from the heart; inside, not outside.
Try researching the Azusa Street Revival, Brownsville, Toronto, Branson and a host of other charismatic happenings over the past 200-300 years, and I think you will see the difference.

As for spending time around a mourner's bench or "altar":

Why the need for a physical altar, when believers have their own "altar"...the altar of their heart ( Psalms 34:18, Psalms 51:17, Joel 2:13, Hebrews 13:9-10 )?...
Why did the Pentecostal Holiness churches demand an outward show of repentance before being allowed to claim sanctification; that which is already promised in God's sight to those who believe ( Romans 8:29-30, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 5:25-26, Hebrews 10:14, Hebrews 13:12 ), which took place at the cross ( Hebrews 10:10 ), and that we are commanded to do by the Lord ( 1 Peter 3:15, James 4:8 ) inwardly?

To me, modern day "revivals" are a man-made, physical, outward manufacturing of that which God works in His children at the spiritual, heart level.
They do not last, and the "flames" always need to be re-kindled; While in a child of God, the "flame" is always there, it just gets brighter or dimmer depending on how much time we spend with the Lord and where we are in relation to our spiritual growth.

In the early church I see prayer ( Acts of the Apostles 1:14 ) and I see the filling of the Holy Ghost ( Acts of the Apostles 4:31 ), but I don't see "revivals" like those that happened during the "Second Great Awakening" in America.


With all due regard to you personally, I don't see what is pictured in your post as represented in the Bible.

 

I see God's word describing the filling of the Spirit as what you have described above.

I agree, but not with the description in the underlined.
To me, when a child of God has drawn nigh to God, God draws nigh to them ( James 4:8 ).

As I see it, what you call the "baptism", is the fullness of God's Spirit in a person ( Acts of the Apostles 13:52, Ephesians 5:18 ), and is brought on by God Himself.
From my experience and perspective, it isn't something that we as believers can "trigger", but something that God does through us when He wants ( Philippians 2:13 ), not when we want.

Sound contrary?
It isn't.
It just looks that way.

When the Lord wants to work something in one of His children, He causes them to draw nigh to Him, and He then fills them with the Spirit to do the work...whether speaking, preaching, or anything else relating to spiritual gifts.

Again, that is not exactly my experience, nor my exact understanding of it from Scripture;
Quite the contrary, the Lord caused me to have the above experiences, and yes, it was exactly like you describe...full of love and affection towards others, and a suppression of the flesh, especially of anger and frustration.

After the first time it happened, I initially believed that it was caused as you describe above.
However, I now understand that He caused me to be filled...I did not cause Him to fill me.
In the same way that God chooses someone and causes them to approach ( Psalms 65:4 ), He caused me to approach.


Scripturally, I see it happening like this:

Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4 tells me that the disciples at Jerusalem were all gathered together in one place, and the Spirit came and filled them...not that they were gathered to cause Him to do it, but that they were gathered in anticipation of Him doing it :

"and, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." ( Acts of the Apostles 1:4-5 )

God's children are baptized with the Holy Spirit when He comes in to seal them at their conversion ( Ephesians 1:13 ), and they are filled with the Spirit when He decides to use them for His glory ( Acts of the Apostles 6:8, Philippians 2:13 ).
Like Paul was "given utterance" ( Ephesians 6:19 ) and the disciples were prompted to speak in tongues at Jerusalem ( Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4 ), so are God's children equipped by the Holy Ghost to do that which God has for them to do, in the moment(s) that He wants them to work.



Apologies for the long posts.

May God bless you.

 

No offense intended, but I don't see the above described in Scripture...
I see this:

" Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." ( John 15:16 )

Christ told His disciples that their fruit would remain...not dissipate away.

Those fruits are these:

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." ( Galatians 5:22-24 )

The fruits of the Spirit's indwelling are always there...they just sometimes compete with the works of the flesh, until a person is sufficiently grown, spiritually.
The presence of God's Spirit in a person will naturally produce fruit:

30-fold, 60-fold, or 100-fold ( Matthew 13:18-23 ).

 

The view point of asking Jesus into one's heart or having the Holy Spirit in the heart is often spoken of. And typically if you ask them, those who have made such statements cannot provide any scripture support for what they have said. But there are two passages which should be noted:

". . . And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. . . ." -- Galatians 4:6.

". . . That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, . . ." -- Ephesians 3:17.

 

Then take your hat off to the living God and to His Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the one who makes humanity's messes into His children, who walk with Him in ever-increasing holiness and obedience the more they grow, spiritually.

...and He is the only one who deserves the praise and worship for what only He can do:
Save someone, overcome the power of the flesh, and cause His children to walk worthy of their calling ( 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Galatians 5:16-17, 2 Peter 1:10 )

Please see Romans 8:1-17.