Understanding the Baptism of Fire

By D.D. Evans

Has God left his children defenseless, in a violant and wicked world? Jesus said, (Lu 10:19) "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Was he lying or are we just ignorant? And, again he said, (Acts 1:8) "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.)

We begin to see scriptural bread crumbs that lead us to "Understanding the Baptism of Fire".

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.D.Evans
• Release date: Jan 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393420163

D.D. Evans

D.D.Evans has been in ministry and counseling for over 38 years and currently serves as a hospital chaplain in the Houston, Texas area. Married for 48 years he is the father of two daughters and the grandfather of three granddaughters and one grandson.

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Prolog

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS. It is dangerous. In Hosea 4:6 it is written,

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast ejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

This scripture teaches us that God loves a seeking heart and an inquisitive mind. Jesus stated, in Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Other scriptures that bear out God’s desire for a seeking soul are:

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

In the 1960’s, there was a common expression, among runaways, that someone left home to find him or herself. When, in fact, they were following their inborn desire to seek for God. However, when we look in the wrong places, we may find the wrong God. If we are self-determined, when we seek God, the result may be to impose our lusts upon our search. We push away God’s truth, because it does not comply with what we desire. In other words, if the truth that I discover requires me to give up what pleases me, then for me, it is not truth. Another dogma that came out of the ‘60s was Live and let live.  In other words, The truth that you tell me may work for you; but it’s not for me.

How is that possible? If truth is universal how can a truth not work for you?

After all, truth is the universal pedestal upon which we can all stand and it has general application in each individual life or else, how can it be truth? The old Christian expression is that the land is level at the cross. One does not stand above another. The Apostle James wrote,

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

The Lord reaches out to us; but, when we continue to push him away, he will give us over to a reprobate mind or a mind that is incapable of believing. In other words, believing is a gift.

Three times God reached out to Pharaoh of Egypt to let God’s people go. After the third time the Bible records, But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. (Exodus 10:20) The apostle Paul writes, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. (Romans 1:28)

To reach this point of deprivation requires numerous rejections of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus referred to this sin, in Mark 3:28-29,

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: [29] But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

We attach the stigma of unbelief to the ungodly; but unbelief is not a phenomenon that is applied only to the lost. There is much unbelief in the ranks of Christian churches today, as well.

The apostle Peter writes about our times, in 2 Peter 3:3-4, Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, [4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Such unbelief is congenial, with these end times. This treatise is not an expose’ of the last days, however, the aspect of unbelief is certainly apropos’, when it comes to the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

I call the ability to believe, experience the ministry, and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, a faith of consequence. It is easy to sit in a church pew, listen to a sermon, and agree with the concept that Jesus came to save sinners, of which I am one. However, we will not know the consequence of that belief until we reach the judgment. Oh, yes, there is that release of burden when the guilt of sin is lifted from us, which fades quickly with the passage of time and the trials of life.

We can read in Rev. 2:4-5 about the church in Ephesus, 

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. [5] Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

But to step out in faith and believe in a God who wants to impact our daily lives now, requires more than just simple assent.  It requires the sacrifice of personal ambition, self-determination, and dogmatic doctrine. Isaiah 55:8-9 records,

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Until we are ready to abandon our familiar carnal ways, we will not find the unfamiliar spiritual ways of God. Therefore, the condition required, for walking successfully in God’s way, is humility.

The evidence of a seeking heart and an inquisitive mind is seen in a person’s display of genuine humility, not a carnal assent; but a heart felt sincerity.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Do you get the picture? The scriptural evidence is abundant. Self-sacrifice is the bedrock foundation of agape’ love. This kind of God like love is the power to understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Ignorance is the antithesis of understanding the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The proud will resist the acknowledgment of their own ignorance, because they must maintain a false facade of ego and self-esteem. The humble and contrite will acknowledge their need for learning the ways of God and embrace God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, as their teacher.

Proverbs 9:9-11 "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. [10] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

The apostle Paul writes to us that, when we hope in Jesus, that hope makes us to not be ashamed. (Romans 1:16; 5:5) Those who are dead to the flesh and alive to Christ are not ashamed of the gospel or the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Signs that the flesh is active in our lives are: fear, failure, futility, frailty, and frustration. These are warning signs that we’re in the flesh and not in the spirit; nor are we ready to receive the baptism of fire. (Romans 8:1-4; 1 John 1:7)

So, let us begin to understand the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with an acknowledgment of our ignorance and the sacrifice of our ego and self-esteem, that we may obey the word of our Lord who told us,

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. [25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? [26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26)

Chapter 1: The Definition of the Baptism of Fire

SOME WILL ARGUE THE use of the term Baptism of the Holy Spirit. They believe and rightly, so, that we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, at the point of conversion. I hardly see how this truth excludes the use of the word from any other application. To the credit of those who take this position, the scripture records, And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 20:22)

Also, in their argument they would use the definition of baptism, as meaning to identify with some one. Certainly, in our conversion experience we come to identify with the Lord Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection, through the baptism of water.

However, to me that is an argument of semantics. If we can use the term baptism to identify with Christ, or use it in conjunction with the immersion of the believer into water, then why not use it in describing