That point of view also means that those Pentecostals/ Charismatics don't think that Baptists, Methodists, etc. are not saved and don't have the Holy Spirit, they just think they don't have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and thus will not operate in the Gifts.{/quote]
I apologize Shawn. I think may have originally misread your post.
You are right. We don't have a problem with Methodists and Baptists as far as salvation is concerned. As I alluded to earlier, and disagreements that we have usually revolve around the area of tolerance of sin.
While we agree that no man is perfect, usually Pentecostals are assertive in their beliefs that one should do everything within their power to separate themselves from sinful tendencies / patterns out of fear / respect for God. Where as certain other denomination(s), we feel tend to take grace for granted.
Not a problem, but anyone who thinks that most Baptists and Methodists are tolerant of sin or take grace for granted, I suspect are misunderstanding their theology and how they are altogether. You say Pentecostals don't sin because of fear of God. Baptists would say you might as well be under the Law then because we don't sin because of love not fear. And if anyone doesn't love God enough to stop sinning then they are not saved in the first place. God wants people to come to Him out of fear and respect but of love also. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But people who feared and then tried to keep the law were not made better people because of it. Is someone not a thief because he's afraid to steal and get caught? What if no one was looking? God wants people following Him and not sinning because they love Him and delight in Him. Being saved means freedom from the fear of hell and condemnation and a new life that I can dedicate to the Lord. It does not mean I can then go on sinning. I just see it as a matter of point of view. From God's who knows the end from the beginning..those who will persevere are the elect who will inherit the Kingdom. From mans point of view you better stay in the faith and stop sinning. This is how I see Eternal Security, but we're not hear to debate that and I don't follow Calvinism or any extreme form of that idea that would do away with human free-will. I do think people can give salvation away, but not lose it. Anyway, a person can hardly lump millions of people together in a denomination and then judge them like that on how seriously they take sin. It's not like anyone but God knows them ALL personally. Unfortunately a lot of Baptists and Methodists will say things about your denomination and Pentecostalism like that too. Things such as
"those people are caught up in emotionalism and don't know the Bible! They put experience over the Word of God!" Now does that sound like an accurate depiction of YOU? I'm sure it's not my friend since I know good Christians from various denominations, including charismatics. They take the Bible very seriously. Baptists also take sin very seriously. And if they're wrong about you, can you see that maybe you just misunderstand them too? And that's one of the problems I see in the Body of Christ today. There's nothing wrong with defending your brand of theology, but most of what I see is Baptists criticizing Charismatics while not even understanding their theology, and Charismatics blasting Baptist theology by misunderstanding and therefore misrepresenting it too. I know no Baptist who thinks it's ok to keep sinning while you're saved because of grace or eternal security. I also know people who operate in the Gifts who aren't "demon possessed," like some people of other denominations would say. Christians should find common ground as long as they agree on the essential things, while having dialogue about the things they don't. Not to prove their point and how wrong everyone else is, but to honestly seek the TRUTH. If your Christian brothers and sisters are in error about some things, it would do you well to fully understand their points too so you can more effectively argue yours. I've seen people try to witness to members of a cult before where they even so badly confused what the cult believed and then accused the people they wanted to help of things that they KNEW their religion didn't believe or do. So at that point they just assumed the good Christian didn't know much about anything since they clearly had no clue what they were talking about when it came to this cult. It's always better to understand the other denomination or even religion or cult, and don't go making statements that are false or show ignorance about the group or you'll just push the person away and make them stop listening to the TRUE things you say too.
Too many people only want to keep reinforcing their own beliefs in their denominations point of view instead of studying the Word and then praying for understanding. It's hard for people to think that they've been wrong and change their minds and so people don't always look for the truth.
(and when I mentioned Church of God, I should have pointed out that there are several denominations of that name...one of which is a non-Christian cult altogether. But the one I mentioned has it's headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee and as far as I can tell is identical in belief to the Assemblies of God. Neither of which think other denominations aren't saved as long as they believe in the essential things of salvation.)
Nazarite, I just want to make it clear that I'm not aiming this rant at you personally or anything like that. I just see a lot of misunderstanding amongst practically everyone on all sides. Even when one side in my opinion is right, it seems like they too can just misunderstand the other side completely and it leads to more problems instead of people coming together.
I'm enjoying hearing about everyone's experiences and testimonies here so far. This thread has been a good dialogue.
