Can Anyone Really Purchase the Holy Spirit With His Own Effort? (Acts 8:14-24)
(Acts 8:14-24)
“Now
when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had
come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For
as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on
of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may
receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with
you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with
money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart
is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your
wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be
forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by
iniquity.’ Then Simon answered and said, ‘Pray to the Lord for me, that
none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.’”
Can a person receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands?
No. He has to believe the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
No. He has to believe the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Based
on the main passage, I want to deliver a message on whether “one can
receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through his own effort.” The
Apostles at the time of the early church received power from God and
were sent to various places by Him. There are several supernatural
events in Acts, one of them being the Holy Spirit’s descent upon
believers when the Apostles laid their hands on their heads. The Bible
says, “When the apostles laid hands on those who had not received the
Holy Spirit yet even though they believed in Jesus, they received the
Holy Spirit.”
Then
how did they receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands? At
that time the words of God were still being written and the work wasn’t
yet completed, so God gave the Apostles special powers to do His
mission. He was with the Apostles and produced many miracles and wonders
through them. It was a special time, when God performed wonders and
miracles that could be seen with the human eye in order to make people
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior. There was a
necessity for God, together with the Apostles, to powerfully show the
work of the Holy Spirit in order to prove that Jesus Christ is God and
that He is the Son of God, the Savior. If the Holy Spirit hadn’t worked
through wonders and miracles at the time of the early church, no one
would have believed that Jesus is the Savior.
However,
it is not necessary for us to receive the Holy Spirit through visible
wonders and miracles today, because the Bible has been completed.
Instead, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit now rests in faith. In other
words, in believing the gospel of truth. God gives the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit to those who have faith in the gospel of truth in front of
God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit only happens to those who believe
in God’s words, as it was fulfilled by Jesus’ coming to this world and
by His baptism and blood.
Nowadays,
many pastors teach believers that the visible phenomena of miracles are
signs of the indwelling of Holy Spirit. And they lead believers to
receive the Holy Spirit in the same way. They deceive people by giving
them false teachings, such as that speaking in tongues is a sign of the
coming of the Holy Spirit. These pastors consider themselves to be
apostles who perform great wonders and miracles, and they attract the
attention of religious fanatics who want to experience God through their
emotions.
This
fanaticism has spread to Christians throughout the world, and many of
them follow their beliefs and receive evil spirits through supernatural
means. Even now, people who were influenced by religious fanaticism
think that they can cause others to receive the Holy Spirit through the
laying on of hands.
However,
as deluded as Simon, they are like the sorcerer who appears in the main
passage. They are intoxicated with self-satisfaction and corporeal
greed, but all their deeds only cause confusion amongst people. This
kind of false teaching deviates from the true way to receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit before God.
Even
today, many false prophets do the work of Satan through their wrongful
religious practices, pretending to do the work of the Holy Spirit. True
Christians must cling to the word of God, knowledge of which is the only
way to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So-called
Pentecostalists, who place great emphasis on physical experiences of the
Holy Spirit, should discard their absurd beliefs, return to God’s words
and believe in the truth, which will assuredly lead them to the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Simon
was a famous sorcerer in Samaria at that time. After seeing Jesus’
disciples cause people to receive the Holy Spirit, he sought to purchase
the Holy Spirit with money. People with this kind of faith inevitably
became Satan’s slaves, used by him to do his work. Simon wanted to
receive the Holy Spirit but his desire was nothing more than greed. We
can see that this kind of faith is not true Spirit-receiving faith.
Simon
tried to purchase the Holy Spirit with money only in his selfish
longing for His power. He was severely rebuked by God’s servant, Peter,
for this reason. Even though it was said that Simon believed in Jesus,
he wasn’t a man who had received the Holy Spirit through the remission
of sins. In other words, he thought that he was able to receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit by giving worldly things to God.
Although
his outward appearances suggested that he was a believer in Jesus, his
true inner thoughts were unrelated to Jesus’ true words. Instead, he was
filled with corporeal greed. Peter, who knew Simon’s thoughts, rebuked
him for trying to purchase the Holy Spirit, which is God’s gift, with
mere money. He told Simon that he would perish with his money.
Nowadays,
false prophets possessed by evil spirits seek to deceive people by
making them think that all the miracles and wonders are works of the
Holy Spirit. We can often see people that admire this kind of power and
arduously pray to receive the Holy Spirit. However, one should keep it
in mind that no one could receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
through prayers offered out of his worldly greed.
Are
there also charismatic people around you by any chance? You should be
watchful of these kinds of people. They approach others with a fanatical
faith. They say that they can cast out demons and even cause people to
receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of their hands. However,
they possess the power not of the Holy Spirit, but of evil spirits.
Those who assert that they have received the Holy Spirit by means of the
laying on of hands lead both themselves and others to receive only evil
spirits.
The
true indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes on those who believe in the
words of the water and the Spirit (1 John 5:3-7). Even though the gospel
of the water and the Spirit is clearly written in the Bible, because
many people have sin in their hearts, they try to reach God through
supernatural powers and experiences such as trances, speaking in
tongues, clairvoyance and the casting out of demons. This is why false
prophets are able to deceive so many people into believing in
superstitious Christianity derived from the devil.
Peter
rebuked Simon by saying; “Your money perish with you, because you
thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have
neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in
the sight of God. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and
bound by iniquity. You’re a son of the demon.” We should sigh with grief
at the fact that there are many ministers like this these days. Most of
them are charismatic people. They demand money from their flock. We
should keep our distance from this kind of faith and receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit by believing in the true gospel of the
water and the Spirit (Matthew 3:15, 1 Peter 3:21, John 1:29, John
19:21-23).
Charismatic people work through the laying on of hands!
We
should keep away from this kind of faith. Some people nowadays have the
absurd belief that they can receive the Holy Spirit if they receive the
laying on of hands from those who have obtained power. They think that
since the Scriptures say that many people received the Holy Spirit when
they experienced the laying on of hands from the Apostles, that they
could do so as well. Some pretenders also have the absurd belief that
they can give people the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the
laying on of their own hands. We should be aware of the existence of
these kinds of people.
However,
we should keep in mind that their faith is greatly different from that
of the Apostles in the time of the early church. Nowadays the most
serious challenge to the beliefs of some Christians is that they don’t
have faith in the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. They say that
they believe in God, but they don’t revere Him and instead deceive
themselves and others. However, a sinner can neither receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit nor cause others to do so. If someone says
that a Spirit came on a sinner, this spirit was not truly the Holy
Spirit; instead it was the spirit of Satan only pretending to be a true
Spirit.
The
Apostles during the time of the early church were people who knew and
believed that Jesus Christ was the Savior, who took away all the sins of
mankind through His baptism by John and His death on the Cross. They
were able to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because they
believed in the truth of Jesus’ baptism and His blood on the Cross. They
also preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit to others, thus
helping them receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
But
nowadays, many Christians have mistaken fanatical beliefs. Is it really
possible nowadays for a sinner to receive the Holy Spirit through the
laying on of hands from another sinful minister? This is absolutely
nonsensical. There are people who say that even though they have sin in
their hearts, they have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Even
if someone looks like a good shepherd in the eyes of his adherents, he
cannot cause anybody to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit if
there is sin in his heart.
Nonetheless,
many people have this kind of wrong faith. This is the reason that so
many false prophets are able to lead people into hell. You should know
the fact that those who teach this kind of faith are false prophets.
These are people who have already been captured by demons.
If
a person has sin in his heart, can the Holy Spirit dwell in him? The
answer is no. Then is it possible for a person who has sin in his heart
to cause others to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Again, the
answer is no. Then what causes charismatic people nowadays to perform
miracles and wonders in Christianity, while they still have sin in their
hearts? Evil spirits do so. The Holy Spirit can never dwell within a
sinner. He only dwells in those with faith in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. Are you sure the spirit that came on you is the Holy
Spirit?
In
John 3:5, Jesus said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter the kingdom of God.” As such, the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit can only be obtained by believing in the true gospel of the water
and the Spirit. The mistake that many Christians make nowadays is to
believe that one can also receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit by
receiving the laying on of hands from sinful ministers. This is a
crucial mistake. Nowadays, many Christians and ministers have the faith
and conviction that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes on them
through the laying on of hands.
The relationship between true remission of sins and the laying on of hands
“The
laying on of hands” is the means through which one can pass something
in him on to the object. Think of it this way: If we speak into a
microphone, the sound travels through the cables into amplifier and then
comes out of the loud speakers so everyone can hear it. Similarly, in
the Old Testament, when a sinner laid his hands on the sin offering’s
head, his sins passed on to the sin offering and he was thus forgiven.
In the same way, God’s power passes on to people when His servants lay
their hands on them. In this way, the laying on of hands has taken on
the meaning of “to pass, to transfer.”
Charismatic
people don’t cause people to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
through the laying on of their hands, instead they cause them to receive
evil spirits. You must remember that a person with the power of evil
spirits passes the spirits on to others through the laying on of hands.
When a demon-possessed person lays his hands on the head of another, the
demon in him passes on to that person, because Satan works through
sinners. For this reason, everyone must believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit if they want to receive the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. Satan rules those who are in sin, even if they believe in Jesus,
if they fail to receive the remission of sins.
If
someone receives the laying on of hands from a demon-possessed person,
demons will also come on to him and he will also perform false miracles.
We have to know that demons come to dwell in others through the laying
on of hands, and that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is only possible
through the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The
laying on of hands is a method established by God of passing something
on to another. But Satan causes many people to receive evil spirits
through the laying on of hands. The fact that nowadays there are many
people who try to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit with money is an
even bigger problem.
Most Christians misunderstand the truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
When
asked how they can receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, many
people answer that it’s possible through prayers of repentance or
fasting. This is not true. Does the Holy Spirit come on you when you
offer special prayers to God? No. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
comes only on those who believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit.
Because
God is the truth, He established the law for receiving the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit. Can the Holy Spirit dwell in a person who has sin in
his heart? The answer is most definitely not. One cannot receive the
Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Even if someone attends
revival meetings and frantically prays to God that he might receive the
power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will remain out of his grasp.
Sinners can obviously not receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Sinners can receive the true indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a gift,
but only when they receive the remission of sins by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Anyone
who doesn’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot receive
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Nowadays the gospel of the water and
the Spirit is spreading rapidly through Christian literature, church
meetings, the Internet, and even electronic books throughout the world.
Therefore, anyone who seeks the true gospel can believe in it and
receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If you haven’t yet received
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you should realize that to do so you
must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
A prime example of false faith!
Nowadays
when we examine the symptoms of people who receive false spirits we can
see the actual existence of demons. “Revival meetings for the Holy
Spirit” are gatherings in which people who desperately want to receive
the Holy Spirit. In these meetings we see people clapping their hands
and offering prayers of repentance while crying and fasting. The
preacher instructs them to offer fanatical prayers by telling them that
the Holy Spirit won’t come on them until they do so. People then cry
out, “Lord!” and start their fanatical prayers.
Can
these fanatics receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in this
manner? No. You would see people scream and fall back, and then shiver,
while making strange noises at such meetings. Some are falling back and
shivering on the ground here and there, and we see them scream and start
to speak in tongues. Someone throughout the meeting screams his head
off and the crowd is overwhelmed with emotion. Some of them start to
have fits, shaking all over and speaking in tongues. People say that
these phenomena are the evidence that the Holy Spirit has come on them.
But think about what happens when a demon does his work? Is this the
work of the Holy Spirit? Definitely not.
Satan deceives many Christians
Nowadays,
many Christians lead the kind of religious lives that Satan wants.
Satan deceives people by telling them that they must receive the laying
on of hands from a powerful minister in order to receive the Holy
Spirit. Many Christians tend to believe this as a formal doctrine. Satan
also plants the idea into people’s heads that they will receive the
Holy Spirit if they pray excessively. Satan has been trying to double
and triple the number of people who have this kind of faith.
Therefore,
many people don’t know, and don’t even try to learn about the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. We must struggle to avoid the thoughts Satan
tries to put in our heads and know and believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit only comes on
those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You must
believe in this.
Christians’ misconceptions about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
First
of all, there is a great misunderstanding in the beliefs of many
adherents to charismatic Christianity. They try to receive the Holy
Spirit with sin in their hearts. They mistakenly believe that even
though they have sin in their hearts, they will be able to receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. However, a person without any faith in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit can’t receive the fullness of the
Holy Spirit.
Secondly,
it is said that people’s arrogance hinders them from receiving the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Then does this mean that one can receive
the Holy Spirit if he doesn’t behave arrogantly? Is there a person in
this world who isn’t the least bit arrogant? An arrogant person who
can’t be forgiven by God is one who adds his own thoughts to the word of
God. Many people try to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
through their own methods, ignoring the true gospel of the water and the
Spirit. However, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes only on those
who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Thirdly,
it is said that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes when someone
frankly confesses all his sins before God. So they are urged to confess
their sins when they want to receive the Holy Spirit. But you must
remember that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does not come when
someone simply confesses his sins. Most Christians nowadays eagerly long
for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and for His fullness but they
can’t receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because they still have
sin in their hearts. A person with this type of rash desire will be
captured by demons.
Fourthly,
some say that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can be given when we
earnestly solicit God to give us the blessing. But it can’t be obtained
through begging. This is just mistaken thinking.
Fifthly,
some identify the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with the possession of
some spiritual powers. Speaking in tongues are regarded to be a common
evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit
doesn’t dwell in one’s heart simply because he is able to cast out
demons in Jesus’ name or speak in strange tongues. Sin belongs to Satan.
Can someone with sin in his heart truly say that he has received the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit because he has possessed some strange
powers? Once again, this is mischief played by demons.
The
gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus gave us is the only true
gospel that can lead us to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If
you still think that you can receive the Holy Spirit and the remission
of sins through other methods, you are deeply deluded. I hope that you
will free yourself from your mistaken beliefs and instead come to have
spiritual thoughts and authentic faith.
It
is no exaggeration to say that nowadays many Christians are possessed
by demons. Many Christians throughout the world come under the power of
demons because they want to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
through special revival meetings or by receiving the laying on of hands.
They go to specific people such as the superintendents of prayer
houses, senior deacons, revivalists, or pastors who are said to have
received the power of the Holy Spirit. They go to them in hopes of
receiving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. However, no
one can ever receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through this kind
of faith, no matter how arduously they believe in Jesus. In other
words, there is no one except God who can cause someone to receive the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Like
Simon, many people nowadays try to purchase the Holy Spirit. They try
to receive the Holy Spirit by believing in worldly teachings, not the
gospel. Most Christians throughout the world are stuck in this mind-set.
The Holy Spirit only comes on those who have the necessary
qualifications to receive Him. The only formula to receive the Holy
Spirit is by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and
this is the only answer to the truth (Acts 2:38).
Receiving
the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands was only possible for a
short period at the time of the early church. After this the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit came on people at the same time when they came to
know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore,
other than the work of the Holy Spirit occurring through faith in the
word of God, everything else is the work of demons. God says that demons
are servants of Satan, and Satan has ingeniously worked in such a way
that people cannot receive the remission of sin even if they believe in
Jesus. Satan lies to people by saying that he will give them the Holy
Spirit if they believe in Jesus and receive the laying on of hands.
Satan expands his territory throughout the world through this kind of
trickery.
We
will now look at the symptoms of those possessed by demons. First, when
we examine the symptoms of possession by a demon in a fortuneteller or
shaman, we see that they experience trembling fits, trances and even
fainting. Then their tongues get twisted and odd words come out of their
mouths against their will. They speak in strange tongues.
Both
sorcerers and Christians who have been possessed by demons through the
laying on of hands are joint owners of this experience. When a
charismatic revivalist takes out his mike and shouts, “With fire, with
fire, with fire,” the congregation gets excited and loses self-control.
People who want to receive the laying on of hands from him come up to
the front. They experience uncontrollable shaking fits and speak in
tongues. These symptoms are the work of demons that are pretending to do
the work of the Holy Spirit.
People
who are possessed by evil spirits, which can be summoned by shamans and
fortunetellers of every primitive religion, show the same symptoms as
Christians who are possessed by demons through the laying on of hands.
However, people misunderstand this, despite this evidence. Those
Christians are plunged into deep confusion because they think they have
received the Holy Spirit when they experience these kinds of symptoms.
Satan works through the Christians like a fortuneteller
Satan
enables demon-possessed people to make prayers of prophecy. They
prophesy by saying, “You will be a precious leader. Thousands of sheep
will graze in front of you. God will train you in the future and make a
precious leader out of you.” To others they say delusive words such as,
“You will become a precious servant of God. You will be a very dignified
servant of God,” in order to encourage people to follow them and live
as servants of demons throughout their lives.
Fortunetellers
also make prophecies about other people’s futures. “You should be
careful of water in the future.” “You will make a lot of money.” “A
noble man will appear from the east and help you.” These are examples of
the things they say. The first symptom that shows up in demon-possessed
persons is that they make false prophecies.
Then
they speak in tongues that they can’t even understand themselves. They
experience shivering and they even show symptoms of personality
disorder. If you meet a shaman or fortuneteller, can you assert that
they have sound personalities? They often talk rudely to people who are
much older than they are.
However,
people who have the true indwelling of the Holy Spirit have received
Him by believing in the biblical truth that says that Jesus cleansed all
the sins of world through His baptism and death on the Cross. These
people also help others know and believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, and help them receive the remission of sins and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They themselves try to live in a
righteous way, and their personalities are so pleasant and sound as to
lead others to the blessed faith of God and to the kind of life God
wants. Now and then God reproaches them in order to keep them sacred
when their minds intend to turn back to the world.
The
righteous who have received the remission of all sins are definitely
different from people whose personalities have been destroyed by evil
spirits. True personality comes alive again if one receives the
remission of sins and thereby receives the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. Additionally, the righteous are deeply worried about others
under unfavorable circum- stances, about what they truly need in God’s
words, praying for them to be delivered, and actually offering
self-sacrifices to help them.
On
the other hand, we can see that the personalities of demon-possessed
people have been terribly destroyed. Satan controls them and bends them
to his will because they think that things like shivering and speaking
in tongues are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, these experiences
are definitely not the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
There
are so many ministers who are proud of their powers such as making
prophecies in God’s name, being capable of performing many wonders and
speaking in tongues. But if they still have sin in their hearts, then
their powers are decisive evidence to the fact that they are
demon-possessed. Therefore, they can’t give the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit to others, but can only give that of demons. Also, because Satan
is deceitful, the miracle they have performed runs out very easily in a
short period of time.
There
is a clear difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and that of a
demon. Even though it may seem as if the work of the Holy Spirit offers
no particular experiences or wonderful gifts in the beginning, as times
go on, God’s power grows in the hearts of the righteous incessantly
like the rising sun in the morning.
Demon-possessed Christians
Why is it that so many people come to be possessed by demons even though they try to receive the Holy Spirit?
Because they receive demons through the laying on of hands from false prophets.
Because they receive demons through the laying on of hands from false prophets.
Surprisingly,
we can see many believers in Jesus whose bodies and souls have gone to
ruin because they received demons through the laying on of hands from
false prophets. These people have nothing to do with God because their
faith doesn’t rest in the words of the Bible. They’re busily using up
their power not knowing that their services are causing many people to
be Satan’s servants. Why do they work so hard in performing their powers
in Christianity? Because so-called powers of theirs will soon disappear
if they don’t use them. This is why they become very busy.
They
continuously have to pray and practice wonders and signs by the name of
Jesus. People who say, “I have received the gift of preaching the
gospel,” continuously have to preach the gospel because if they don’t,
their pseudo-happiness soon disappears. If these people are not loyal to
the demon’s gifts of speaking in tongues, healing, or prophecy, in
other words, if they are not faithful to the works of Satan, then Satan
may make them become sick for no particular reason. It is just like a
fortuneteller or a shaman gets a lingering illness when he neglects the
role as Satan’s servant. This is why they have to use the gifts they
have received from Satan ardently lest they are abandoned in misery
after they have used up their powers.
I
once knew someone who was a fervent believer in Jesus and looked as if
he possessed many powers from God. He encouraged people to receive the
fullness of the Holy Spirit and led revival meetings in which he cast
out demons through the laying on of hands, also performing wonders such
as speaking in tongues and healing. He became an object of envy and
respect through his works of wonder. Scores of thousands of believers
followed him. However, soon he began to deny Jesus saying, “Jesus Christ
is a failure. He isn’t the Son of God.” He cursed Jesus Christ and even
claimed that he was God himself. He finally killed Jesus Christ in his
heart and in the hearts of many Christians.
People
like this reject the gospel of the water and the Spirit because Satan
is their guide. They come to have the mistaken belief from the beginning
because they have an illusion that they possess the same powers as the
Apostles, to see their abilities, to make people speak in other tongues
and to cast out demons through the laying on of hands. They have the
firm belief that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit has come on them.
They
teach people about the methods of receiving the Holy Spirit, thinking
that it is possible to receive Him by offering prayers of repentance.
However, this method of receiving the Holy Spirit is not based on God’s
words. In spite of this, they say that if a believer in Jesus speaks in
tongues and makes prophecies, then this is proof of the coming of the
Holy Spirit on him. Because many people don’t truly understand the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they believe that they can also receive
the Holy Spirit by learning and following the teachings of false
prophets. This is how Satan was able to fill Christians with the spirits
of demons and reign over these people. All of these methods are the
traps of Satan.
Numerous
people have been possessed by demons through the teachings of false
prophets. Ordinary believers lead a humdrum religious life, but
demon-possessed people use the power of evil spirits and seemingly lead
passionate religious lives. What are the abilities they display? They
have the abilities to heal, to speak in strange tongues and lead others
to be possessed by demons through the laying on of hands. We should know
that the laying on of hands is a method of passing something on to
others and that the demons’ kingdom has been greatly expanded through
this means.
Evil spirits work through human greed!
Satan
works in people like Simon of the main passage. These people say that
they can receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands,
regardless of their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Nowadays many people are deceived by Satan, and try to receive the Holy
Spirit through prayers of repentance, fasting, self-sacrifice or the
laying on of hands. However, they are possessed by demons and lead a
cursed life.
We
should be well aware that today’s Christianity helps demons do works in
everyone’s soul through this means called ‘the laying on of hands.’
These people who possess the same traits as Simon are false prophets
before God. Even believers in Jesus, if they have sin in their hearts,
can be possessed by demons. These people are capable of performing
miracles through the workings of the devil. Satan leads people to
receive the laying on of hands from his servants in order to facilitate
their possession by demons and build his kingdom throughout the world.
Nowadays, the churches of the [2]Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement are officially recognized as formal Christian denominations throughout the world.
2Western
Christianity began to wither away in the face of the material
prosperity and mass consumption in the latter half of the 20th century.
At the same time, as a result of this, many Christians who were
searching for a way to walk closer with Jesus were unsatisfied with the
dryness of their previous churches. Others were afflicted with either a
lack of, or a slow pace of spiritual growth, and yet others were
frustrated with their inability to translate their faith into a personal
love of Jesus.
The
so-called Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement arose under these
circumstances. Those who indulged in this movement seek enthusiastic
experiences and practices such as speaking in tongues, prophesying,
performing miracles and wonders, admiring the first Pentecostal events.
In their enthusiasm, they willingly entrust themselves to so-called the
dominion of the Holy Spirit, but strictly speaking most of their
teachings and practices are not based on the Bible.
In
the developing world, this movement has developed tremendously within
the context of their needs. Their leaders have attracted developing
world Christians with the blessings of wealth and health along with
religious enthusiasm. Some deviation of the movement like the
Neo-Pentecostalism is even reported as the movement sharing the same
teachings as the New Age Movement.
|
This
world is slowly coming to an end. If we want to be born again in the
last days, we have to know how the devil works and stand firm against
his schemes. We also have to be saved from our sins once and for all and
receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a gift by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have to return to the truth with
the perfect knowledge of how God’s Spirit comes to us.
Just
as God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea
4:6), nowadays many truth seekers are destroyed when, in their
ignorance, charismatic people mislead them. People say that even if
so-called the Pentecostal- Charismatic churches were established in the
desert, people would gather there. Why is this so? Charismatic people
expand their churches by confusing others with their pseudo-powers,
leading them to become demon-possessed through the laying on of hands.
One of their special talents is that once people are possessed by demons
through the laying on of hands, they become enthusiastic about leading a
religious life.
Another
special feature of charismatic people is that they donate large amounts
of money to their churches and unconditionally become fanatical
believers. Even numerous Christians are enthusiastic over evangelism
with the power of demons, but are certainly going to hell not realizing
their own destination. These people, who fervently believe the power of
the devil as the evidence of their salvation, are looking forward to
heaven without a single doubt. However, they have sin in their hearts
and are doomed to be destroyed.
If
they are asked the following question, “Do you have sin in your heart,
even though you believe in God?” they surely answer that it is natural
of them to be in sin. They think it’s impossible for a person not to
have sin in his heart, even if he believes in Jesus.
People
tend to think that they deserve to enter the kingdom of Heaven, even if
they have sin in their hearts, because they feel comfort in believing
in Jesus having the evidence of pseudo-power.
What
an absurd hope this is! The reason for their firm belief is that they
possess some kind of supernatural ability. They have experienced
speaking in tongues, receiving visions and healing the sick, and they
think and firmly believe these experiences to be the work of the Holy
Spirit. Therefore, they tell themselves that they have definitely
received redemption and the Holy Spirit through these experiences.
Because
these people have an imperfect knowledge of the words of salvation,
they have no confidence in their salvation if any kind of visible
ability doesn’t appear to them. Therefore, these people try very hard to
find visible assurances of salvation and later end up being used by
Satan in his work. Because these people are trying to find God’s answers
through prayers of repentance or self-sacrifice rather than believing
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they eventually receive evil
spirits instead of the Holy Spirit.
The
devil accuses people by whispering in their ears, “You have sinned,
haven’t you?” and leads them to fall into self-condemnation. There is a
person I know who has now received the forgiveness of sin and the Holy
Spirit. This is something that happened to him before he was born again,
when he was a fervent but reckless believer in Jesus. This person even
spoke in tongues and performed many miracles. Even though he cried and
offered prayers of repentance all night, despite his belief in Jesus,
the sin in his heart continued to torture him. This is when the whispers
of Satan started. “You have sinned, so it’s better for you do die than
live.” Satan often came to him and accused him, torturing him and
reminding him of his sins. Satan led him to self-condemnation and
self-judgment. However, all he could do was confess the sins in his
heart. He couldn’t free himself from Satan’s accusation until he came to
hear and believe in the beautiful gospel.
You
should know that those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit become the prey of the devil. Do you think anyone who hasn’t
received the forgiveness of sins has the power to reject the devil?
Anyone who doesn’t hold to the true gospel of the water and the Spirit
will be captured and tortured by Satan. God’s gospel of the water and
the Spirit is absolutely necessary to casting out Satan. Therefore,
everyone who believes in Jesus should believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, and also preach it to all the people of the world.
Those who hear this should obey and believe in it.
The mystery of lawlessness is already at work in the world!
The
whole world is now covered with the activities of demons. If we want to
preach the gospel that leads people to receive the Holy Spirit, we have
to remove the deep misunderstandings about the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit.
First
of all we have to make clear that it’s a lie that the Holy Spirit comes
through the laying on of hands. We should clearly testify that
experiences such as “speaking in other tongues after receiving the
laying on of hands, feeling something hot through repentance and
fasting, and hearing messages directly from Jesus” are the work of the
devil. Only through faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can
people be delivered from the devil’s trickery. Only by faith can we be
saved from our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We
have to defeat the devil, “the father of lies,” with the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Satan has bound all the people throughout the
world with the bondage of self-condemnation, so we should return these
people to the truth by making them realize that their misguided
experiences and emotions are the trickeries of Satan.
These
days, people like Samaritan Simon, who tried to purchase the Holy
Spirit with money, are ministering the church. They are the blind
leading the blind. They cannot show people the way to perfect salvation
because they don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and have
sin in their hearts. So they cause Satan to dwell in the hearts of
their followers by holding all-night prayer sessions, calling for
prayers of repentance and using the laying on of hands. These people are
actually possessed by the devil, and if we want them to return to God’s
word, we have to destroy the work of Satan by providing them with
perfect knowledge of the water and the Spirit. If people don’t know
about Satan’s strategies, they will have no other choice but to suffer
in helplessness.
Just
as I said, performing miracles such as speaking in tongues and issuing
prophecies after receiving the laying on of hands are all the activities
of the devil. In other words, the powers of charismatic people are
manifested through the workings of the devil. We should teach them. “It
is the devil who works in you if there is sin in your heart. If you
think the Holy Spirit dwells in you, even though you have sin in your
heart, then you have been deceived.”
The
faith of the Apostles and that of people who received the laying on of
hands in the main passage of Acts 8 have been placed in the same
category, because both of them knew about Jesus Christ’s gospel of the
water and the Spirit. But the Apostles’ faith was completely different
from that of most Christians of today who believe merely the laying on
of hands will cause them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Does
a person receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by
someone who has received the remission of sins? No. The Bible says that
the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis
1:2). This means that in order for one to receive the remission of sins
and the Holy Spirit, he has to hear and believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. God sends the Holy Spirit as a gift to a
born-again Christian who believes in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit.
We
should bear in mind that it would be like opposing the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, which God intended to save us from our sins, if we
taught people to seek the laying on of hands in order to receive the
Holy Spirit. Thinking that a person can give someone else the Holy
Spirit is like challenging God, and people with this kind of faith
easily fall into Satan’s traps. This should never be allowed to happen.
All
our sins are forgiven when we believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit testifies to this. Someone who believes
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit no longer has sin in his
heart. This is not because he hasn’t sinned, but instead because he
believes in the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The
gospel of the water and the Spirit testifies that he has no sin in his
heart, and the Holy Spirit testifies to that too. One cannot call Jesus
his Savior without having the Spirit of God within him.
Demon-possessed
people don’t know about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and
never even make it a subject of discussion. They don’t even know the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, and moreover they are unable to
discern the truth. They say that the Holy Spirit comes only when they
perform and receive the laying on of hands. However, the Holy Spirit
does never come through the laying on of hands. You should realize that
the workings of the devil now exercise great influence over people in
churches throughout the world with its false teachings. For this reason,
it is imperative to receive the true indwelling of the Holy Spirit by
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment