While the Cessationist vs Continuationist divide was the catalyst that led to the writing of my 4 books, it seemed appropriate to address other issues that were inextricably linked and/or were foundational to the Holy Spirit gifts. For instance, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is closely linked to the 9 Holy Spirit gifts but there is fairly widespread confusion on this linkage. Moreover, this Baptism in the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood in itself. One example is that some Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic church teach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is required for salvation. However, as per Acts 1:4-8, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit involves Holy Spirit coming “upon” (epi in the Greek) a believer in order to give them access to power to be witnesses. It is not about salvation.
In addition, there is considerable misunderstanding and confusion between this upon experience and two other experiences with Holy Spirit: (1) the “in” (en in the Greek) and (2) the “with” (para and meta in the Greek). The “in” experience is a result of being born again when Holy Spirit comes in to teach, guide, convict us etc. If we go another step back, there is also considerable misunderstanding as to how the 3 parts of a human being - our spirit, our soul (mind, will and emotions), and our body - are impacted as a result of being born again. As a result, my initial book - Ceased? - addressed many of these basic issues of Christianity to provide a clear foundation for ‘more advanced’ issues such as the 9 Holy Spirit gifts (prophecy, tongues, healing etc.)
One of our goals in writing Ceased? was to make it a reference resource that provided considerable detail on the issues being addressed. To do so, Ceased? ended up utilizing over 1,300 different verses as well as considerable commentary that uses over 1,000 questions related to the information contained in the scriptures. In so doing, we hope Ceased? and our other 3 books enable believers to make up their own minds as to what is true and what is not true on a number of issues.
At 470 pages, Ceased? is a long book - some label it a reference book - with three basic sections. This length led to the writing of 3 smaller excerpt books. Each of these smaller books - (1) Points to Ponder for Cessationists, (2) Points to Ponder for CHARISmATICS & Pentecostals, and (3) Points to Ponder for ROMAN Catholics - covers 1 of the 3 sections of Ceased? in detail as well as summary information on the other 2 sections as follows:
Points to Ponder for CHARISMATICS & Pentecostals (230 pages) reviews basic issues in detail including:
1: 3 parts of human beings - spirit, soul and body;
2: born again / salvation;
3: 3 experiences with Holy Spirit
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the ‘with’ when Holy Spirit draws a person to Jesus;
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the ‘in’ when Holy Spirit comes in us after being born again;
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the ‘upon’ when Holy Spirit comes upon us as a result of Jesus baptizing a person in the Holy Spirit to receive power to witness;
4: 4 baptisms relevant to believers today; and how these experiences and baptisms all fit together.
5: a chapter on the gift of tongues;
6: summary of the Cessationist evidence as presented in CEASED? and points to Ponder for Cessationists.
Points to ponder for cessationists (206 pages) focuses on some of the key reasons why Cessationists believe this Baptism and the 9 Gifts ended over 1,900 years ago. To more fully appreciate this evidence, it also includes summary of key points covered in Chapters 3 to 12 of both CEASED? and Points to Ponder for Charismatics & Pentecostals.
Points to ponder for ROMAN Catholics (269 pages) reviews the Cessationist evidence since within the Catholic church, 100-125 million Catholics are Charismatic i.e., they believe the 9 Holy Spirit gifts (prophecy, tongues, words of knowledge, healings etc.) are valid but the vast majority of Catholics disagree or - at a minimum - are choosing not to get involved in these gifts. points to ponder for ROMAN Catholics also reviews a number of Catholic teachings by comparing them to what the Bible teaches, beginning with the 3 Holy Spirit experiences - the ‘with’, the ‘in’ and the ‘upon’. The latter pertains to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which is the core of the second Sacrament of Confirmation. In addition, POINTS TO PONDER FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS reviews Catholic teachings to the Bible on issues such as communion, priests forgiving sins, salvation, water baptism, Mary, Peter and the position of Pope, graven images and the different Ten Commandments that the Catholic church has in comparison to Protestant churches.
The roots of this review of Catholic teachings vis-à-vis the Bible were formed soon after I started writing CEASED?. Early on, I became aware of a criticism of Protestant Charismatics & Pentecostals by Protestant Cessationists which was that Protestant Charismatics were not educating Catholic Charismatics on what many Protestant Cessationists (& many Protestant Charismatics & Pentecostals as well) believe are incorrect teachings of the Roman Catholic church. I wanted to address this Cessationist concern to a limited degree. The limited degree turned out to be ~150 pages in CEASED?, and a few more pages in Points to Ponder for ROMAN Catholics.
