Sermon Tone Analysis

Charles Finney is one of the most iconic figures in American religious history.

He grew up in New York.

Teacher, law clerk, and finally the most influential evangelist of all time.

At 26 he had a Bible and went to church like everyone else in 1818, but he was Biblically illiterate.

He couldn’t understand the sermons, and terms like regeneration, sanctification, faith.

He realized he was a sinner and needed salvation.

And he was bothered by this and wanted to settle his need for salvation.

He read his Bible for two days.

But after two days had no results and he was anxious about this.

In his autobiography we learn that his internal voice asked him, “what are you waiting for?

Did you not promise to give your heart to god? Then it hit him.

And his mind was opened to see the reality of Christ’s atonement.

He realized salvation was an offer from God simply to be accepted by faith.

So his mind was impressed with the question, “will you accept salvation now by faith?”

Yes I will.

So he walked away from his home to pray in the woods.

As he began to pray this scripture came to mind

When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.

13 When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me.

He writes, “I instantly seized hold of this with my heart.

I had intellectually believed the Bible before, but never had the truth been in my mind that faith was a voluntary trust instead of an intellectual state…Somehow I knew that that was a passage of scripture, though I do no think I had ever read it…I cried to Him, ‘Lord, I take thee at Thy word.”

Later back in his office that night he had an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

He felt the prescence of God and fell down on his knees and poured out his soul to God.

He wept aloud like a child and made confessions as best as he could as his words choked with tears.

this encounter lasted a while.

He writes that, “…as I turned, to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit…He descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body, and soul.

I could feel the impression like a wave of electricity going through and through me…No words can express the wonderful love that was spread abroad in my heart.

I wept with joy and love.

I literally bellowed out the unspeakable overflow of my heart.”

Later that evening a church member found him weeping loudly.

He asked if something was wrong.

Finney answered, “No, but so happy that I cannot live.”

When he woke up the next morning he recalled, “the baptism that I had received…returned upon me in the same manner…I wept aloud with joy, and remained for sometime too much overwhelmed with the baptism of the Spirit to do anything but pour out my soul to god....In this state I was taught the doctrine of justification by faith as a present experience…my cup ran over with blessing and with love.”

Finney became one of the most powerful evangelists overnight.

He was so efficient, he could not remember one who he spoke with that was not soon after converted.

He was surprised to find that when he spoke a few words to an individual about God, they would stick to the heart like an arrow.

And conversion would occur.

For the next 30 years he would go up and down New York preaching and praying and converting records of people.

Stories exist of people giving their hearts to Christ the moment the train in which the evangelist traveled went by the station.

His experience is seen by many today of what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about.

A powerful second blessing for those who are already Christian.

Others see this as Finney’s first true conversion.

His experience is seen by many today of what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about.

A powerful second blessing for those who are already Christian.

Others see this as Finney’s first true conversion.

His experience is seen by many today of what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about.

A powerful second blessing for those who are already Christian.

Others see this as Finney’s first true conversion.

How are we to interpret it.

What exactly is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Historical context of the baptism of the Spirit theology.

Begins with Montanus, a converted priest in the second century who saw the church as spiritually dead and called it back to the golden days of pentecost, wanting to see evidence of such through signs and wonders.

He called himself the mouthpiece of the holy Spirit, gathered followers and founded a commune.

He and two female prophets would fall into trances, prophecy, and speak for God in the first person.

To counteract the influence of charismatic leaders like Montanus, the church developed the concept of Apostolic succession to trace authority back to the apostles.

Then the controversies in the church over Christology and the trinity made the issue of the work and person of the Holy Spirit take a back seat.

Not much emphasis from 100 -1800

Holiness movement in 1900’s brought the baptism of the spirit front and center.

Greater emphasis on the work of Christ in us

Seeking Evidence of this work of the Spirit led to the birth of Pentecostalism

Brief history of Pentecostalism, Fox, etc

The founder of the modern Pentecostal movement was Charles Fox Parham, a holiness preacher who sought the latter rain outpouring of the Spirit as a greater personal manifestation of God’s power.

He became convinced that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would be speaking in tongues.

and he challenged Bible school students to seek this experience.

One of them, Agnes Ozman, experienced speaking in tongues on Jan 1, 1901, now considered the birth of the movement.

It grew fast, by 1906 it was in papers, with the Azusa street revival.

1930 dozen Pentecostal denominations born.

This was the first wave.

The second wave, neo-charismatic movement began in 1960 with leaders and members of mainstream denominations experiencing renewal in worship that included speaking in tongues.

Then the third wave in the 1980’s arrived where traditional evangelical churches who always emphasized the God’s word now were open to the type of speaking in tongues experience of the pentecostal churches.

manifestation of the Spirit .

Pentecostal-charismatic movement is now the fastest growing movement in Christianity today.

In barely 100 years it has 600 million adherents around the world.

1/3 of christianity.

Surpassing even the growth rate of the early church of the first century.

Three views on the “Baptism of the Spirit”

Summary of original - conversion to Christ, receives the Spirit, and water baptism an outward example of what has happened internally.

Conversion to Christ leads to receiving the Spirit, and water baptism is an outward example fo the internal process.

- Traditional Protestant Theology.

Wesley highlighted the need for sanctification, and the witness of the Spirit in ones life ().

But never taught baptism of Spirit was a second work of Grace.

It was still simply conversion just as Paul the Apostle taught.

But some of the Methodist leaders began to call baptism of the Spirit - sanctification.

(This was 300 years ago.)

But some of the Methodist leaders began to call baptism of the Spirit - sanctification.

300 years ago.

Post-Wesleyan and Holiness movement picked up on this and set stage for an additional conversion experience, calling it “instant sanctification” and a second work of grace.

This led some to yearn for instantaneous or supernatural experiences.

(150 years ago)

An additional conversion experience after baptism called “instant sanctification” and a second work of grace.

- Holiness movement.

Pentecostalism saw it as not only A second work of grace, but also as supernatural power such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, & performing miracles.

- Pentecostalism.

, etc., which the manifestation of these powers set the believer apart from others who have not experienced it.

(100 years ago)

New testament evidence of the baptism of the Spirit in seven places.

Whether or not the baptism of the Spirit is a second work of grace is more important than what first meets the eye.

It’s a matter of the proper order of God’s activity.

It has far reaching implications as far as the times of the end.

There are seven clear examples of baptism by water and the infilling baptism of the Spirit