If we consider numbers, it is safe to say that
ninety-five per cent. of those who to-day claim "the gift of the Spirit"
have never been baptized for the remission of sins. _They have never
performed the conditions upon which the gift was bestowed_. Are they
competent to testify? Of the remaining five per cent., there is not one
who can give any definite reason why he is _conscious_ of the personal
indwelling of the Spirit within him. To demonstrate my statement I
appeal to the consciousness of my readers. Are you _conscious_ of any
influence within you except a holy joy that comes from obedience to the
will of God? If you are not, what evidence have you that the Spirit
personally dwells in you? So much for the argument from consciousness.
_Now let us appeal to the Divine Word_. When the apostle Peter promised
"the gift of the Spirit," he followed it with the words, "_For the
promise_ is to you and to your children, and to all them that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." He distinctly states
that the gift of the Spirit is in fulfillment of "the promise." Now, is
there in the Scripture any promise of a personal indwelling of the Holy
Spirit as a _result of obedience_? Let us search the words of the
Master.
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