Common Barriers to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Do you want God to use you? God has put every believer on a journey to become more like Jesus, to walk in the power of the Spirit to proclaim his kingdom. In this excerpt from his book, Say What? A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues, Jeremiah Campbell helps us see the barriers that can keep us from receiving the fullness of the Spirit. Approaching this from a classical Pentecostal perspective, he offers tools to overcome those roadblocks and receive what God has for us.

Tongues accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an evidential gift. However, a gift cannot merely be given, it must also be received. Many individuals ask, “why don’t I speak in tongues? Why don’t I receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?” We must remember first of all that we don’t determine the giving of the gift, the Spirit determines when and to whom to give spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 2:11). However, on the receiving end, we must also understand that different reasons, albeit even subconscious reasons, cause us to refuse the gift even when the Spirit gives it. In this section I propose seven specific reasons (although this list is not all-encompassing) that cause individuals to refuse what the Spirit offers, the inspiration for the first five came from evangelist Rob Enloe (2013).

 

1. Anti-Pentecostal Baggage

This mentality comes from an underlying fear of a counterfeit experience. From a young age, many people erroneously learned that the gift of tongues comes from the devil, or that the gift is not biblical. Therefore, they understandably refuse to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, let alone open their mouths, lest they actually speak in tongues. Such a perspective also creates fear and dissention among Christians, developing an “us vs. them” mentality.

One of the most effective ways to overcome such a mentality or fear comes when individuals ground themselves in the Word of God. One of the purposes of this book is to do exactly that—show individuals that the filling of the Holy Spirit and prophetic utterance is extremely biblical and has been God’s modus operandi from the beginning. When individuals understand how biblical this experience is, they will begin to lower their guard and open themselves to receive all that God has for them. Once individuals understand that the Holy Spirit also meant this biblical experience for them, they will more readily seek it. This is why Jesus said, …

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:11-13).

2. Shy or Introverted Personality

This mentality comes from the fear of humiliation or public attention and commonly creates barriers to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, churches regularly ask individuals in a service to come forward to receive the baptism. Of course the baptism experience could happen in such a setting, but it creates a mentality that individuals have to go somewhere to receive it. This mentality also creates difficulties for introverts who often struggle with public attention. So why do we think that they will to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the front of a church full of people, when they are afraid to walk down to the front without shaking in their boots?

An effective way to help individuals overcome this barrier is to encourage them to find a private place to pray, or if they are in church, pray right where they are. They can even whisper their prayer privately. This privacy removes unnecessary social pressure and allows them to relax and receive what the Lord has for them. It also helps individuals know that they can receive the baptism at home, as was the case for my wife. Many individuals have testified that they received Spirit baptism in the shower, probably because it is the one place they don’t have distractions. I have even heard of one person receiving it while riding his bicycle! The point is to not create a show. We must orientate our hearts and attitudes in order to willing receive what the Spirit has to offer.

 

3. Hyper Analytical

This mentality comes from the fear of not understanding or intellectually processing what your experience. I personally struggled with this barrier. As an analytical person, I struggle when I cannot explain something. Many individuals also struggle with the baptism in the Holy Spirit and its accompanying gift—tongues, because it comes as a supernatural experience we cannot easily explain.

To overcome this barrier, I suggest we put our “analyzer” on hold first, and willingly receive what God has, and then analyze the experience afterward. I do not advocate “not thinking”, but rather willingly allow God to work and not think, “We’ll, I’ve been standing here for the last 45 minutes and I feel like I am going to fall over, and now I have a cold chill on my neck, but that is because I am sweating and they just turned on the fans.” Sometimes we get in our own way and over analyze things. Therefore, in this case, I propose we do things in reverse order, where we open ourselves up to receive first, recognizing that we cannot fully explain spiritually abstract concepts, and then analyze the experience afterward. The idea is that hyper analytical people typically lead with their head and follow with their heart. I suggest making an effort to do the reverse of leading with your heart and then following with your head to overcome this barrier.

 

4. The Passive Approach

This mentality comes from a fear of self-inducement of a counterfeit experience; and therefore, we assume it is not divine. Individuals who struggle with this area fear that either they just made something up in their head, or they wait for the Holy Spirit to possess them and move their mouth like a puppet.

To overcome this barrier, we must first understand communication theory in God’s design. The apostle Paul helps us understand this very concept when he gave the Corinthian Church guidelines for the prophetic experience of the Spirit baptism. In regard to the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Paul reminded the Corinthians that the prophetic gift of tongues requires an act of obedience and control by the speaker. He stated, “The spirits of prophets are subjects to the control of prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32), and finished his thought encouraging them by stating, “be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (vv. 39-40).

When God gave prophetic messages to individuals to speak, or to write in the case of the biblical text, he gave them a message in their mind and they had to obey and open their mouth or pick up a pen. Tongues works in much the same way. Tongues are a type of prophecy. The syllables come to the mind of the speaker from the Holy Spirit. However, the speaker remains in control; therefore, he doesn’t make up what comes out of his mouth. We must also understand that Holy Spirit will not move your mouth, which means we must act in obedience to work in cooperation with the Spirit—it is a partnership.

 

5. Overwhelming Feelings of Unworthiness

This mentality comes from the fear of rejection. A great fear for people who seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is that God will pass by them, they won’t be good enough, or maybe they will be the only ones that will not receive the baptism. Many times individuals come forward for prayer seeking the Spirit’s baptism and nothing happens, so they develop overwhelming feelings of unworthiness because they feel like they have been passed over again. Others erroneously assume that speaking in tongues reflects some sort of spiritual maturity, and assume that if they don’t speak in tongues, the Spirit does not consider them spiritually mature enough.

An effective way to help overcome this barrier lies in the assurance that Jesus is worthy and supplies all the worthiness in every spiritual transaction. We don’t deserve anything, but live and operate in the mercy and grace of Jesus. When we realize who we are in him, and what the Spirit wants to do through us, feelings of unworthiness begin to fade away along with the barriers to receive all that God has for us. For those who assume tongues serve as a sign of spiritual maturity, we must remember that the Holy Spirit determines when and where individuals receive the baptism experience and its accompanying gift. Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church give evidence to realize that spiritual maturity has nothing to do with the baptism experience. The Bible does not make that connection, and the Corinthians obviously struggled with the use of a gift they had due to their spiritual immaturity. One of Paul’s most powerful statements related to this very issue reminds us that, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

6. Seeking the Gift Rather than the Giver

This mentality comes from the desire to receive the gift of speaking in tongues rather than on intimacy with the Giver himself. Many people fall into the same error as Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:18-19). People become mesmerized by the glamor of tongues, and like Simon, desire the evidence rather than the actual baptismal experience. Since tongues are a gift, then we should not seek the gift with selfish intentions, rather we should seek the Holy Spirit and allow him to give when he determines (1 Corinthians 12:11). James warned those who seek with mal intent stating, …

You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:2-3).

At a young age, my wife, Marj found herself mesmerized by this gift. She saw individuals in her church receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues. Her infatuation with the gift made her desire it. She would come forward on a regular basis at the end of a church service for prayer and constantly seek the gift of tongues, but to no avail. She would consistently leave disappointed until an elderly sister in the church helped her. She encouraged Marj to stop seeking the gift and begin to seek the Giver himself. She likened it to a child who seeks a toy from their parents versus a child who just seeks intimacy with their parents. Not long after Marj began to re-orient her perspective did she find herself alone at home, seeking the Lord when something different and beautiful began to pour from her lips as she prayed.

To effectively overcome this barrier, we must stop seeking the gift. Don’t come to a church service hoping that some big-name preacher will do something for you. Remember that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit (John 16:7), and the Holy Spirit gives the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11). Seek God!

7. Assuming that any Gift or Spiritual Experience is the Baptism

Many people see others who are “slain in the Spirit”, which doesn’t even appear in the Bible. Others see people who “tremble in the Spirit”, which really doesn’t happen in the Bible either, at least in this kind of a context, and in some cases may even serve as a sign of demon possession (Matthew 17:14-21). Still others say that any spiritual gift can serve as the sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and others say that we all received the Spirit baptism at salvation.

We must remember we are social creatures. We see something and we believe it as a legitimate experience, so we copy it. We must stop making it an emotional experience and make it a spiritual experience. Even though the move of the Spirit can stir emotions, remember that emotions are not the point. We don’t have to fall in the Spirit or shake. These things can happen, but many times they happen because of emotions and not because of the Spirit’s baptism.

In regard to the evidence, we must return to the Bible. The only biblical pattern of the filling of the Spirit is prophetic, and more specifically in the form of tongues in the New Testament. The Bible does not give us the license to connect any other experience apart from tongues to the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

In regard to receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the moment of salvation. It can happen, as was the case for Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-46). However, it does not have to happen that way. Obviously we don’t receive God in stages or parts, we must remember to distinguish the Holy Spirit from the baptism experience. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a subsequent event that empowers believers to fulfil their part in the Great Commission (Acts 1:8).

 

Conclusion

We must remember that neither the baptism experience, nor tongues are a one-time event, but a process, and this may be a journey that God has put us on. This all boils down to the fact that God wants to give you power to do what he is calling you to do. It is really basic. The question is, will you be willing to allow God to use you and respond? The speaking in tongues is just the prophetic evidence that the Spirit has come upon and empowered you. Really, you’re allowing him to speak through you, submitting the most untamable part of your body to him—your tongue. This experience is something vital to your call. It is something that God wants us to seek. However, many people resist it because it is different, strange, or unfamiliar. This experience was a command of Christ and the last thing he said to his disciples (ref. Acts 1:4-9). God wants to use you. Will you let him?

 

PR

 

This article is an excerpt from Say What? A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues. Copyright © 2018 Jeremiah Campbell. Used with permission.

 

Further Reading:

Charles Carrin, “Six Ways the Holy Spirit Will Communicate With You”

Larry Christenson, “How to Speak in Tongues”

What did God have in mind for you when he gave the gift of tongues to the church? What can you do to prepare yourself to receive this blessing? An excerpt from Larry Christenson’s classic work, Answering Your Questions About Speaking in Tongues.

Read Rick Waldholm Jr.’s review of Jeremiah Campbell’s Say What? A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues, the book this article is an excerpt from.