Dr Paul Allen

Generally speaking, the answer to this question is no; one cannot receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and not know he has received it. But to be more precise, we must qualify that answer in three ways: 1. On rare occasions, people have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues and, although they knew something strange and wonderful had taken place, did not know what had happened to them. They had never heard of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and so had no way to define the experience. In such cases, the baptism usually comes in some deep moment of prayer or during a time of spontaneous praise to God. We know one friend who went forward in a meeting for what she thought was to be prayer for healing. She had misunderstood the minister’s invitation, which had been for those seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As she sat in the appointed place, people gathered around and began praying for her.  Suddenly, she felt her tongue begin to thrash around in her m...

Would you describe yourself as an assured Christian? Are you sure God loves you, that your sins have been forgiven, and that God will keep you on the narrow road that leads to life? For many Christians, these questions hang awkwardly. Doubt plagues them, making every burden heavier, every shadow darker, and every hardship more significant. Where can they look for certainty? We start by encouraging doubting Christians to look away from themselves to Christ and God's free grace. Many of our doubts find their root in the secret fear that we must do something to prime the pump of grace. The gospel speaks eloquently to such insecurity.  We need no prior qualification or merit besides sin to receive grace. At no point in the golden chain of salvation is God waiting for us to take the first step before He will open the floodgates of grace. Every Godward thought, every desire for Christ, comes down from above and is itself the fruit of grace—grace previously and freely given. In the quest ...

Why is the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 so amazing? Answer: It speaks of faith.  “What is faith?”  It might seem like this little word faith, so familiar to every Christian, would be easy to define. It occurs all over the Bible; various forms of it are used nearly one hundred times in the gospel of John alone.  But what is faith? Often, Hebrews 11:1 is cited as a definition of faith. In the ESV, it reads, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Though this might sound like a definition of faith, New Testament scholar J. Gresham Machen is likely right when he says that Hebrews 11:1 gives us more of a description of faith than a definition of faith.1 In the New Testament, faith is often referred to as the subjective means by which the people of God receive the Word and blessings of God. But it is also used to describe the content of what God has revealed in His Word and in the gospel in particular.  In Jude 3, for in...