A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

A History of Christian Doctrine
two largest Protestant denominations in the country. Their
combined adult membership in 1975 was 350,000. 167
These churches do not teach that speaking in tongues is
the sole initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
John G. Lake (1870-1935), a convert from Zion City
and a noted healing evangelist, went to South Africa in
1908 and established two large Pentecostal churches
there: the Apostolic Faith Mission (white) (440,000) and
the Zion Christian Church (black) (5,250,000). The latter
is the country’s largest Christian denomination.
Holiness and Christian Living
All Pentecostals have historically had a great concern
for holiness of life, both inwardly and outwardly. Steven
Land, a theologian in the Church of God, has explained
this concept well: 168
144
With regard to salvation and the daily walk of holiness,
faith and works, “talk and walk,” love and obedience,
gospel and law are fused. Love obeys. . . .
Faith alone justifies through grace. But the faith
which justifies is never alone; it is always, in the
Spirit, the faith which works through love. To be in
the faith is to be faithful. To be unfaithful is to be an
adulterer who has fallen out of love with God.
Pentecostals believe that Christians can and have
defected or “backslid.”. . . They call upon those crucified
with Christ to crucify the “affections and lusts.”. . .
They do not see this as works-righteousness. . . .
As a result of this emphasis Pentecostals often
practiced a very strict discipline which recognized
very few indifferent matters. . . . Holiness prohibitions