A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

A History of Christian Doctrine
With these instructions, he said that hundreds instantly
receive the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals would say that many
of these people may repeat, copy, or manufacture certain
sounds, but they do not truly receive the baptism of the
Holy Spirit, with the Spirit of God giving the prompting
and the utterance.
On the doctrine of salvation, Charismatics typically
affirm the standard theology of their parent denominations.
Some Charismatic theologians teach that both
water baptism and Spirit baptism are integral to
Christian initiation, or the new birth. Larry Christenson
(Lutheran) taught that repentance, baptism in water, and
baptism of the Holy Ghost are all links in the conversion
process. 302 David Pawson (former Baptist) held that
repentance, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy
Spirit are all necessary for salvation, justification, and
new birth. 303 Kilian McDonnell (Roman Catholic)
affirmed that both water baptism and Spirit baptism are
part of Christian initiation. 304 In principle, the position of
such teachers is quite similar to that of the Oneness
Pentecostal doctrine of the new birth, although in practice
most of them do not baptize specifically in the name
of Jesus Christ or expect tongues to be the initial sign in
every case of Spirit baptism.
A number of Charismatics practice baptism in Jesus’
name after the pattern of the Book of Acts. Examples are
David Pawson in England, Bob Weiner in the U.S., and the
churches that formerly were associated as Maranatha
Christian Fellowship. Recently, a prominent Charismatic
leader in the Philippines was baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ, and by one report as many as 500,000 of his
followers have been so baptized. 305
302