Thread: A question on Christian Scripture.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Help me out guys, I have one problem...I received the HS before I was baptized.

Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So did Cornelius Acts 10. But he also received the HS before hearing words by which he would be saved Acts 11:14, 15 "14. Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning"

"Receiving" the "Holy Spirit" is not the indication that you've been saved (by receiving I mean have some supernatural manifestation), nor is getting "possessed" and speaking in "tongues" and whatever other manifestation that appears to happen indicative of being saved. And the "gift of the Holy Spirit" isn't the same thing as being baptized in the Holy Spirit like the Apostles and Cornelius were. Similarly, failure to "receive" the Holy Spirit isn't an indication that you are NOT saved. The Samaritans in Acts 8 were saved, yet they had not received the Holy Spirit "14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

Discussion on Acts 2:38

I don't know that I agree with everything said, but the author does a good job of laying out varying points of view on the topic.

Here's a pretty interesting discussion of those concepts