Presbyterians and Pentecostals

Do they get along? Would they ever work together for the kingdom?

Behe's Boy said:

Wouldn't be a problem here - so long as they believed you could not loose your salvation - something most pentecostals do not believe...

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I know I believed in assurance of salvation as something ironclad, based on certain verses in the bible. However, since a paradigm shift in my whole way with God I've come to see that we cannot ignore the aspects of scripture that suggest that we need to abide in Christ and hold to obedience. Not that I believe for a second that we can gain or lose salvatoin by works. I want to make that clear.

But there are verses in the bible that suggest it's more than simply "once saved, always saved". The problem is reconciling verses that suggest the one with those that suggest the other.

I've concluded that one's salvation cannot be gained or lost on the basis of works, but that one can reject the grace of God in the work of the Holy Spirit. If we continue to hold and abide to God and obey his commands, he will bear fruit through us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, not by works (though our discipline of obedience and godliness enables that work to be possible). If however we continually sin and let that impede the grace and work of the Holy Spirit in us, we will not bear fruit, and we will be as those branches that are cut off - not because of works or lack of them, but because those that are cut off had already rejected and cut off the grace of the Holy Spirit.

A closer look at scripture will show that it not only has a number of verses about assurance of salvation, but also statements along the lines of those who remain in me and obey my commands will never fall. It means that there is a way a person can fall, but not on the basis of works - it is on the basis of rejection of the Spirit, the blasphemy that will not be forgiven. When one has cut themselves off from the Holy Spirit, everything the Spirit does will be evil to them, and no forgiveness remains when that happens.

I'm sure not everyone will agree here, but I'm open to other suggestions as to how to reconcile the "assurance of salvation" verses and the "abide in me and you won't fall" verses.

In saying this I don't believe christians fall away on the basis of works. One cannot earn salvation, and one cannot lose salvation on the basis of works. And I believe that many Pentecostals believe this too.

blessings,

Glad to hear that the general response is positive. I go to a Pentecostal church now, and used to go to a Presbyterian one for several years. At first I was unsure as to how my church was going to react when I began to move in the area of spiritual gifts and the Holy Spirit Pentecostal-wise, but as I told close friends and gauged their responses I realised they were mostly open, though a little jittery at the unknown territory.

There have been one or two responses and views that have not been positive however though far from awful. I guess I'm wondering how bridging this will work as I still am good friends with a lot of people from the Pressy church but just don't see them as much these days. While the pentecostal jump was the right one for me accoding to God's leading I do miss my friends and working with them. The paradigm of community with my current church is just so different yet the rest of it is going great.

I'm just thinking, if I ever manage to organise a get-together of people from both churches will it work out or will it end up going sour? I see that it's possible but it may not work in every case. Still, there's only one way to find out...

blessings,