By Evan Knies

Pentecost – Today? was first published in 1998 and is written by Iain Murray. In 1957, Iain cofounded Banner of Truth Trust. Pentecost – Today? is quite possibly one of the most helpful Banner books that I have read. Below are some quotes that I found helpful along with a video from Paul Washer recommending this book.

Pentecost Today available at Banner of Truth

 

Quotes

pg. 18 – It is clear from the book of Acts that all Christians did not remain permanently ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ in the sense of Acts 2:4. Had that been so it would not have been possible to say of the same persons again in Acts 4:31, ‘and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit’. Here was an element of Pentecost which was clearly repeatable; there was a further giving of what they already possessed. Again, if being ‘filled with the Spirit’ was uniform in every Christian, what would be the point of the apostles instructing the disciples in Acts 6 to look for a characteristic which all possessed, ‘Seek out….seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit’? It must be true, as the Larger Catechism of the Westminster Assembly states (Question 182), that, while the Holy Spirit is given to all Christians, his working is ‘not in all persons, nor at all times, in the same measure’.

pg. 25 – The New Testament never leaves the Christian in the position of believing that all necessary grace and help is not now available.

pg. 26 – If we think only that the Holy Spirit is continuously resident in the church, as if necessarily present and inherent in the means of grace, we can easily begin to forget how urgently we stand in need of the supernatural.

pg. 52 – Where there is no alienation from sin there is no re-birth.

pg. 59 – Faith is the grace which honours God by its dependence upon Him; and because faith receives all, and attributes nothing to itself, God identifies faith with all that He is himself able to do.

pg. 65 – Prayer is communion with God and in addressing Him we are to begin with the name which assures us of His love.

pg. 74 – Dependence upon God is our greatest need; it focuses our attention upon what He can do; and it makes His glory a supreme reason for all our concerns: ‘Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory’ (Jer. 14:21); ‘Hallowed be Your name’ (Matt. 6:9).

pg. 129 – For the Christian in this world the goal is always beyond him.

pg. 171 – If Scripture loses its true place in the church nothing remains certain.

pg. 190 – Too many modern changes in public worship look like attempts to provide substitutes for the work of the Holy Spirit; and the emptiness of these substitutes is often apparent. If a sense of the greatness and majesty of God is not present in a congregation then nothing else can produce awe and wonder.

Pentecost Today available at Banner of Truth

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Evan Knies is from West Monroe, LA. He is married to Lauren and father to Maesyn. He is a graduate of Boyce College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can follow him on Twitter @Evan_Knies