Pentecostal Beliefs, Doctrines, and Practices | Biblical Pentecostal Christianity
In Short
Pastor Jim Feeney’s “Pentecostal Beliefs, Doctrines, and Practices” sermon explains the core biblical beliefs of Pentecostal Christians, including salvation only through Jesus Christ, the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, the gifts of the Spirit, divine healing, the authority and power of God for today, and holy living. Pentecostals emphasize Scripture’s teaching about the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the life of the believer and in Christ's church.
Key Takeaways
- Pentecostal Christianity emphasizes salvation through Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible.
- Believers are encouraged to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit after salvation.
- Speaking in tongues is understood as the initial biblical evidence of Holy Spirit baptism.
- Pentecostals believe the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit continue today.
- Divine healing, miracles, and answered prayer remain part of Christ's ministry through His church.
- The purpose of Holy Spirit power is effective Christian witness and ministry.
- Pentecostal doctrine seeks to follow the pattern established by the New Testament church.
Key Scriptures
Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:38-39; Mark 16:15-20; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Hebrews 13:8; James 5:14-16
Welcome to Original Pentecostal
Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.
Brief Bio
Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D., is a Pentecostal Bible teacher with more than 50 years of Spirit-filled ministry experience. His sermons and Bible studies are personally written and drawn from decades of service as a church planter, senior pastor, Bible college teacher and Dean, and as a trainer of ministers internationally in the Pentecostal tradition.
Introduction and Overview of Pentecostalism
There is revival occurring in various localities around the world. One highly respected researcher estimates that 80% of these revival fires in the United States are Pentecostal-charismatic in nature. He states further that outside the USA, virtually 100% of current, major revival activity is Pentecostal-charismatic.
- •• Many have read of the November 2000 Reinhard Bonnke crusade in Lagos, Nigeria. An estimated 6 million people attended in six days! 1.6 million were present for the final night. There were miraculous healings, multiple salvations, and hundreds of thousands baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. It was through and through a Pentecostal revival!
- •• Many of the world’s largest Christian congregations embrace Pentecostal or charismatic beliefs and practices, particularly throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Spirit-filled churches are the norm, not the exception, among a big portion of the world's largest Christian congregations.
- •• Recent global studies have estimated hundreds of millions of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians worldwide. A February 11, 2021, article in Christianity Today, citing a 2020 report, stated that Pentecostals and charismatics comprised about 26 percent of Christians worldwide.
- •• Recent demographic studies (2025) estimate that there are approximately 664 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians worldwide, making this one of the largest and fastest-growing movements within global Christianity.
•• The world's largest video Bible School is ISOM, the International School of Ministry. In over 110 languages and in more than 150 nations, meeting in more than 20,000 teaching locations, ISOM is Bible-based, Christ-centered, and thoroughly Pentecostal in beliefs, doctrines, and practices.
•• What is this all about?- • What does "Pentecostalism" mean?
- • What do Pentecostals believe?
- • What is the essence of Pentecostal theology that might help explain these dramatic events?
- • What is a Pentecostal Christian?
To those questions we will devote the rest of this sermon.
Jesus Promised His Followers Power through the Baptism with the Holy Spirit
- •• Pentecost! As we stated earlier, the majority of the forward progress of the Church in the world today is Pentecostal-based.
- • Let’s have a refresher on what “Pentecost” and "Pentecostalism" mean.
- •• (1:4) The Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Spirit is a “GIFT”. You can’t earn it. You can’t “become good enough” to receive it. We are baptized in the Holy Spirit entirely as a gift from God.
•• (1:4) It was and is a “PROMISE” from God the Father.- • Therefore, not to be avoided, but received.
- •• (1:5) The “promise” is that “you will be BAPTIZED with the HOLY SPIRIT” — the essence of Pentecostalism and charismatic-Pentecostal beliefs, doctrines, and practices. Many Christians today shy away from this experience. Yet it was at the heart of first-century Christianity and should be so today.
•• (1:5) “John baptized with WATER, BUT in a few days you will be baptized with the HOLY SPIRIT.”- • There is a distinct difference between baptism in water and baptism with the Holy Spirit. Contrary to some anti-Pentecostal teachings, these are two distinct baptisms, as Jesus clearly said here: "...baptized with water, but ... you ... baptized with the Holy Spirit."
- •• (1:8) “You will RECEIVE POWER” from this Holy Spirit baptism.
- • Pentecost speaks of Holy Ghost POWER in YOU.
• One consistent manifestation of that Pentecostal power then and now is divine healings. Illustrations of such supernatural healings (also miracles) can be found throughout the Book of Acts in the time subsequent to the Acts 2 Pentecost (for example, Acts 3:6-8, Acts 5:16, Acts 8:5-7, Acts 9:33-34, Acts 14:8-10, Acts 19:11-12, Acts 28:8-9).
- •• (1:8) It means “power [to]...be [Christ’s] WITNESSES.”
- • To be His WITNESSES, not to act strangely!
- • There comes a new "fire" of the Holy Spirit into your life — "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16).
• T.L. Osborne wrote that this is the purpose of Pentecost — to be witnesses of Christ with power, leading to the saving of souls.
- •• (2:1) Pentecost was a “DAY” historically in their lives.
- • Each of us needs a historical day of Pentecost, a personal experience, not just “being around” it or merely in a charismatic or Pentecostal church.
• Every Christian is wise (and biblical) to seek his/her own personal baptism with the Holy Spirit.
- •• At salvation you are “BORN” of the Holy Spirit.
- • (2:4) At Pentecost you are “FILLED with the Holy Spirit.”
• It is one thing (surely a great thing!) to be born of the Spirit. It is an entirely different experience to be filled with, to be baptized with, the Holy Spirit, with the resulting infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit.
- •• (2:4) And something dramatic happens. You begin to “speak in other TONGUES.” The same initial evidence of speaking in tongues occurs in Acts 10:44-46, in Acts 19:1-6, and in the apostle Paul’s life (First Corinthians 14:18). It was the same experience that had been received by the first 120 at Pentecost (compare Acts 2:1-4 with Acts 11:15-17).
•• (2:4) “as the SPIRIT ENABLED them” — the baptism with the Holy Spirit plunges you into the realm of the supernatural, the realm in which the Holy Spirit moves through you with His power and begins to manifest spiritual gifts in your life and ministry — including prophecy, discerning of spirits, revelationary words of knowledge, and more.
Three Distinct Callings to the Believer: (1) Repent, (2) Be Baptized in Water, (3) Receive the Holy Spirit Baptism
- •• Peter’s Spirit-anointed sermon on the Day of Pentecost adds some insights and reinforces others we have seen.
•• (38) The baptism with the Holy Spirit is part of a total package for the Christian — repentance, water baptism, and the baptism with the Spirit.
•• (38) “...be baptized [in water]...and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”- • Confirming Acts 1:5 that water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism are two distinct baptisms.
- •• (38) “...you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
- • As in Acts 1:4, it’s a “gift.” You can’t earn it.
• Also as in Acts 1:4, it is to be “received.” Don’t hold back, but in faith receive this blessing from God.
- •• (39) “The promise is for you ... and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
- • As in Acts 1:4, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a sure, trustworthy promise of God.
• And this promise was not just for them, but also for you — “for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Closing Comments
Pentecostalism is sweeping the globe. It is, I strongly maintain, the most Scripturally correct understanding of first-century Christianity and was understood by the early Church to be normative for the Church in all centuries.
This sermon has been a basic “refresher” on Pentecostal doctrine, beliefs, and practices. You can find additional insights at our related sermon: “Why Pentecost?”
More Resources for You on Pentecostal Beliefs
More information on Pentecostal beliefs, doctrines, and practices may be found among our Pentecostal Bible studies, including:
- • Why Speak in Tongues?
• Speaking in Tongues is the Initial Evidence
• The Supernatural Gifts of the Holy Spirit Are For Today
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Frequently Asked Questions About Pentecostal Beliefs and Practices
What do Pentecostals believe?
Pentecostals believe the core doctrines shared by historic biblical Christianity, including salvation through Jesus Christ alone, the authority of the Bible, Christ's death and resurrection, and His future return. They also emphasize the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, including the baptism with the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, divine healing, and the supernatural power of God for believers today.
What makes Pentecostal Christianity different?
Pentecostal Christians place special emphasis on the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, and the believer's need for the Holy Spirit's power in daily Christian living and ministry. They seek to follow the pattern of the early church described in the Book of Acts.
Do Pentecostals believe speaking in tongues is biblical?
Yes. Pentecostals believe speaking in tongues is a biblical gift of the Holy Spirit. They point to the Book of Acts, where believers who were baptized with the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues as the Spirit enabled them, and to the apostle Paul's teaching about tongues in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 through 14.
What is the baptism with the Holy Spirit?
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience in which Jesus Christ fills believers with the Holy Spirit to empower them for Christian witness, ministry, and Spirit-filled living. Pentecostals believe this experience remains available to Christians today just as it was in the New Testament, and that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Do Pentecostals believe spiritual gifts are still for today?
Yes. Pentecostals believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit—including prophecy, healing, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and faith—continue to operate throughout the Church Age for the building up of Christ's church and the advancement of the Gospel.
Do Pentecostals believe in divine healing?
Yes. Pentecostals believe Jesus Christ still heals today according to His love and mercy to us and His biblically expressed will to heal. They encourage prayer for the sick, believing that God continues to answer prayer and perform healings just as He did in the New Testament.
Are Pentecostal beliefs based on the Bible?
Yes. Pentecostal doctrine seeks to follow the teachings and examples of the New Testament, especially the Book of Acts and the writings of the apostles. Pentecostals believe that the experiences of the early church—including the baptism with the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, miracles, and bold Christian witness—remain God's pattern for believers today.
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Check out our featured sermon: "The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Is for You Today"
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.