Apostolic Salvation 2

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For Luke "being saved" and "entering the kingdom of God" are synonymous
(Lk 18:24-26).  The kingdom of God, Hebrew malkuth, Greek basilea, is
better translated reign of God.  In Holy Scripture these terms do not
designate a geographical territory governed by a king, the connotation
of "kingdom".  These terms are used to express the sovereignty,
authority, and power of God as king in the establishment of His rule
upon the earth.  The term reign better expresses the spiritual realm or
sphere of the rule of God which is implied. "Salvation in Luke-Acts
means participation in the reign of God"  (Powell 1992:6).  For Luke
participation in the reign of God means peace, blessing, eternal life,
forgiveness, healing, and deliverance.  Participation in the reign of
God means "living life, even now, as God intends it to be lived" 
(Powell 1992:6). 
	 Luke frequently chooses to describe the Christian experience of
salvation as the odos, the way. In a usage unique to the New Testament
Luke uses the "way" in Acts to refer to the whole of Christian teaching
(Acts 19:23; 22:4; 24:22) and to Christians as a group (Acts 9:2;
24:14).  Such a usage corresponds to the manner in which the Hebrew
halakhah, "walk, rule of life" is used in the Old Testament (Bruce
1975:197).  For Luke the "way" describes the "whole manner of life to
which believers commit themselves by believing, repenting, and turning,
the distinctive way of life which marks those who have received the
Spirit, have believed, have been saved" (Van Roo 1986:128).  Salvation
does not consist of a passive acceptance of a series of intellectual
propositions or the precise obedience to a plan of salvation.  Salvation
"is a way of life: a way of believing and behaving in the world" as a
result of experiencing the risen savior Jesus Christ and joining a
unique Christian community.  A theology of salvation based upon the
Lukan narratives will be descriptive of the way of life of a Christian
community, how that community participates in the reign of God.
	An Apostolic Pentecostal theology of salvation will be descriptive of
the way of life of the Apostolic community.  This description will
involve an analysis of the foundational experience common to all
Pentecostals, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, a discussion of the "root
metaphors" from the book of Acts which the community utilizes to
understand and explain its experience, and a presentation of the
distinctive lifestyle of the community.  This theology will be justified
by demonstrating its biblical basis, its continuity with the
foundational Pentecostal experience, and its position in a "web of
belief" by which Pentecostals can understand and explain their faith in
relationship to greater Christendom and the world.
	The baptism in the Holy Spirit is "the foundational experience of the
Christian life for Pentecostals" (Kelsey 1964:78).  The Apostolic
experience of the Spirit is an awesome, immediate, and unpredictable
encounter with the risen savior Jesus Christ.  Andrew Urshan, one of the
founders of the Apostolic movement, describes his experience of the
Spirit prior to receiving the baptism in the Spirit with the sign of
speaking in tongues:
	"One evening about 9:30 p.m. three of us were on the cement sidewalk on
the pier of the lake, in the suburbs of the city.  While our faces were
turned toward heaven, and our hands lifted up high, the power of God
fell upon us.  I saw a vision of Christ crucified; how they scourged
him, and kicked him; how they nailed him to the cross.  Through the
Spirit I felt the terrible sufferings which he had endured; and my whole
being trembled, the tears rolled down my cheeks and it seemed as if my
bones were being separated one from another.  A voice within me cried,
"Glory to God!"  The other two brethren while holding me up were
frightened, hearing me weep, and beholding a power upon me, which they
did not understand.  My lips were greatly enlarged, my tongue became to
large for my mouth; and my eyes and throat were much swollen.  Oh that
vision of Jesus!  Gazing upon him nailed to that cruel cross, suffering
such agony for even me, I loved him more than ever before"  (Urshan
1967:117-118).
	Similar experiences of the Spirit soon resulted in the baptism in the
Spirit with the sign of speaking in tongues.  Howard Goss, the first
superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, describes such an
experience of the Spirit:
	"I knew that several had already been filled, when suddenly the power
of God struck me!  I was so grateful!  Soon the power and fire of God
came heavier and heavier upon me, until it seemed that I must really be
on fire!  This fire and power coming upon me for the first time in my
life, seemed to melt all of my natural strength, leaving me lying
hopelessly back in my seat.  With every compartment of my mind fully
surrendered to God, I told him to have his way with me, and as I was
completely relaxed, he did.  Oh, such glory!  I had never dreamed it
could be!  Soon my English stopped and I could talk and praise no more.
	As I lay back against my seat, the Spirit of God took possession of my
fully surrendered body, and lastly took hold of my throat and vocal
cords in what to me was a new and strange way.  God's power and glory
upon me became far greater than I have ever since been able to describe.
	This went on several minutes, while the fire of God flamed hotter and
hotter, until I thought I must actually be on fire.  When another bolt
of God's lightning struck me, thereby loosening me still further, I
began to speak in strange tongues, as the Spirit actually did the
speaking...I sat there completely relaxed, even helpless, and let the
Lord control me Himself, as the different languages came and went" 
(Goss 1972:13-14).
	Odell Cagle, another founding father of the Apostolic community,
describes a similar experience of the Spirit:
	"That night we returned to the revival..I ran forward, fell on my knees
and bowed my head down to the altar.  Then I heard the kindest,
sweetest, and most soul satisfying voice I have ever heard say to me,
"Thy sins are forgiven, look up, lift up your hands, and receive the
Holy Ghost."  I saw a vision of a golden stairway and Jesus at the top
with with His arms outstretched toward me.  I saw the wounds in His
hands and feet and the door to heaven was open to me.  Words cannot be
found to describe its beauty.  When the vision left I opened my eyes, I
jumped to my feet dancing with all my might.  I don't know how many
received the Holy Ghost that night, but we all had a wonderful time in
the Lord.  The following Sunday I was baptized in Jesus' name and was
blessed with tongues again"  (Cagle  1972:13-14).