It is a spectacle of the highest order to witness a people who claim to be “People of the Book” while treating the King James Bible like a cafeteria line. They stand in the pulpit, declaring that every “jot and tittle” is the infallible breath of the Almighty, yet they somehow manage to navigate around the Fourth Commandment with the agility of a mountain goat. We are told to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” yet the modern Pentecostal seems more intent on contending for a Sunday morning ham biscuit.
The irony is so thick one could cut it with a sacrificial knife. Here is a movement that has named itself after a Holy Feast—Pentecost—the very day the Law was given at Sinai and the Spirit fell in the Upper Room. Yet, you will find these assemblies stone-silent when the actual day arrives. They claim a “defense of the truth,” yet their defense seems to vanish when the truth requires a change in diet or a commitment to the “perpetual covenant” of the Seventh-day Sabbath.
- The Bacon-Wrapped Covenant: They shout “Amen” to the infallibility of Scripture until the “unclean” animals of Leviticus 11 are mentioned. Suddenly, the “Word that liveth and abideth for ever” becomes a “suggestion for the Jews.” They ignore that Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean beasts centuries before a “Jew” ever existed, proving that a pig was an abomination in the eyes of God long before it hit a frying pan.
- The Calendar Shuffle: They cite the Resurrection as the reason for abandoning the Sabbath, yet the King never issued a change of address for His holiness. They sing about the “Ancient Paths” while walking a brand-new road paved by Roman traditions, ignoring the warning: “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane” (Ezekiel 22:26).
- The Tithing Trap: It is a theological comedy to watch a preacher use the Law to demand ten percent of a man’s paycheck while simultaneously claiming that the same Law is “nailed to the cross” the moment someone asks why they are working on Saturday. It seems the “ceremonial law” is only abolished when it interferes with their schedule, but perfectly valid when it fills the treasury.
The crowning achievement of this comedic confusion is found in their very name. One would assume a “Pentecostal” would be a foremost authority on the Feast of Weeks, yet they let the day pass as if it were any other. This year, the feast even falls upon a Sunday—the very day they have substituted for the Sabbath—and yet the pews will be filled with people who have no idea the day is holy. They speak in tongues they don’t understand while ignoring the plain English of the Decalogue. The ultimate irony is that in their rush to be “Spirit-filled,” they have completely forgotten the very event that gave them their name; truly, the most bizarre part of this “Full Gospel” is that Pentecostals don’t even celebrate Pentecost.
“For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:2-3).