Baptized With Fire
"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." — Luke 3:16
The Half of the Verse We Ignore
"John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." (Luke 3:16)
We hear a great deal about Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit. We hear almost nothing about Jesus baptizing with fire.
Both are in the sentence. John put them together and we have separated them.
And Jesus Himself said: "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?" (Luke 12:49)
What the Fire Is
Paul defines it directly:
"Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:28–29)
Fire consumes anything not acceptable to God. God's fire consumes sin.
That is what makes it so unwelcome. It is not decorative. It removes.
Why We Cannot Do This Ourselves
Here is the reason the fire is necessary rather than optional:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins." (Jeremiah 17:9–10)
Our hearts are so deceitful that we cannot even recognize all the sin in our own lives. Only God can do that.
This is the fatal flaw in every program of self-improvement. You cannot excise what you cannot see, and you cannot see most of it. A person examining his own heart is using a compromised instrument to inspect itself.
Only the Holy Spirit can do this work. And He does it by conviction, which is painful, which is why we avoid asking for it.
The Fire Was Already Kindled
"I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?"
The fire was indeed already burning while Jesus walked the earth. Everywhere He went He was hated, because His mere presence convicted everyone around Him of their sin.
And notice who hated Him most: the religious leaders — the very people who should have loved and welcomed Him first.
The same is true today. Those who should most welcome the fire of God to consume the sin in their lives welcome it the least. They serve God in their own strength and for their own gain.
"The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?" (Isaiah 33:14)
How to Ask For It
Let us be entirely practical, because this is not a mood.
You have to ask for it, and sincerely mean it.
It usually means getting on the floor — literally prostrate, nose to the ground, which is humbling in itself. Do it alone, in your private prayer closet, as Jesus instructed. This is between you and God and nobody else.
If you are truly willing, the Holy Spirit will painfully convict you of the sin in your life. And He will show you things you could not have found on your own.
Believe this: it is a painful experience. But we cannot serve the Lord without it. And it may need to be asked for more than once over a lifetime.
Point to Ponder
You cannot excise what you cannot see, and you cannot see most of it. That is why the fire is not optional.
Verse to Remember
"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." — Luke 3:16
Question to Consider
Have I ever once asked God to burn something out of me?
Today's Practice
Do this properly or do not do it today. Wait until you can.
Find a time and a private place where you will not be interrupted for at least an hour.
Get on the floor, face down, if you are physically able.
Then pray, and mean it:
"Lord Jesus, You baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I have asked for the first and avoided the second. I am asking now for the fire.
My heart is deceitful above all things and I cannot see my own sin. You can. Search me and show me — not what I would guess, but what You see.
Burn away everything in me that is not pleasing to You. I know this will hurt. Do it anyway.
I would rather be consumed now than found worthless later."
Then stay there and be quiet. Write down whatever He shows you.
Then act on it — every item, one at a time, confessed and removed.
Prayer
Father, I have wanted Your power and avoided Your fire, and now I understand why they come in the same sentence.
My heart is deceitful above all things. I cannot audit myself. I have been examining my life with a compromised instrument and congratulating myself on the findings.
Search me Yourself.
Baptize me with fire. Consume what should not be there — the pride, the appetite for credit, the cherished sin I have named something else, the motives I have never examined.
I know it will be painful. I am asking anyway, because I cannot serve You carrying this and I would rather it burned now than at Your judgment seat.
Do the work, Lord. I will not run from it. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Those who should most welcome the fire welcome it the least. It was true of the religious leaders then, and it is true now.