“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11,12

“Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32) This is one of my favorite verses to reflect upon, as Jesus ministers to His disciples in a corrective yet edifying way, after having pointed them back to the Word of God and to the truth of His death, burial, and resurrection. The context is much more beautiful than my own former mystical understanding in desiring the fire of God. Matthew Henry said this about the disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus ministered to them and disappeared from before them, “Thus do they not so much compare notes as compare hearts, in the review of the sermon Christ had preached to them. They found the preaching powerful, even when they knew not the preacher…it brought a divine heat with a divine light to their souls.” It is interesting to consider how the focus was not on a feeling, but the truth revealed by the Savior Himself found in the confines of Scripture causing their hearts to burn.

As believers, we want to honor God and to walk in the truth. We also want to have zeal and passion in serving God and delighting in His ways. Henry also notes about Luke 24:32 that in hearing God’s Word and what Christ has done, “we are much affected with the things of God, especially with the love of Christ in dying for us.” It is in meditating upon Him and what He has done for us that our hearts are “drawn out in love to him, and drawn up in holy desires and devotions.” It is then our hearts “burn within us.”

The topic of the fire of God is a popular one among areas of the Charismatic church, especially those who desire to have a personal encounter with God. I mentioned Matthew 3:11 at the very beginning because this verse is referenced when talking about the fire of God, and there can be an emphasis made on the use of the word fire. For those of us familiar with this, we can attest to being in gatherings where a leader called down the fire of God in an experiential way. People may have been left to fall down on the floor, “slain in the spirit”, while others reacted violently with shaking, jerking, running, rolling on the floor, or screaming. Some may laugh uncontrollably.

Many have gone through fire tunnels where people lay hands on those passing through the lines of people surrounding them on their left and right sides. There have been songs about the fire of God, calling that fire down upon those in attendance. The desire is to burn for God in such a way that people are radical in their exploits and pursuits of God. Many may want to experience a physical touch from God and to have a personal ongoing Pentecost. There is a desire to burn for God, and it can be sincere. However, there are questions to consider. Is this Biblical, and is there a focus on experience in these moments?

Though Matthew 3:11 sounds like something desirable, if we read verse 12, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire,” we begin to see that the context of fire seems to refer to judgment. This is not a fire one would want, and it is not a fire invoking fervency and passion. I was recently reading an article concerning the fire of God in Scripture, and the author noted that the Holy Spirit who authored Scripture never used “fire” in a metaphorical way to describe passion or excitement. He also noted that the term “holy fire” is not used in Scripture, and fire is not used in the context of spiritual renewal or conviction. You can read that article here.

Another thing to consider with this belief and practice is the fact that we do not see the Apostles of Christ acting in such a manner in Scripture. An impartation or anointing of fire was never decreed or released to anyone by them. By engaging in such acts, it would seem that individuals believe they can have such authority as to call down the fire of God on people to empower. We also should consider that if individuals today believe they can release the fire of God so as to spark another Pentecost in others, this was not the case in Acts 2. God in His sovereignty sent the Holy Spirit to believers on the day of Pentecost, a one-time event, and tongues as of fire appeared and rested on them, empowering them supernaturally to speak in known languages they did not know (Acts 2:3,4).

Wanting to have a genuine zeal in our fellowship with God and to the glory of God is a good thing. We should have a fervency to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to live in such a way that we glorify the Lord while being in awe of His majesty and holiness. The concern comes when we adopt practices creating an experience, which can lead to the experience becoming the foundation of truth. These experiences can become addictive, and it can even lead others to believe that if they do not have such experiences, then they really do not know God as they should. This can lead to creating a class of Christians, which does not exist in the Kingdom of God. Our commitment to God can be found in the day-to-day life without a touch, manifestation, or thrill. As we desire to have our hearts burn, may we be found agreeing with His word and loving the One who is the Word.

Listen to this episode discussing the fire of God: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: Calling Down the Fire of God on Apple Podcasts