Did I? No! Of course not! I was a serious-minded eleven-year-old, attending Bible camp. I was very committed to my relationship with the Lord, and was starting to think more like a Christian young adult than a child. When the altar call was given and the piano started playing, I went forward...to touch second base.
For the rest of the week at camp, there were three kinds of people. These were non-Christians (who had not yet made a decision for Christ), Christians (who had made a decision for Christ), and "second-base-Christians" (who were not only saved, but had decided to dedicate themselves to something further and greater). Within Christianity at that camp, it was a double-decker situation. I wanted to be top-tier.
Oddly, in every other area of my life, I was just told that there were believers in Jesus, and those who didn't know Him. I'd never before heard about this "second base" step. Not at home, not at church, not in any of the Christian settings I was in. Why had no one else ever told me about touching second base?
While I think that works well for an analogy, it breaks down. I'm all for challenging Christians to be more serious about their faith. We should be doing that. But the way it was presented, it categorizes Christians into two levels, when God never does that in the Bible. The Bible never talks about making this other decision that sets you apart from other believers. It does talk about making daily choices in our lives, and about our commitment. In Luke 9:23, Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily. Not as some big experience at camp. But as a daily choice, sometimes just in the quiet of our hearts. First Corinthians 3:10-15 reminds us that there are Christian people who make the most of what God has given them, and spend more time earning treasures in Heaven, and others who will have nothing to show for their lives for the Lord. But they are Christians nonetheless.
As a young woman, I got to know some friends outside of my denominational background. Some of these friends believed that all Christians were supposed to have this "second work of grace" experience where they were "baptized in the Holy Spirit." The evidence for having had this experience was that the person spoke in tongues. To this day, I have never had such an experience myself. I don't deny its reality in some people's lives, but it isn't something God has chosen for me in my relationship with Him. My denominational background puts very little emphasis on it (people outside claim that we vehemently teach that it is no longer around for today, but that isn't true. We just don't talk about it...and maybe we should). I was completely affronted by this implication that I was on the lower tier of Christianity in their mind, simply because I hadn't had this second experience. I studied my Bible extensively, and concluded that the Bible only talks about one experience of grace--salvation. All other good things in life are also by God's grace, but they're not some new experience you're "supposed" to have sometime after salvation. Maybe some people do have unique experiences like that, but there is nowhere in the Bible that says everyone is supposed to experience it, nor does it imply that those who have such experiences are at a higher level spiritually. I was so ready to tell these friends how wrong they were...but then I realized my own version of this same problem. Touching second base at camp was the non-Pentecostal version of the exact same thing. This other decision to "dedicate" my life to the Lord. Should Christians be dedicated? Should Christians be open to the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives? Yes and Yes! But what matters is that we are saved, first of all, and then, that we are daily making those choices that honor Christ.
I believe every brand and shade of Christianity has it's own sense of what we should do, experience or witness after we are saved. The problem is, that often puts the emphasis on what we do, what we experience, what we witness. That can even make it about the flesh. Galatians 3:3 asks the question, Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? It might be easy to think, "I've really got it together. I'm not only a Christian, but I've dedicated my life to the Lord, and I've had this second work of grace. I'm so far ahead of so-and-so, who is just a measly Christian. All he's done is put his faith in Christ. I've gotten so far beyond just that." Do you see how arrogant we can get? And God never wants us to get over our wonder and glory of the cross! Our very salvation is a miracle. It is important to go back to the Bible. What does God say? We have a God who loves each of us, and has an individual relationship with every one of us. What He does in your life may not happen in mine. Maybe you never went to camp and touched second base! Maybe I never had some of your meaningful experiences. That's okay! With the Bible and the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need! Second Peter 1:3 tells us or His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. May we never get over the miracle of His grace in saving us in the first place! And may we continue to make godly choices daily.
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