Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

that marks that organization. Among the Lutherans, it was Martin Luther’s emphasis that the “just shall live by faith,” or justification by faith and not by works. The Baptists became noted for their emphasis on water baptism upon conversion and confession of your faith. The early Methodists were recognized as the “Holiness people,” and their early leaders taught a sanctified and holy life after conversion. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Pentecostal movement emerged and became noted for its belief in the restoration of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:7–10) and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the first (initial) evidence of speaking with other tongues. Finally, in 1967, the Charismatic Renewal was birthed and was spread by numerous men and women from more traditional mainline churches that had embraced the operation of spiritual gifts. Charismatics also emphasized the importance of worship and the importance of individual and collective praise and worship in their congregations. T HE C ONTROVERSY OF S PEAKING W ITH T ONGUES All of the above movements basically believe the same fundamental doctrines of Scripture. The most significant disagreement has been the belief concerning the operation of spiritual gifts, particularly the manifestation of speaking with other tongues. When I was growing up in the 1960s, the