Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Many people, both pentecostal and otherwise, argue vehemently against those of us who teach that the baptism of the holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, is the New Birth. But even if they are right, and a person does "get saved" (in their language) before receiving the holy Ghost baptism, then there arises a puzzling question that demands an answer; to wit, "Why does God baptize some of His children with His holy Spirit and not baptize others?" If people can be born again, as almost all Christians teach, without being baptized by the holy Ghost into the body of Christ (1Cor. 12:13), then why are so many of God's children denied "the promise of the Father"? The only answer consistent with the Scriptures is that sin and unbelief keep the holy Ghost out of a person's life. If Peter's sermon was true that the holy Ghost baptism, the "promise of God", is for everyone who is called by God (Acts 2:39), then nothing but unbelief and sin can keep it out!
Now, no one can question that unbelief and sin will cause men to be condemned at the Last Judgment. Even we who believe are warned that we will not enter into the eternal rest of God if unbelief infiltrates our lives (Heb. 4:11). We are also warned that sinful people will never enter into the kingdom of God (Rev. 22:14-15), for without a peaceful disposition and holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).
So, even if we pretend for a moment that a person can be born again without having the holy Ghost baptism, it remains true, as Preacher Clark said in a Sunday afternoon prayer meeting on June 1, 1980, "Whatever it is that keeps the holy Ghost out of your life will keep you out of the glory world."
Think about it. Through Jesus' suffering and death, God has provided a gift for all whom He calls. Only sin and unbelief keep it out. But if sin and unbelief are in your life, you will be cast into the Lake of Fire by Jesus. And if the evil that keeps the gift of the holy Ghost out of your life will destroy you, then you had best rid yourself of that ungodliness so that God's gift can come in. Right?
Regardless of how we approach the issue, and even if we try to make those right who teach that men can be born again without the baptism of the holy Ghost, it is impossible to avoid the reality of our absolute need of God's Spirit in order to be saved in the end. We will not be saved in the end unless we have been baptized with the holy Ghost. There is no Scriptural way around that simple and wonderful revelation.
Christianity offers men a deadly alternative to that truth. Jesus does not.