Don't ask God for "Fire" Baptism

Why do believers refer to the spirit-filling Christ-conforming work of the Holy Spirit on believers as "fire"? This is common, but troubling because I happen to know that the primary text used to refer to this baptismal fire is taken from Matthew 3:11 but we must remember that John the Baptist uttered these words when he saw the self-righteous, Jesus-rejecting Pharisees coming for baptism.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:7-12

Now, it does not take a degree in biblical languages to discover that the Baptist is warning of impending judgment for the unrepentant. Those who do not repent will be '…cut down and thrown into the fire.' So continue following John's thought as he says, 11'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 with fire. 12His 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.'

For the sake of seeing the distinctions made of two people groups one may isolate certain words. For example, when John speaks of judgment he says, 'He [Jesus] will baptize you with…fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand…the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.' When John speaks of the gathering of believers by Jesus he says, 'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn…' As you can see it is meshed together in one statement.
The illustration is vivid. Unlike many other passages of scripture this text takes minimal effort to properly interpret. The picture speaks of Jesus separating wheat from chaff. It points to the ultimate separation of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. Those who reject Jesus in this lifetime will, to their utter horror, find themselves eternally cursed and be cast'…into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).' On the other hand Jesus will say to believers, '…Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25: 33).' But Matthew 3:11-12 can stand alone. One can rightfully conclude based solely on Matthew 3:11-12 that the fire mentioned there is one of judgment and does in no way refer to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as it is understood in Acts 2. Yet this is not the only place in the New Testament where the truth of ultimate and final separation is taught.

In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus stated, 47'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth(Matthew 13:47-50). I have seen and heard zealous Charismatics in the context of a worship service via music refer to God as a 'consuming fire.' Now, they make claim to this 'consuming fire' as if it is something they desire and are cry out for in the midst of an emotionally charged worship atmosphere. It is clear that Hebrews 12:29 is being referenced, but once again the context indicates that 'consuming fire' is reserved for those who '…refuse Him [GOD] who is speaking.' This is refers to judgment. How Pentecostals miss this is beyond me. My point by now should be obvious, but for further scriptures that refer to fire as judgment one can reference 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Peter 3:7, 12; Jude 1:7, 23. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list. I anticipate that someone may take issue with me because they may have perceived a negative connotation when I referred to Charismatic worship as 'emotionally charged.' I do not mean to make this charge in general, but I do speak about that worship in which emotions, which should always be present in true worship, are not based on particular truth of scripture. Emotion that is not grounded in the truth scripture, or the proper understanding thereof, is baseless and the end result is not true worship, but simply emotionalism. Secondly, someone may recall fire being used in scripture as something other than judgment. It is true, for example, that believers undergo 'refining fire' when God is purging ungodliness from us. But my point was to point out the wrong use of Matthew 3:11 by many Pentecostals. The question is not whether one will be baptized because baptism is inevitable for everyone. There is no escape. The question is what baptism will one undergo? Fire, as I have shown, is horrifying and condemning so listen up my Pentecostal brethren. Don't ask the Lord for fire and let us be thankful that He does not always grant what we ask for because it is evident that we do not always '…know what to pray for as we ought… (Romans 8:26)'