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Tongues for Today
1 Cor. 13:8-10 Beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. [8] Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether
there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. [9]
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. [10] But when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away.
We learned in our last study in I Cor
13, that verse 10’s reference to something “Perfect” coming was
speaking of the revealed written Word of God., after which the gifts of
prophecy, Knowledge and tongues (which indeed
were necessary in the absence of the written Word of God, and to validate the
Gospel message, and the Gospel messengers who preached the message)
would no longer be necessary, once the written Word of God was revealed.
TONGUES
SPEAKING. The modern Pentecostal movement, from its inception at
the turn of the century, has emphasized the belief that all of the spiritual
gifts mentioned in the N.T. are to be exercised today, including the special
sign gifts which were given to the Apostles.
One of
the gifts frequently exalted in the Pentecostal movement is the gift of
tongues. In fact, the Pentecostal
movement is often called "the tongues movement" because of this
emphasis.
There are
5 common errors
promoted by the Pentecostal movement pertaining to tongues. Not all Pentecostal
churches promote all of these errors, but these are very commonly held.
ERROR # 1: TONGUES IS the EVIDENCE OF HOLY
SPIRIT FILLING.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES: (1) In the book of Acts there are many
mentions of Christians being filled with the Spirit, but only one time is
tongues speaking mentioned. It is
ridiculous, then, to try to make tongues speaking the primary evidence of Holy
Spirit filling.
(2) The evidence of the filling
of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5-6 does not mention tongues at all. The
marks of Spirit filling are said to be spiritual relationships (Eph.
5:19,21-33; 6:1-9), worship (Eph. 5:19), resisting Satan (Eph.
6:11-18), and an effective prayer life (Eph. 5:18-20).
To
connect spiritual gifts with Spirit filling is unscriptural. 1 Co. 12:13 says all have been baptized by the Holy
Spirit, but verse 30 of the same
chapter says not all speak in tongues.
ERROR # 2: TONGUES SPEAKING IS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN.
In most
Pentecostal groups every Christian is encouraged to speak in tongues. The
pressure to do this varies from group to group, but tongues speaking is definitely
upheld as something desirable and important for the Christian life.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. The N.T.
says that different gifts are given to different Christians, and no one gift is
given to every believer. Paul plainly taught that not every Christian spoke in
tongues even in the first century (1 Co.
12:4,7-12,28-30).
ERROR # 3: TONGUES SHOULD BE SOUGHT BY THE CHRISTIAN.
Though
there are exceptions, most Pentecostal churches teach that the Christian should
seek to speak in tongues. In fact, the pressure to do so can be intense. Countless
books have been written purporting to teach people how to speak in tongues.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. (1) Paul told the Corinthian believers
that they should covet the "best gifts" (1 Co.
12:31). He listed the gifts in order of importance in verses 28-30 and tongues
was at the bottom!
It is
strange that a gift which the Apostles considered the lest important has become
so exalted in the modern Pentecostal movement.
(2) The disciples did not seek
to speak in tongues. In every instance in which Christians spoke in tongues
in the N.T. the tongues were sovereignly given. In no instance were the
recipients trying to speak in tongues.
(3) The Bible never tells the
Christian to seek to speak in tongues. Not once is there such instruction
given by the Apostles.
(4) There is no instruction in
the Bible about HOW to speak in tongues. If tongues speaking was important
for the Christian life and if it was a good thing for every Christian to speak
in tongues, surely God would have plainly instructed us in how to do such a
thing!
(5) The
Pentecostal/Charismatic method of speaking in tongues is unscriptural and
dangerous. When a person asks how tongues can be received. They are
instructed to simply open their mouth and start muttering words without using
normal language. God is supposed to take control of the tongue.
There is not a hint of such a
practice in the N.T.
The Bible
warns Christians that there are deceiving spirits which attempt to
influence Christians and that can appear as angels of light and ministers of
God (2 Co. 11:13-15; Mt. 24:24).
This answers the second question of why
are people still able to receive this gift, if there is no need for it?
Paul
warned the Corinthians that they were in danger of receiving false spirits
because of their carnal, undiscerning condition (2 Co.
11:3,4).
The
Christian cannot be possessed by evil spirits, but we can certainly be
influenced by them. Thus the Bible warns us to be sober and vigilant
(1 Pe. 4:7; 5:8).
ERROR # 4: TONGUES IS A HEAVENLY PRAYER LANGUAGE.
When
challenged that the modern tongues spoken today is not a known earthly
language, as it was in Bible times, it
is replied that they are speaking in a heavenly
prayer language.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. The tongues spoken in the early churches were
real earthly languages (Ac. 2:6-10).
Those
that heard the disciples speak in tongues on that day said, Acts 2:11 “… we do hear them
speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Biblical tongues were languages, not some
sort of unintelligible mutters.
ERROR # 5: TONGUES IS FOR PERSONAL EDIFICATION.
Tongues
speaking in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement is said to be something the
Christian can do privately to edify himself.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. God plainly tells us the purpose for
tongues. It was to give a sign to those who needed the Gospel in their
language (1 Co. 14:20-22).
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