Is Speaking in Tongues for Today?

If something occurs in the New Testament, I would be inclined to accept it whether or not it is church tradition to do so. People shy away from tongues because it is the one gift of the spirit that seems strange and foreign to them. Others shy away from the teaching on tongues because they themselves never experienced it and if one never has spoken in tongues it is easier for them to assume that it was for the apostles only. Some shy away from this gift because they have been taught against it, heard rumors about it or simply don't understand. Some may think it is a natural gift of being able to study and speak other languages. I know of many that can do that.

Teaching on the cessation of tongues may simply mean that the church did lose those gifts as some began to enter into apostasy after the death of the apostles as our beloved apostle Paul warned would happen.

The seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 indicate that some churches had begun to fall away even when the Apostle John was still living.

When we start to fall away, naturally the gifts would not be in operation. So those that wrote that the gifts died out after the death of the apostles were right in one way but wrong in the reason. They didn't die out because God withdrew them, they died out because of apostasy, unbelief, or they were not seeking them. Another reason may have been that they began to depend on the church leadership to be in charge so much that the rest of the people depended on them to do all the things pertaining to the spiritual while they just lived for natural things. In other words the clergy grew to be the only one seeking the Lord. That is dangerous in a way because if the clergy got corrupt as they have done throughout history, the common people would receive no correct teaching of the word. Before the printing press, it was rare for anyone except those in authority to obtain the written word of God. I personally believe people were just joining a religion rather then being genuinely saved or born again. The Holy Spirit will not be poured out on those that are not being "born again" by the spirit of God.

In reading church history its easy to see that people were not being saved or "born again" as we would call it but converted to a religion we call Christianity. There is a big difference in being born of the spirit and being converted to a religion. After some in the church went deeper into apostasy those that were once persecuted for their faith, began to persecute those that tried to point out the errors the church had gotten into. It took much bloodshed, prayers and tears to get the church ready for another outpouring of the Spirit. Except for isolated cases, the latter day outpouring of the Holy Spirit did not occur until the 19th century.

Without the Holy Spirit, the love of God is lacking in a believer. We just have a mere religion and not the living presence of God within our inner being. If we stop seeking to be filled with the Spirit we become  dead, dry, boring churches that have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.

In the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century we saw a revival of the gifts of the spirit. This latter day outpouring did not just occur in Azusa Street California as some believe. It occurred in other parts of the world. Some places were North Carolina, England, Armenia and Kansas. I'm sure there were many other places but I can only mention those I'm familiar with. Tongues and prophesying were evident as the Holy Spirit gave utterance. Tongues and physical healing are the gifts that catches more attention than the other gifts. Gifts of the Holy Spirit will  endue believers of Jesus Christ with the power to preach the gospel and it will confirm that the word preached is truth.

Some would deny this as being of God. It is normal to wonder at this since anything new in the way of religion is always to be discerned. We are not to accept everything that comes along without checking it out with the scriptures.

But alas, dear people, it is in the scriptures and it cannot be denied. First of all if we think of tongues as languages instead of tongues maybe we can see that it is not so strange. We would not think it strange if a person entered our assembly and began to speak in Spanish if that was his native tongue and he didn't know our language. We would not consider it strange if we took a course in French and practiced speaking in French. Then why do we think is strange that a person could begin to speak in another language as the Spirit of God gives utterance. God probably speaks every language known to man. It is miraculous, it is wonderful but it is not weird or strange.

Some reject tongues because they have heard stories of accesses and strange things happening that are not found in scripture. I will not deny that this occurs. However, if a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ and then goes out and gets drunk by drinking too much alcohol, sleeps around with different partners, uses vulgar language and behaves badly, that doesn't cancel out the whole message of salvation or the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why would we cancel out a gift of God because someone or a group of people act either strangely or counterfeit it. Satan tries to mimic and destroy any genuine work of God so it shouldn't surprise us to see accesses happen among any revival movement. Then too, someone may see something strange, repeat it to someone else and by the time it reaches many ears of those that want to find fault, the rumor is exaggerated way beyond what the first eye witness saw. Of course it's going to happen because the devil does not want people to be saved, or healed or believe in Jesus Christ. He is out to kill and destroy.

Even Pentecostals are starting to de-emphasize tongues and encourage less of them spoken in public assemblies. They take the writing of Paul to extremes. Paul was trying to maintain order among disorder so that those that needed to be taught the word of God could understand and be edified. He was not trying to stop anyone from speaking in tongues during prayer time, or when the word was not going forth by someone who was teaching the word. Some go so far and to think anyone speaking in tongues in public is either not of God or out of the will of God. That may not necessarily be so. Paul didn't say anything about anyone in the Corinthian church being "not of God".

The gifts of the spirit are perfect but we who receive them are not perfect. We are occasionally going make mistakes. We've got to get out of this mode though of accusing people of being, "of the devil" or not quite right. By love serve one another. Do we realize what damage we could do to a person by telling him that something he received from God was of the devil? Or if we tell them they are out of order when they may be praising God in another tongue when they wouldn't be considered out of order if they were praying in a known tongue?

If a preacher is presenting the word and another stands up and speaks in tongues and no one else interprets that tongue he is still not out of order unless he continues trying to speak with no interpretation and refuses to stop. That could be considered out of order. That doesn't mean he is of the devil or some bad person, it probably just means that he hasn't been taught the proper way to give forth a message in tongues. He may just be praising God in tongues and it not neccessarily be a message that is to be for the whole assembly to understand that is accompanied by the gift of interpretation.

We don't have to understand all about tongues to be kind and not be quick to accuse people because they do things a little different. Naturally I say that with caution because if something happens that is not in scripture, we have every right to question it.

The 13th chapter of Corinthians is used by some to prove that tongues and the other gifts have ceased. I would say then, has knowledge ceased? I believe that the 13th chapter was put in there so that we would remember to love one another and not be so accusing if someone does things a little different than we are use to. Church traditions are not always correct.  Paul teaches us to have the gifts but to exercise them in love. 

If abuses or fanaticism occurs it most probably is because the teaching of the word is being neglected. The gifts of the spirit also enables someone called to teach, to teach more effectively. I love good praise and worship services but we must never have an hour of praise and worship and give only ten minutes to the word of God. If that happens we will not have all that we need to face the trials of today. We need a balance between praise and worship (tongues included if one prays in tongues) and the teaching of the word. Notice I didn't say the preaching of the word. We still have good preaching in many churches today but we need verse by verse teaching of the actual word. This is something we need to avoid fanaticism. It also helps us avoid worshipping God on Sunday and living for the devil all the rest of the week. Sound doctrine will never go out of style. We need the word in order to probably exercise the gifts of the spirit.

Since they are given to us to help us worship God in spirit (tongues), edify the body of Christ (preaching, teaching, healing, prophesies, interpretations of tongues, wisdom, knowledge, helps) and preach the gospel to the lost, it would be sad indeed if the word itself was neglected since that is the main reason Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit in the first place...to give forth the word.

The greatest of the three things mentioned in the 13th chapter of Corinthians above faith and hope is love. Jesus said that "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples when you have love one for another." That is a powerful message.

Love overlooks trivial things but love will correct important things. Love does not cancel out sound doctrine but love will overlook unimportant faults. Love will correct false doctrine but love will not be an accuser of the brethren when they are innocent or weak. By love serve one another. If your Christian neighbor does not speak in tongues yet claims to be saved, do not say that they are not saved. Does you Christian neighbor speak in tongues? Do not say they are in the wrong. That is judging.

If your neighbor says that Jesus was not God that came in the flesh, then we can assume they are not saved. That is not judging because the apostle John points out that we can try the spirits.

If your neighbor does not believe in the pre-tribulation rapture for instance, that does not have anything to do with whether he is a born again believer or not. We can disagree on many topics but still receive one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. The main doctrine of being saved by faith in Jesus and believing there is no other way to be saved other than through Jesus can't be compromised but there are other things that we will disagree on but must do it with patience and love. By love serve one another.

Paul closes his arguments in by saying, covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak in tongues. Let everything we done decently and in order. If tongues were not real, why bother to say that? Tongues are for today, the gifts of the spirit are for today. They will only disappear if we let them. God doesn't force anything on any of us. His gifts are too precious and holy to give to those who reject them. Gifts of the Spirit are given when we have faith in Jesus. They are given to those that believe. We have not because we ask not. This link leads to my own testimony.

-Dorna