The manifestation of speaking in tongues, as part of the Gifts of The Spirit, is of the most controversial spiritual gifts that are given.
The gift of speaking in tongues has -sadly- divided many churches, and friendships!
#1 … some say manifesting this gift “its not scriptural”.
#2 … some say “thats Old Testament only”.
#3 … some say “that is paganism”.
#4 … some say “it goes against” what they were taught.
#5 … some say “thats just fake gibberish.”
I could go on and on here, with reason after reason, but I wont. Generally speaking though, it is common that people fear what they do not understand! Its human nature. We all do it. It will cause one of two things to happen, no matter how you dice it up! Either a person will shy away from and/or completely not want anything to do with it, or it causes a persons curiosity to be piqued and as such, draws them closer to wanting to understand (and/or experience) it. Here is a tip though; you will never learn new things unless you are willing to *understand* new things.
By definition, “speaking in tongues” simply means to speak in a language that is unknown. Biblically, there are two references to speaking in tongues. One is in the meaning of cultural language (which began during the time of Babel, in Genesis 11) and the other is in the meaning of a dialect that is used for edifying and praying to God. I am not going to dig into extremes, but the point is that both meanings are given scripturally. These scriptures are found in the Old & New Testaments. The type involved in controversial debates are detailed, time and time again, in the New Testament.
The first (nt) description is given in Mark 16. Here, the Lord is saying (as an outward sign of) a ‘believer’, such persons will be able to do 5 things:
#A… Cast out demons
#B… speak with new tongues
#C… pick up serpents
#D… drink deadly poison
#E… heal the sick.
Other verses are also given in Joel 2, Acts 2, and then 1Corinthians 14:39 – which specifically tells us “…So, dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.” Now, for the Bible to specifically say to not forbid such thing to be done, then why is it so hard to understand that since, as its written that it is not to be forbidden, then it also stands to reason (as in being common sense) that it should not be something that divides the church body? After all, does the body of Christ divide over believing whether or not Jesus walked on water? – or turned water to whine? No! Do christians even debate the fact that Jesus did these things? No! Why? Because the Bible says He did it and so it is accepted in that manner, as Holy and true. Therefore, dividing over what gifts are operational should not be an “issue” either. That also goes without saying that the body of Christ dividing over any such thing actually does go against the greatest commandment given… Love! If love was involved, a solution to peace would be found, and there would be no division to start with.
While some believe that speaking in tongues is the only way to prove you ‘have the Holy Spirit’, others will deny that tooth ‘n nail. Personally speaking, I will not debate the fact either way. The Bible does say speaking in tongues is the evidence of having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, though I have yet to see it *specifically written* that if you dont speak in tongues, you cant have any of the other Gifts of The Spirit. Therefore, this is my personal take on the situation. The Holy Spirit is a “gentleman”. He does not force any gift on any person. Instead, any and all of these gifts are given to those who seek them, whom He sees fit to have them! Having or not having them is based upon each individual, and regardless of whether that person speaks in tongues, or not, is not what is going to determine whether a person has eternal salvation – which, hands down, is the ultimate goal. And, need I mention, that arguing over the the relevance of such gifting not only grieves the Spirit, but also IF such dispute causes you to harbor hard feelings towards another person, that also breaks the Law of Forgiveness, which in turn may also cause you to be not forgiven on judgment day! Is the degree of your opinion on the matter really worth that? No! That is just pride getting in the way…which is also spoken against in the Bible.
I personally know, very well, a wide variety of very upstanding christian people who are on both sides of this fence. (Take note here) Some are very accurately prophetic – but do not speak in tongues, yet others speak in tongues – but are not prophetic. Do these make either of these persons dead-wrong, or should it cause them to be “accused” of not being Christ-like (which is the meaning of being a Christian)? No! However, when push comes to shove, the Bible ‘does’ say that the body of Christ ‘should’ (not *must*) seek out ALL of these gifts, but that unless interpretation is available for a Word spoken in Tongues, then the gift of prophesy is a “better gift” to have. (1Corinthians 14:5).
The next point I want to make is this: while the Bible also does say (1 Corinthians 13) that these gifts will pass away, meaning they will no longer exist, it needs to be directly pointed out that the Bible also clearly states (Acts 2:17 & Joel 2:28) that these gifts will be “poured out” on all flesh in the last days. Therefore, does it not make common sense to summarize this to mean since such a great pouring out (an over-flowing portion will be flooding over His people) happens during the end of days then, once those days have been fulfilled, *that* would be the time in which such things would pass away?
So, the bottom line here comes down to this: do you truly believe *every*thing* that is written in the Bible? Either you do – or you dont. Theres no middle ground. {Remember here, the Bible also says (Matt 24:35, Luke 21:33, Mark 13:31) that Gods Word will not pass away.} And really, anyone who is a true believer should not even hesitate when answering that question. The answer should be an astounding yes! But, IF the answer is yes, then how can one “pick and choose” particular parts of content that is written within the Bible as being not correct? Righteously speaking – you can not! As such, we need to also be mindful that we are told in Rev 22:19, Duet 4:2, and Prov 30:6 that we are not to add to -or take away from- His Word! So, for that reason, if no other, a belief in the purpose, relevance, and origin of speaking in tongues should not be questioned any more so than the fact that Jesus died to keep us out of Hell!
WAKE UP.... 