THE HOLY SPIRIT

Are the tongues in the Bible the same as those in the Charismatic Movement?

The charismatic movement cannot be separated from the gift thought to be received and exercised called “tongues.” It is a main error, if not a root of the movement. The following serves to expose the error of its teaching and practice on “tongues.” Every position we examine may not be true of every charismatic, but they are true of various segments of the movement.

FOR ALL
They teach tongues are for all. But, what what is the answer to all seven questions in 1Co. 12:29-30?

ECSTATIC UTTERANCE THAT MUST BE STRONG DESIRED
They believe and practice tongues as an ecstatic utterance (“ecstatic” = “caused by ecstasy” and “ecstasy” = “a state of being overpowered with emotion” WNWD) that must be strongly desired. Do you see either a state of ecstasy or a strong desire for tongues in either of the following: Acts 2,10, or 19:1-7?

PENTECOSTAL
They claim to be “pentecostal,” i.e. to experience what happened to those on the Pentecost of Acts 2, but in at least two ways their experience differs from that of Pentecost.
• Pentecostals today claim to speak in an unintelligible language which they call tongues. What were the tongues spoken on Pentecost, Ac. 2:1-11?
• Pentecostals today claim to be saved by faith only. But what did the people on Pentecost do to be saved, Ac. 2:37-41?

SUPREME GIFT
Some look on tongues as the supreme gift. Which spiritual gift did Paul say was greater, 1Co. 14:1-5?

UNINTELLIGIBILITY DESIRED
They consider unintelligible jabbering greater than words easily understood. What did Paul say about words others did not understand, 1Co. 14:6-19?

FOR INDIVIDUAL
They believe tongues are for the spiritual life of the individual. God intended them for whose benefit, 1Co. 12:7; 14:26-31?

SIGN OF HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
They look on tongues as a personal sign one has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul spoke of them as a sign to whom, 1Co. 14:22? This was their use in Acts 2 and 10.

SIGN OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY
They look on tongues as a sign of spiritual maturity. Although the Corinthians could speak in tongues, Paul chided them for being what, 1Co. 14:20?

UNREGULATED
What were the regulations relative to how many could speak in tongues and when, 1Co. 14:27-32? Contrast the modern exercise of “tongues.”

SPEAK WITHOUT INTERPRETER
They speak in tongues even when there is no interpreter. If there was no interpreter in the Corinthian assembly, what then, 1Co. 14:28?

CONFUSION AND DISORDER
They have confusion and disorder in their assemblies. Is God the author of this, 1Co. 14:33,40?

WOMEN SPEAK
They do not restrict women preaching in the assembly. What did Paul say about women and their conduct in the assembly, 1Co. 14:34-35?

PERMANENT
They teach that tongues were given until Christ comes, not as something “in part” as with the other miraculous gifts which would cease when the “perfect” comes. 1Co. 13:8-13; Jn. 16:13; Ac. 8:14-20.

ECUMENICAL
“2 a. Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church. b. Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions.” AHD
They use tongue speaking and other spiritual gifts in an effort to unify Catholics and Protestant Denominations, regardless of their doctrinal differences. Catholicism and Protestantism differ on crucial issues such as the mediation of Mary, the infallibility of the Pope, the authority of tradition, and how men are saved. Protestants differ among themselves on such vital issues as the salvation, the nature of the Godhead, the kind of worship God approves. Rather than ignoring such departures from the faith, what should be the attitude and conduct of the followers of Christ? Mt. 7:15-27; 15:1-14; 1Co. 14:37-38; 2Tim. 4:1-5; Tit. 2:10-14.

Unity must be on the basis of the revealed truth of God’s Word. Gal. 2:3-5; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 2:6-8, 18-23; 2Th. 2:15; 1Tim. 1:3-4; 2Tim. 2:14-18; ; 1Pt. 5:12; 2Pt. 3:14-18; 2Jn. 9-11.
How then can we explain the tongue phenomena today? “Dr. John Kildahl wrote in his book, The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues: ‘We attended many meetings where glossolalia both occurred and was interpreted, and noted that the interpretations were usually of a very general nature. After a segment of tongue-speech an interpreter commonly offered the explanation that the speaker had been thanking and praising God for many blessings. Another frequent theme was that the speaker was asking for strength and guidance for himself and for others. However, perhaps a third of the time, the interpreters offered specific interpretations of what the glossalists said. More rarely the interpreter “translated” phrase by phrase and sentence by sentence. In order to investigate the accuracy of these interpretations we undertook to play a taped example of tongue speech privately for several different interpreters. In no instance was there any similarity in the several interpretations. The following typified our results: one said the tongue-speaker was praying for the health of his children; another that the same tongue-speech was an expression of gratitude to God for a recently successful church fund-raising effort.’” (Taken from an article by Robert Goodman)

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