This is pressing on my mind and I have to let it out. I remember the all night praise and worship service I attended in a modern Church which I was invited by an high school mate some couple of months back. It was prayer time and I stood at a corner praying calmly when this man tapped to get my attention. I turned around and looked at him, he asked, 'why are you not praying my brother'. In my mind I'm like 'is it because I was not screaming on top of my voice with different tongues like the other worshippers are doing'.
You see a popular belief among many Christian churches today is that every believer in Christ must speak in tongues. In fact, some have gone to the extent of saying that speaking in tongues is a major sign of being born again. As a result of this, people go to just about any extent to secure and exercise the “gift” of speaking in tongues.
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It is unfortunate that most Christians and churches base their views and teachings on the subject of Speaking in Tongues exclusively on 1 Corinthians 14. This will not yield the whole truth about the issue in view. The best way to obtain a clear and valid understanding on any issue of faith and belief is to study what the Bible teaches on the issue from Genesis to Revelation.
The Book of Genesis lays a solid and irrefutable foundation for understanding the issue of Speaking in Tongues, especially if we accept that the expression, SPEAKING IN TONGUE, in this context refers to SPEAKING IN A LANGUAGE. Thus, TONGUE becomes synonymous with a LANGUAGE.
Checking the account of the Tower of Babel recorded in Gen 11:1-9 it is clear that
After the Flood, the whole world had ONE LANGUAGE and a common DIALECT;The unity of language was a common force that bound people together and subsequently they rebelled against God’s command that they should scatter and fill the earth;God Himself confused the language of the people in Genesis 11 so as to SCATTER them over the surface of the whole earth;In essence, therefore, GOD HIMSELF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MULTIPLICITY OF LANGUAGES THAT EXIST IN THE WORLD TODAY
It is very significant that Jesus Himself made the promise of the gift of Speaking in New Tongues before He ascended to heaven. This is interesting!
God confused human language to scatter them in Genesis 11 but Jesus promises to break through the confused human language in order to gather people for salvation in the Great Gospel Commission which He gave in Mark 16:15-20.
A careful study of the CONTEXT of Mark 16:15-20 shows that Jesus Christ Himself made the promise that those who believe in Him through the preaching of the Gospel WILL SPEAK IN NEW TONGUES (Mark 16:17). In essence, the sign of “Speaking in New Tongues” is meant to accompany the Church as it goes into the world, preaching the Gospel.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus spoke about FIVE SIGNS that will accompany those who believe in Him through the preaching of the Gospel.
•They will drive out demons;
•They will speak in new tongues;
•They will pick up snakes with their
hands;
•When they drink deadly poison, it will
not hurt them at all;
•They will place their hands on sick
people, and they will get well.
Today, people place unusual emphasis on speaking in tongues, to the extent of insisting that every believer must speak in tongues.
Conclusion
•Jesus intends that ALL THE SIGNS He gave in Mark 16:15-20 should accompany His followers as they take the Gospel to the world.
•Spiritual gifts are valid today as they were in the early Christian Church.
•The gift of Tongues is ONE OF the spiritual gifts.
•Since no believer has all the gifts and there is no particular gift every believer must have, it is unreasonable to assume that every believer in Christ must speak in tongues.
Today, people’s ability to acquire, learn and speak multiple languages has tremendously increased due to extensive travels and education. This has helped the gospel in making deep inroad into the whole world with rapid speed. It is therefore obvious that as the ability to acquire and use other languages grows among God’s people, the manifestation of tongue speaking is expected to dwindle but not go out of extinction totally.
Whenever the need arises, the Holy Spirit still uses the gift of tongue speaking (and/or hearing as in Acts 2, 10, 19) to break through language barriers and spread the Gospel to even unlikely places.
THEREFORE, WE MUST LEARN TO DO OUR PART AND ALLOW GOD TO DO HIS PART WHEN, WHERE AND HOW HE DEEMS FIT. DO NOT LET ANYONE DECEIVE YOU.
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