What do Baptists believe about speaking in tongues?

A Brother In Christ

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You do realize that the only passage in Scripture that mentions praying in tongues forbids the practice.

what verse 1 cor 14:39?

I do not believe in tongues as a gift right now
it was for the early church.... to spread the gospel
and for the 144,000 to spread the gospel during the Great Trib
 
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Vince53

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A Bapticostal pastor told me that when they try to get people to start speaking in tongues, they will sometimes "coach" them with the following phrases:

Who tie-dyed my dye-tied tie?
Who tied my tie?
Who untied my tie?
Who stole my Honda?
 
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LiveInSpirit

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A Bapticostal pastor told me that when they try to get people to start speaking in tongues, they will sometimes "coach" them with the following phrases:

Who tie-dyed my dye-tied tie?
Who tied my tie?
Who untied my tie?
Who stole my Honda?

That's terrible Vince. I guess the Holy Spirit needs a little help from us humans to get the job done. :doh:
 
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Vince53

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That's terrible Vince. :doh:

Indeed it is. As a group, Pentecostals (who are often very Godly people) have moved away from the practice of coaching people to get them to start speaking in tongues.

Even a casual reading of Acts chapter 2 will show that speaking in tongues refers to speaking to another person, in a language that you do not understand, in order to tell him how to be saved. Passages in 1 Corinthians indicate that the gift can be abused, and that people with the gift can use it to show off in church. But the people today who "speak in tongues" in a church don't have the ability to use it on the lost, and I think that they are only babbling.
 
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What is not taught by those churches who still believe in tongues today is that there were Sign gifts that the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostles and 1st century believers because the Jews were seeking a Sign.

Those sign gifts diminished as the 1st century ended and you don't even see tongues mentioned in the later books. They had served their purpose.

You also don't see Christians today with the Miracle Gifts such as Raising people from the dead, healing Lepers instantly or any other disease like that, getting bit by a Black Mamba and suffering no ill effects, and people getting healed by just touching the garment of a Apostle/Disciple, etc. That was for the Apostolic Age, not today. The same is true of Prophecy. That is why we have the 66 books today. All prophecy has been given and we now wait for the return of Jesus.

Praise God we know he overcomes the world and will Rapture his own to himself one day soon, so we should be more focused on winning the lost and growing believers than a Feel Good experience that so many churches have gotten caught up with.
 
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AndOne

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Interesting topic - I am a member of the SBC and my southern baptist pastor just announced in church last Sunday that he was NOT cessationist in regards to the gifts of the spirit - including tongues. It wasn't the first time he had done this.

I've always been non-cessationist and was quite happy to hear this again from our pastor last Sunday. Apparantly cessationism is not a requirement to be a member of the SBC. This greatly pleases me - as I have come to love the SBC.
 
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It's certainly not a requirement to belong to the SBC. We don't make it an issue as long as people don't start standing up in the middle of a sermon and start blabbing incoherently. We had that happen in our church once and had to remove her. So there are those who seep in that believe in tongues, even some pastors but it's not prevalent.

What's important is to rely on the scriptures more than man and these are the main areas of tongues in scripture:

A- It was a Sign Gift and it's purpose was to reveal God's New Covenant through Jesus and the Holy Spirit TO the Jews.
B- Paul chastised the Corinthians for chasing after the lesser gifts such as tongues and encouraged them to focus on what was more important such as love. 1 Cor. 12:27-13:7. And in v. 8 it states "where there are tongues they will be stilled".
C- Those who speak in tongues edify themselves - 1 Cor.14:4. So why would we spend much time or emphasis on a Spiritual gift that edifies ourselves and not the Church?
D- There were about 12 books of the NT written after the last mention of tongues. It appears that tongues had served their purpose as well as prophecy did too and that is why after Revelation there have not been any more books written that belong in the Bible (unless you want to believe the Mormons) ;)
 
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GrampaJeff

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"Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." 1 Corinthians 12:29-31
The obvious answer is NO.
 
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Goinheix

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Baptists The forum for Baptist and other similar denominations.

Notice that this forum is not for Baptist alone. My church is Alienza Cristiana y Misionera. It is so similar to a Baptist Church that my pastor back in 1972 asked a Baptist Pastor to baptice me in his church; for me to become an Alianza member.

Talking tongues.
Alianza has a church in Rivera City (Uruguay), a city divided in two by the border line with Brazil. In Brazil there is some africans religions similar to voodoo. In brazil, the name is macumba. In a macumba, the women make a circle and commence singing and shaolting as they slowly became exited. Eventualy they enter "trance" and talk in the name of an spirit. At the Alianza the women do exactly the same and talk tongues. At the Alienza those women are apreciated as the more spiritual and more gifted of the community.
 
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I have read most of this thread. Very interesting input. I believe in the day of Pentecost when the apostles spoke in tongues to preach the gospel to those who spoke different languages. I'd have to re-read that part of the Bible for specifics though.

It was mentioned in this thread that newcomers to speaking in tongues had to practice. What's the point in that? If you truly speak in tongues, it would be the power of God that allows you to do so, not practice.

Further, I had a Pentecostal friend in high school and we had discussed various theological differences. There used to be (maybe still is) an annual 'see you at the pole' day where you gather around the flagpole at school and pray before school starts. My friend was standing next to me. When the "host" of the event began to pray, my friend started "speaking in tongues". I put quotes around this because I started listening. He just kept repeating the words "God, my God, God, oh my God, God..."

I never talked to him about it but that is not speaking in tongues. Tongues isn't just babbling nondescript words nor repeating a chant of words. As I said speaking in tongues is the divinely enabled ability of speaking other languages. It is not required to speak in tongues to speak to God. I do not believe nor have I read in the Bible that we are to speak in tongues at this point in history.

It is wrong to speak in tongues? I don't think so necessarily. Is there a reason to do so or is it required to speak to God. No.
 
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MichaelKelley

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Hi everyone. I am just curious as to what Baptists believe about speaking in tongues. I was raised Southern Baptist but I don't remember this issue ever coming up in church. I am slowly beginning to do research about various denominations because I am considering possibly going back to church again. Anyway, if you could, please identify which specific Baptist denomination you are in. I'll appreciate your answers. :)

God Bless,
Holly

I'm personally a Southern Baptist, but I differ with my denomination on speaking in tongues. I don't know if it's specifically written down as doctrine, but Southern Baptists mostly believe that the gifts of the spirit, including speaking in tongues, are no longer relevant today. I personally believe more along the lines of the Assembly of God when talking about this matter. I believe they are still relevant, but they are a specific GIFT in that not everyone will have the ability to, but I have prayed numerous times that if it be HIS will, to give me the ability.

I believe as Scripture says, that there must be an interpretor present if it is done in front of other people, and if no interpretor is present, then it is to be kept to the individual for their own edification. If it is done alone in privacy, no interpretor is needed. I forget the passage, but it's in Paul's writings.

The end of the "Love Chapter" (1 Corinthians 13) is the main reason why I believe that speaking in tongues and the other gifts are still relevant today.

I'm Southern Baptist because I believe they are right about more than the other denominations, but I'm not "strictly" Southern Baptist. I just believe what I read in the Bible and if it doesn't necessarily line up with the Southern Baptists, then so be it. I'm a Christian first.
 
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Well said Stever. Back in the 90s when I was single we had a member who had left a Charismatic church and he admitted to us that they "taught" him how to speak in tongues. They told him to roll his tongue around in his mouth and to just let the Spirit start speaking through him. I guess he lost the ability when he came to our Baptist church. Like you said if it has to be taught then it is of man.

Another Pentecostal Associate Pastor I met got upset when I told a co-worker that I didn't believe tongues were Biblical for today. He got so fired up he told me that we could go down to the break room and in 30 minutes he'd have me speaking in tongues.

I should have lovingly said to him something such as "Nick, if you can have me speaking in tongues wouldn't that be the power of your flesh and not the power of the Holy Spirit?"

So many churches that equate tongues and other gifts such as Healing and Prophecy as being more spiritual. I guess they feel that if they are "feeling like it's a spiritual event" then it must be from God? :confused:
 
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AndOne

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I'm personally a Southern Baptist, but I differ with my denomination on speaking in tongues. I don't know if it's specifically written down as doctrine, but Southern Baptists mostly believe that the gifts of the spirit, including speaking in tongues, are no longer relevant today.

I mean no disrespect - but I don't think this is accurate. I know of many that are non-cessationist. Just because the services are not pentacostal/charismatic does not mean that the denom as whole believes that the gifts have ceased. I do think its safe to say that the gifts are not employed within the context of Sunday worship however. Also - I know of no confessional statement within a SBC context that either affirms or disaffirms the continuation of the gifts.
 
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savedfromdistruction

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Hi everyone. I am just curious as to what Baptists believe about speaking in tongues. I was raised Southern Baptist but I don't remember this issue ever coming up in church. I am slowly beginning to do research about various denominations because I am considering possibly going back to church again. Anyway, if you could, please identify which specific Baptist denomination you are in. I'll appreciate your answers. :)

God Bless,
Holly

Baptists don't have any particular belief about anything. One might hold one view and another something else. However according to scripture tongues are the elast of the gifts and they are only to be used if the one speaking understands what they are saying. 1Cor 14:13
 
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Of course it's going to vary by Baptist church. Many of the Larger churches such as the one I go to have made things more "appealing" for others to come visit and join if they have come from a Charismatic background even though we don't have tongues in our services. The appealing aspects such as more Contemporary music and other areas that the Charismatics are used to in their churches.

But if you were to go to many small to mid-sized Southern Baptist churches you would find a high probability that the majority of the members don't believe in tongues. Some might believe it's possible, but they it's not something they dwell on. For those that do some eventually get drawn into denominations that do have tongues and other emotional experiences.

If you go to the Strong's Concordance and look up the word "feel" you will see it is found 7 times in the Bible.

If you go to the same book and look up the word "mind" you will find dozens and dozens of times in the Bible.

Sadly, many churches have created an environment of "feeling" the spirit or feeling good, whatever. Whatever happened to gaining "understanding", seeking "wisdom", having the "mind of Christ"?

This is just one of many areas we as a church have gone astray in our modern day churches.
 
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No apologies needed brother for being passionate about the gospel. We also should be just as passionate about knowing and understanding the scriptures. As the Word said "The Bereans searched the scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11

We should lean less on our own understanding and our experiences because our emotions, feelings can be fooled.

That's why I lean on the scriptures and after careful study it is clear that tongues at Best should not be a high priority to be seeking after and based on what is written tongues would be stilled. And since they were a "sign" gift to the Jews they served their purpose in the 1st century to announce to the Jews that Jesus the Messiah had come and risen.

But that period has passed over 2000 years ago so the period of tongues also has passed away.
 
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diehard

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I have the gift of tongues and no I do not do it to show some1 how to b saved. No I dont do it to show off, no I'm not faking at it. It is a gift from God nd to down play any of his gifts no matter where they are in the list is wrong. Just because u don't do it doesn't mean others cant nor does it mean they're faking at it. Find out what your gift is and stop looking down on the other ones. That's one of the problems with so called Christians, always got something to say bout things they don't understand. We all are apart of his body and need to start acting like it. The devil separates and the Lord brings together. Love u all whether u can speak in tongues or not.
 
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His_disciple3

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Well said Stever. Back in the 90s when I was single we had a member who had left a Charismatic church and he admitted to us that they "taught" him how to speak in tongues. They told him to roll his tongue around in his mouth and to just let the Spirit start speaking through him. I guess he lost the ability when he came to our Baptist church. Like you said if it has to be taught then it is of man.

Another Pentecostal Associate Pastor I met got upset when I told a co-worker that I didn't believe tongues were Biblical for today. He got so fired up he told me that we could go down to the break room and in 30 minutes he'd have me speaking in tongues.

I should have lovingly said to him something such as "Nick, if you can have me speaking in tongues wouldn't that be the power of your flesh and not the power of the Holy Spirit?"

So many churches that equate tongues and other gifts such as Healing and Prophecy as being more spiritual. I guess they feel that if they are "feeling like it's a spiritual event" then it must be from God? :confused:

If Peter when He was walking and where ever His shadow fell, people were healed, was that Peter or the Power/Gift of the Holy Spirit? THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!! God manifests Himself through men and has ever since time begin. Walk in the Spirit not in the Flesh: If Nick was guided By the Holy Spirit to teach you tongues then was that man or THE HOLY SPIRIT? Show me one place in the Bible where it says not to let man or Men of God, teach you how the speak in tongues. Listen, I'll let you in on a secret also, Jesus was accused of working for satan when He cast out devils, so it don't hurt charismatics when you accused them of working for the devil. It pumps us up!! Makes us more Christ like!! The Gifts were and are to help unbelievers believe and edify believers. if one says that they are no longer needed then they are saying that the unbelievers don't need help believing and believers don't need edifying, maybe That is what is wrong with The Body of Christ today!!

and yes I am Baptist, I attend a southern Baptist Church, who's Pastor believes in helping people understand the Gifts of The Spirit. did someone help you to speak in your normal language?
 
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Would someone explain to me why any Christian would have an attitude of disdain toward ANY gift of God? I see a lot of people downplaying tongues, even if they believe the gifts are for today, as "unimportant", or "one of the lesser gifts". Really? some of God's gifts aren't all that much? Think on that a while....

Besides, what did James say about the tongue? Allowing the Holy Spirit to have access to and control over your tongue is a good thing, yet there are many who act as though it's the worst thing imaginable. Think on the reasons why that might be....
 
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