SPEAKING IN TONGUES: Help make this the DEFINITIVE learning thread

[ARBITER01]

Again, let me remind you: I have no doubt that Paul and his apostles spoke in languages unknown to them in their pursuit of spreading the gospel; and I have no doubt that some evangelists are blessed with that gift today.

The gifts of The Spirit are not given to spread the gospel, go look in your bible, there is nothing that denotes them for that specific purpose.

Even the greater giftings such as the gifts of healings does not preach the gospel, it just provides maintenance to the body of Christ, and a doorway for the gospel to be preached to sinners. The gospel still takes preaching no matter what.

 

[Paul.]

Altho I will admit, I do not believe that God uses tongues in these times.

What part of the Bible has led you to believe that God no longer provides the gift of tongues to Christians?

 

[Paul.]

I believe from what I have read in the Bible that men spoke in their own language but was understood by people of all languages.

Based on what you have said, I believe the following hypothetical example illustrates your opinion.

Person A can only speak in and understand English. Person A speaks in English to three people, Person B, Person C and Person D all at the same time. Person B can only speak in and understand Japanese but hears Person A speaking in Japanese. Person C can only speak in and understand Turkish but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. Person D can only speak in and understand Russian but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. So while Person B is hearing Japanese, at the same time, Person C is hearing Turkish and Person D is hearing Russian, even though Person A is speaking in English.

Does this hypothetical example show what you believe happened in the New Testament when people spoke in tongues? If it does not, would you mind providing more information about what you believe happened when people spoke in tongues, in the New Testament.

 

[zeke37]

Based on what you have said, I believe the following hypothetical example illustrates your opinion.

Person A can only speak in and understand English. Person A speaks in English to three people, Person B, Person C and Person D all at the same time. Person B can only speak in and understand Japanese but hears Person A speaking in Japanese. Person C can only speak in and understand Turkish but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. Person D can only speak in and understand Russian but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. So while Person B is hearing Japanese, at the same time, Person C is hearing Turkish and Person D is hearing Russian, even though Person A is speaking in English.

Does this hypothetical example show what you believe happened in the New Testament when people spoke in tongues? If it does not, would you mind providing more information about what you believe happened when people spoke in tongues, in the New Testament.

sounds like that is what happened in ACTS2,
possibly in the other 2 accounts in Acts
but this is not what Paul is speaking about in 1Cor14
because then no rules would be needed at all
(I believe that God was actually speaking through them in ACTS2....
all of them speaking the same thing at the same time....
and all hearing the message in their own tongue.
it would be a bonified miracle from God

 

[zeke37]

sorry for using mumbo jumbo, when I should have simply said charismatic/ecstatic utterances
and I should not ahve personalized by saying your practice, instead I should have said the practice of....

 

[ARBITER01]

reporting posts like mine, will not silence the truth

That's a debatable statement here in this thread.

I could see if you had a relevant standard operating nowadays that you could uphold against what you consider wrong out of those of us currently operating in GOD's giftings, but you don't.

You do have a lot of opinions about what you personally feel and think, but nothing in the way of actual standard that would back your claim.

 

[zeke37]

Originally Posted by Oscarr

So you are using these Scriptures to imply that people who speak in tongues are false and are described in these passages?
​

Originally Posted by Oscarr

So, to be consistent, you have to put the apostle Paul in this category because he spoke in tongues and advocated it strongly to the Corinthians. Are you saying that Paul was after financial gain?

​

​

Paul never spoke in charismatic or ecstatic uterances as the charismatic practice advocates...
Paul did not utter a non-language and call it Godly chatter as the charismatic practice advocates

Paul spoke in many tongues /languages...
he was after all, the Apostle to the gentiles...
there are many tongues/languages with gentiles right?

You must be very desperate to prove that tongues is false, and that people who speak in tongues are very evil people!

​

i don't think you read his post very well oscar

Good Grief! I don't belieeeeeve it! Here is another who quotes Scripture right out of context to try to prove a point. This reference has absolutely nothing to do with tongues!

it could be...and it also could be a type...
as there are many types in the bible

Is this your view of Pentecostals and Charismatics???

Just because you don't have the revelation from God about the gift of tongues,

​

​

how do you know that? I assmue that you assume you have revelation?
what about the many (like me) who know they have revelation about tongues that differs from the charismatic version / revelation?

or the measure of faith to be able to use the resource,

​

what a sad statement to make...
now you MIS-measure others faith
based on their correct understanding of the error that charismatic believe

it doesn't mean that everyone who does have the revelation and the measure of faith are engaging in "godless chatter". How can godly people who are wanting more of God in their lives and ministries, and who are washed clean in the blood of Christ and wearing the righteousness of Christ even get anywhere near "godless chatter".

​

by producing unknown charismatic and ecstatic utterances and calling them Goldy

I would describe the profane talk in football changing rooms "godless chatter", not the sincere faith of good believers speaking languages that they believe God understands.

I wouldn't....
​

Satan has effectively taken some folks most intimate prayer time
and turned it into nonsense and fantasy and confusion.

Satan has also fooled some into believing what ever any one says
while in their charismatic utterance mode,
as they claim it is a message from God.

that is soooooooooooooo dangerous I don't know where to being.

Satan has also fooled many into believing that
this ecstatic charismaic prayer ability
is some kind of scale to base ones faith on,
and the faith of others aswell

such a shame

Satan has some believing a lie and a tradition of man,
that effectively takes away the truth of the Word of God
about spreading the Good News to all nations and tongues,
through gifted interpreters/translaters/preachers

some ignore parts of the very chapter that they use to defend their belief,
yet in those ignored or misinterpreted verses,
lies the simple explanaition of what we are dealing with here...


and it is not ever charismatic utterances
as prayer to, or revelation from, God.

never!

but low and behold we can certainly pray and interpret and receive revelation in and into all tongues of men...
so all the tongues of men can be represented
and all men can have the chance to come to God and be saved.

what a mockery the charismatic practise makes...

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

The gifts of The Spirit are not given to spread the gospel, go look in your bible, there is nothing that denotes them for that specific purpose.

Even the greater giftings such as the gifts of healings does not preach the gospel, it just provides maintenance to the body of Christ, and a doorway for the gospel to be preached to sinners. The gospel still takes preaching no matter what.

I partly agree, but want to add something to your comments:

Preaching can include the prophetic in the sense that a person preaching the Gospel can be preaching in the Spirit where prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits can be part of what is preached. Paul supports that when he says when all prophesy, an unbeliever entering the service has the secrets of his heart made manifest and he falls on his face confessing that God is among us for real.

I agree that the gifts certainly equip the believers with power (Luke 24:49). Jesus said this right after He gave the commission to go out into the world and make disciples of every nation. So the enduement of power is directly connected with preaching the Gospel. And what is the enduement of power? It is the infilling of the Holy Spirit. And how does the Holy Spirit work through us? With some type of mysterious electricity? No. It is through the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are different aspects of God's creative voice speaking through believers, in the same way that God spoke His creative power into creating the heavens and the earth.

I am not disagreeing with you. I am just adding some thoughts to consider. I don't think we should limit God and put Him in a box.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Based on what you have said, I believe the following hypothetical example illustrates your opinion.

Person A can only speak in and understand English. Person A speaks in English to three people, Person B, Person C and Person D all at the same time. Person B can only speak in and understand Japanese but hears Person A speaking in Japanese. Person C can only speak in and understand Turkish but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. Person D can only speak in and understand Russian but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. So while Person B is hearing Japanese, at the same time, Person C is hearing Turkish and Person D is hearing Russian, even though Person A is speaking in English.

Does this hypothetical example show what you believe happened in the New Testament when people spoke in tongues? If it does not, would you mind providing more information about what you believe happened when people spoke in tongues, in the New Testament.

You are merely using man's logic, with does not include true spiritual discernment.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Did you get reported? Ahhh hahahahaha! serves you right! Forgive me for taking time to really enjoy the moment! dig dig dig prod prod

But seriously...

[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[/INDENT]
Paul never spoke in charismatic or ecstatic uterances as the charismatic practice advocates...
Paul did not utter a non-language and call it Godly chatter as the charismatic practice advocates

Paul spoke in many tongues /languages...
he was after all, the Apostle to the gentiles...
there are many tongues/languages with gentiles right?

I don't see that specifically stated in Scripture. There is no evidence of that. Most of the known world, because of the Roman and Greek influences, could speak either Greek or Latin, the languages which Paul knew. Also, the tongues that Paul spoke, he described in 1 Corinthians 14 as not understood by man because mysteries are spoken in the spirit to God. Anyway, I am not speaking about Charismatic tongues, but the tongues as described in 1 Corinthians 14, and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that these tongues have ceased. You see, I take my view directly from the literal words of Scripture, not some subtext meaning generated by the speculative theories of the natural mind, which incidently views most of the principles of the Gospel and the Christian life as foolishness.

it could be...and it also could be a type...
as there are many types in the bible

It still does not describe the tongues that Paul spoke. It is a big stretch of Scripture to the point of near dishonesty or at its best crazy and foolish scholarship. If the person who quoted this has a theological degree they should strip him of it!

​

how do you know that? I assmue that you assume you have revelation?

I believe that God's truth is given to us by revelation, rather than coming through natural logic. Natural logic is at odds with the Holy Spirit.

what about the many (like me) who know they have revelation about tongues that differs from the charismatic version / revelation?

If you believe you have a revelation from God about your position, I am no place to say you haven't. I can only affirm what I believe God teaches me from Scripture. The test of a revelation is that it is consistent with Scripture. But in saying that, I am not commenting on your revelation. I go on this Scripture in cases like this: "I care very little if I am judged by you or any human court; indeed I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me" (1Corinthians 4:3-4). Again. the "you" in the quote is not directed at you, but it explains my position in the Lord where others have different views of the Christian experience than me. You have just as much right to use this Scripture to support your own position as well./COLOR]

​

what a sad statement to make...

I am only quoting Romans 12:3 to show that God gives giftings according to the measure of faith He gives them. Measure does not imply amount. I am not saying that some people have more faith than others. It is just that there are different types of faith.

[/INDENT]Satan has effectively taken some folks most intimate prayer time
and turned it into nonsense and fantasy and confusion.

Satan has also fooled some into believing what ever any one says
while in their charismatic utterance mode,
as they claim it is a message from God.

You need to be careful about attributing stuff to Satan, even by implication. Take heed of Gamaliel's advice: "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:34).

I haven't quoted the rest of your post, but I get a general view of your views. With all due respect, and I mean that, although your view is what you believe, and I don't have any issue with it as it is, I think that it is getting a little out of place for this thread.

The purpose of the OP is to set up a thread for those who believe that the use of the gift of tongues, and yes, the Charismatic gift of tongues, is the will of God for today's believers. I think that the OP wanted those who supported tongues to do the posting on the thread, although some debate would be tolerated to induce believers to study the Scriptures more closely and to test loosely held beliefs.

But to strongly imply that people who speak in Charismatic tongues are deceived by the devil in some way and that their prayer times are hijacked by Satan, is, in my view, going too far on this thread, and getting to the point where the beliefs of Charismatics and Pentecostals are not being respected as they should.

I think that further discussion about the spiritual authenticity of the gift of tongues and whether they come from the Holy Spirit or Satan should be dealt with on a separate thread on the Pentecostal/Charismatic Debating Forum, where this type of debate is very appropriate, and can be undertaken without hurting the faith of sincere believers who are wanting more of God and who sincerely believe that the gift of tongues is the will of God for them. They don't need or want to hear that it might be from the devil, especially when there is no clearly stated Scripture to back up such an assertion.

I don't mean to put you down, but rather to redirect your debate to the correct Forum.

 

[ARBITER01]

I partly agree, but want to add something to your comments:

Preaching can include the prophetic in the sense that a person preaching the Gospel can be preaching in the Spirit where prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits can be part of what is preached. Paul supports that when he says when all prophesy, an unbeliever entering the service has the secrets of his heart made manifest and he falls on his face confessing that God is among us for real.

I agree that the gifts certainly equip the believers with power (Luke 24:49). Jesus said this right after He gave the commission to go out into the world and make disciples of every nation. So the enduement of power is directly connected with preaching the Gospel. And what is the enduement of power? It is the infilling of the Holy Spirit. And how does the Holy Spirit work through us? With some type of mysterious electricity? No. It is through the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are different aspects of God's creative voice speaking through believers, in the same way that God spoke His creative power into creating the heavens and the earth.

I am not disagreeing with you. I am just adding some thoughts to consider. I don't think we should limit God and put Him in a box.

Well, it is just each of us understanding aspects of GOD's operations within the body.

Ministries are Spiritual gifts also,..

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

So we should see a true ministry from GOD operate Spiritually, and that would include some of the gifts of The Spirit in that endeavor, but the Spiritual gifts by themselves are not given to proclaim the gospel, it still takes the ministry operated by The Holy Spirit to do it.

I don't know if I'm really communicating this aspect as well as I should, some things are quite Spiritual in nature and only revealed by GOD.

 

[zeke37]

Did you get reported? Ahhh hahahahaha! serves you right! Forgive me for taking time to really enjoy the moment! dig dig dig prod prod

But seriously...

ya...
I had a moment....i guess....offended Arbit.....with a post directed at you.
I used personal pronouns...
instead of keeping it general and not personal...

so I reposted the post, with the changes

it still sounds a little harsh, but it is the way I see'z thnigs.

sooooo ya wannna laugh at me eh????? NP
I have a sense of humour

hey what does this mean????

I don't see that specifically stated in Scripture. There is no evidence of that. Most of the known world, because of the Roman and Greek influences, could speak either Greek or Latin, the languages which Paul knew.

are you saying that there are/were NOT many gentile tongues/languages ????
really ???


well, if you have ever checked out a map of the travels of Paul,
you might change your mind..

and there were soooo many different dialects/tongues then,
not like today where you can go 100's or 1000's of miles within the same basic language AND dialect...

back then, things were different....a different dialect every dozen miles (for example)

this is opinion, but logical...

as in, the places and peoples mentioned in ACTS2...
they were all Jews, but they spoke different dialects.

Also, the tongues that Paul spoke, he described in 1 Corinthians 14 as not understood by man because mysteries are spoken in the spirit to God.

not really...
if you read it out of context,
one might come to that conclusion...

but in context,
Paul chastizes them
and provides hypothetical examples
of the right away and the wrong way
to exchange psalms, scriptures, revelation about scriptures
WITH EACH OTHER....
including praise to Almighty God
but certainly not limited to it.

IF the speaker spoke a message to the audience,
but did so in a foreign to them tongue,
then those audience members would not get it...
the speakers message would be a mystery to the audience..
even if the speaker is in the Spirit...and giving thanks well...
the others are NOT edified...

therefore the speaker would only be speaking to God, when he was supposed to edify them in the audience with his message...

the speaker would be only speaking to the wind/air...useless


but since the audience cannot understand the speakers words,
sicne they are foreign to them,
then the speaker would ONLY be speaking to God,
instead of edifying the audience like he was supposed to.

the speaker would be the only one besides God
who could understand his own tongue...
it being foreign and all...

so don't do it (speak in any unknown tongue)
unless there is a translater available to translate your tongue
into their (audiences) tongue....
so all can be edified by your message...

this is how the early interpretations of Messiah in the OT were shared...

word of mouth...from one believer to another...

and 1Cor14 is rules
on how to effectively succeed
in spreading the Good News of Christ
to all tongues

so they can all grow in understanding.....

so they can learn and come to God, if they are unlearned...

so they won't sound as barbarians to each other

Anyway, I am not speaking about Charismatic tongues, but the tongues as described in 1 Corinthians 14, and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that these tongues have ceased.

I'm not sure if I understand/follow you now....

isn't it your belief that the charismatic tongue is described in 1Cor14?

You see, I take my view directly from the literal words of Scripture, not some subtext meaning generated by the speculative theories of the natural mind, which incidently views most of the principles of the Gospel and the Christian life as foolishness.

me toooooooo.

It still does not describe the tongues that Paul spoke. It is a big stretch of Scripture to the point of near dishonesty or at its best crazy and foolish scholarship. If the person who quoted this has a theological degree they should strip him of it!

what come out of ones mouth is certainly relevant...
but I like you, do not believe this (Rev) has to do with the charismatic tongue..

but ya never know...could be in a way. seriously

I believe that God's truth is given to us by revelation, rather than coming through natural logic. Natural logic is at odds with the Holy Spirit.

the truth is written down for us...
dividing that truth properly is the KEY
prayer is the other tool that we have...
that and the Word

If you believe you have a revelation from God about your position, I am no place to say you haven't. I can only affirm what I believe God teaches me from Scripture. The test of a revelation is that it is consistent with Scripture. But in saying that, I am not commenting on your revelation. I go on this Scripture in cases like this: "I care very little if I am judged by you or any human court; indeed I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me" (1Corinthians 4:3-4). Again. the "you" in the quote is not directed at you, but it explains my position in the Lord where others have different views of the Christian experience than me. You have just as much right to use this Scripture to support your own position as well./COLOR]

ty....

I am only quoting Romans 12:3 to show that God gives giftings according to the measure of faith He gives them. Measure does not imply amount. I am not saying that some people have more faith than others. It is just that there are different types of faith.

you imply levels of faith...
and that my level is inferior
because I do not believe as you do about tongues;
since you believe that speaking in tongues,
as you understand them, is evidence of the Holy Spirit
and I do not.

You need to be careful about attributing stuff to Satan, even by implication.

if it is not of God, then....I don't have to be careful

Take heed of Gamaliel's advice: "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:34).

ok...np....but imagine that it from Satan,
masquerading as a Holy Thing,
do not expect all of us Loving Brothers and Sisters to stay silent about it

IOW, if I speak out against charismatic tongues
I'd better make sure my understanding about them is right, right?

well I'm sure.


as I have stated before,
had charismatics not used 1Cor14 to suport their stance, then I'd have no problem with it.

what charismatics do is not the "tongue" of 1Cor14.

I haven't quoted the rest of your post, but I get a general view of your views. With all due respect, and I mean that, although your view is what you believe, and I don't have any issue with it as it is, I think that it is getting a little out of place for this thread.

well, to each their own...I guess

The purpose of the OP is to set up a thread for those who believe that the use of the gift of tongues, and yes, the Charismatic gift of tongues, is the will of God for today's believers.

No problem there...if that is what the OP meant...
but I did not get that from the OP

I think that the OP wanted those who supported tongues to do the posting on the thread, although some debate would be tolerated to induce believers to study the Scriptures more closely and to test loosely held beliefs.

i didn't get that at all, from reading the OP....
I have been in this thread all the while

how can you have a difinitive learning thread,
when all you want is one side to post?


and in many of our opinions,
the charismatic position is the incorrect side...

 

[zeke37]

But to strongly imply that people who speak in Charismatic tongues are deceived by the devil in some way and that their prayer times are hijacked by Satan, is, in my view, going too far on this thread, and getting to the point where the beliefs of Charismatics and Pentecostals are not being respected as they should.

that is the truth as I see it...no personalization.....

God wants to hear from you....(us)
your mind...
your hearts desires
your deepest desires...


not the exact opposite....nothingness/blank mind/gibberish/confusion....


Satan is the biggest liar that there is...the best at it...

Satan does indeed have a counterfit Christianity, absolutely


and charismatic tongue churches are
IMO
one of his tools.
hence all my opposition to that practice.


IF God hears ecstatic charismatic expressions
and does not translate your charismatic prayer
into His language,
(because that is a fantasy)
then Satan has effectively stolen your prayer time...

I think that further discussion about the spiritual authenticity of the gift of tongues and whether they come from the Holy Spirit or Satan should be dealt with on a separate thread on the Pentecostal/Charismatic Debating Forum, where this type of debate is very appropriate, and can be undertaken without hurting the faith of sincere believers who are wanting more of God and who sincerely believe that the gift of tongues is the will of God for them. They don't need or want to hear that it might be from the devil, especially when there is no clearly stated Scripture to back up such an assertion.

I am not concerned with what they want to hear...
(what tickles their ears)
there are lots of Biblical facts
that I did not want to hear, after I heard them....
because I was acting against them...

that is what growth is all about...leaving the MILK for the MEAT.


so, they may think that tongues (charismatic) is God's will for them,
but that is the very reason I post here....
so as to offer them another interpretation of the scripture in question...
one that I believe is entirely correct..and opposite of the charismatic belief.


IMO charismatic tongues are not Godly or proof of anything...
and they take away effective prayer time between oneself and God,
not inhance it...

charismatic teaching change the meaning of 1Cor14 to suit the charismatic tongue interpertaion
when the chapter is not ever about charismatic tongues at all...




Our Almighty Father understands English just fine...
and all languages of men


and laziness is not a proper excuse ....
to blank your mind, mumble charismatically,
and assume that the Holy Spirit does the work for ya....


nope...you still gotta pray with intelligence....
and understanding....
then those deep desires of yours will be interceeded upon by the Holy Spirit...

we pray in God's Will....
not that we always know exactly what to pray for.....
that is when the Holy Spirit makes intercession...

but that does not give credance to charismatic tongues


the very last thing I want to do is take anything positive away from a believer...

the very first thing I want to do
is take away the negative falsehoods and fantasy from a believer...
and charismatic tongues are just about the most negative thing in Christianity.

they make a mockery of the Word of God
with regards to Paul's teaching on how to
spread the Word about Christ into all langauges of men....
so all can men of all languages/tongues have the oppertunity come to Him...

1Cor14 is never about a charismatic prayer tongue

I don't mean to put you down, but rather to redirect your debate to the correct Forum.

thanks...perhaps I shall check it out too....
but my goal is not to speak to those already indoctrinated, but rather to those who are not sure....or pondering...or searching for truth about charismatic tongues...
IOW you are not may goal Oscar..you already are locked in.

 

[Paul.]

Based on what you have said, I believe the following hypothetical example illustrates your opinion.

Person A can only speak in and understand English. Person A speaks in English to three people, Person B, Person C and Person D all at the same time. Person B can only speak in and understand Japanese but hears Person A speaking in Japanese. Person C can only speak in and understand Turkish but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. Person D can only speak in and understand Russian but hears Person A speaking in Turkish. So while Person B is hearing Japanese, at the same time, Person C is hearing Turkish and Person D is hearing Russian, even though Person A is speaking in English.

Does this hypothetical example show what you believe happened in the New Testament when people spoke in tongues? If it does not, would you mind providing more information about what you believe happened when people spoke in tongues, in the New Testament.

sounds like that is what happened in ACTS2,

If this is what is happening in Acts 2, how do you explain Acts 2:4 which says, those who were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke with other languages and not, those who were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke in their own language, like the hypothetical example?

 

[Servant of Jesus]

Opening poster here- I started this thread from the solid foundation of the Bible, and wanted to hear from people on all sides of the issue. I have learned a lot so far, and I hope others have too about this important topic.

I hope more of you will offer a comment.

.

 

[Servant of Jesus]

The gifts of The Spirit are not given to spread the gospel, go look in your bible, there is nothing that denotes them for that specific purpose.

Even the greater giftings such as the gifts of healings does not preach the gospel, it just provides maintenance to the body of Christ, and a doorway for the gospel to be preached to sinners. The gospel still takes preaching no matter what.

I think you're splitting hairs here- any discussion that the apostles had with people was for the purpose of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and therefore leading them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

 

[ARBITER01]

I think you're splitting hairs here- any discussion that the apostles had with people was for the purpose of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and therefore leading them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

But that stance does not automatically make the giftings an evangelistic tool.

For instance, people have said that tongues should be in natural languages for spreading the gospel and such, but when we look into scripture about it, it denies such an assertion,..

1Co 14:23 If therefore the whole church be assembled together, and all speak with tongues, and there come in men unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad?
1Co 14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all;
1Co 14:25 the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.

A person that does not understand tongues and their operation will only think a church is full of crazy people if all they did was speak in tongues, but if that church was to prophesy and words of knowledge started to also flow, insight into a person's life would be revealed that the speaker would not have any possible way of knowing.

So the idea that a gift like tongues was given for evangelization is wrong. They are foremost for the edification of the body of Christ.

 

[Mathetes the kerux]

I think you're splitting hairs here- any discussion that the apostles had with people was for the purpose of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and therefore leading them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

It is indeed splitting hairs . . . but it is needed. The contention is that the CONTENT of tongues IS presentation of the Gospel . . . ergo tongues are evangelistic . . . that is the position of MANY . . . and it is this position that we DO NOT HOLD. Reason: Tongues, as gifts of the Spirit, are for edification of the CHURCH . . . NOT REACHING THE LOST. Sure, in the overall scope of things, the mission of the church is to take back the lost and storm the gates of Hell . . . in that sense tongues CONTRIBUTE to the health of the BODY which then does evangelism . . . BUT if tongues are ONLY evangelism (or even STRICTLY evangelism) then the "prayer" "praise" "blessing" "singing" concepts that Paul attributes to tongues CANNOT BE. AND the direction of tongues in Acts 10 and 19 is THE WRONG DIRECTION (it would have been Peter and Paul, not the gentiles or disciples that spoke).

We split this hair because those that contend tongues are for evangelistic purposes cannot support this in light of 1 Cor 12 which makes tongues for the purpose of EDIFICATION

 

[Servant of Jesus]

So the idea that a gift like tongues was given for evangelization is wrong. They are foremost for the edification of the body of Christ.

Can you explain this a little more; perhaps with an example of an "edification of the body of Christ".

 

[Servant of Jesus]

Can a deaf mute "speak in tongues"?