Speaking in tongues

[nChrist]

Tongues were NOT psycho-babble, rather known languages of the time.

Acts 2:4-8 KJV And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

 

[Faith.Man]

I can speak on this issue because I have spoken in tongues, and I have been enlightened that this should not be happening in our day and age (I've been a Baptist for the past two years).

My pastor recommended reading the book "Charismatic Chaos" by John MacArthur, and it was very enlightening. I highly suggest reading this book. Look at some of the other claims made by some of the practicers.

When I spoke in tongues the first time, I had a wave of power and warmth come over me, and tears were coming from my eyes. This is a very similar experience I recently saw on the TV show "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmern. He had this same experience (without the talking) put on him from a pagan ritual. It really scared me.

The experience of speaking in tongues were real experiences, however, where the power is coming from begs serious question. It's scary for me to admit that this did not come from God. However, God is soverign over all and had allowed this to happen to me so I can tell others about it from a "now enlightened" point of view.

Seek the truth, and not the experience. Experience fades like a drug. Real truth comes from God, and real truth never dies.

I had a similar experience as a new Christian many years ago. I now doubt I ever spoke in tongues.

 

[stelow]

I post these Scriptures, to remind myself of how I should, Relax!!! This topic is a barn burner, I've seen it debated over and over again with accusations from every direction. To me it's a distraction from the important things, like we see James writing about. But hey, just because I've been on this merry-go round before and I'm tired of riding it, don't let that stop you.

James 3:13 - 18

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. 18 And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

[sarahelizabeth]

Speaking In Touages is a Great Way to get closer to god some people that are new to churches get scared by it..
but It is the most beautiful Comforting thing to hear

 

[Knee V]

I've experienced the thing that some refer to as "tongues" earlier in my life. It was not just me uttering nonsense. It was as if I was taken over by something. At the very moment that the words began to come out of my mouth, a huge rush of ecstasy took over my entire body, like a wave starting at my head and going down to my feet, completely overwhelming me. My mind was completely detached from my mouth, as I could analyze the words coming out of my mouth while my eyes were closed and my head was back and I was laughing hysterically. It seemed to follow some kind of structure, and the person who was with me had never heard anything like it in all the years that she'd spent in that world.

Looking back, I do not, for a moment, believe that that was from God. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and in that state I had no control of myself. I've heard a lot of repetitive nonsense that just sounded like they were trying to mutter anything non-English. For me, it wasn't ME making the words. It was my mouth, to be sure, but they weren't my words and I was not controlling the muscles of my mouth.

Tongues, both scripturally and historically, is a gift that God gives people to spread the gospel or speak to people who do not speak their same language.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

I've spoken in tongues ever since 1973 when I was "Baptized in the Holy Spirit" (to use AoG terminology) 11 years after I was saved.

Naturally, I believe in it, and support it as a legitimate manifestation of the Holy Spirit in 2011.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I've experienced the thing that some refer to as "tongues" earlier in my life. It was not just me uttering nonsense. It was as if I was taken over by something. At the very moment that the words began to come out of my mouth, a huge rush of ecstasy took over my entire body, like a wave starting at my head and going down to my feet, completely overwhelming me. My mind was completely detached from my mouth, as I could analyze the words coming out of my mouth while my eyes were closed and my head was back and I was laughing hysterically. It seemed to follow some kind of structure, and the person who was with me had never heard anything like it in all the years that she'd spent in that world.

Looking back, I do not, for a moment, believe that that was from God. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and in that state I had no control of myself. I've heard a lot of repetitive nonsense that just sounded like they were trying to mutter anything non-English. For me, it wasn't ME making the words. It was my mouth, to be sure, but they weren't my words and I was not controlling the muscles of my mouth.

Tongues, both scripturally and historically, is a gift that God gives people to spread the gospel or speak to people who do not speak their same language.

Proves my point. Your experience has all the characteristics of a counterfeit. The process for getting free of demonic counterfeits and getting the genuine article is as follows:

1. Recognise that what you experienced was a demonic counterfeit.

2. Resist the devil by commanding him to leave you.

3. Renounce the experience as being false and a counterfeit.

You will be then set free of any residual effects of the demonic experience, including a resistance to the genuine baptism in the Spirit.

Getting the genuine article takes steps of faith as follows:

1. Wait on God until He shows you that the Baptism in the Spirit is God's will for you.

2. Once you know it is God's will, ask for it. Whatever you ask for in God's will, He will give it to you.

3. He who asks, receives, so receive the Holy Spirit into your life.

4. Having received the Holy Spirit by faith, you can confess that you are now baptised in the Spirit. You don't have to feel anything, because the Spirit comes into your spirit, bypassing your physical emotions.

Speaking in tongues is an act of faith, based on what you believe. There are no feelings of ecstacy with faith. This is how the demonic gained entry, when a person puts their faith in experiences and feelings. True faith is in God's promises. The promise of God in this case is the prophecy of Joel in which he said that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Peter confirmed this on the Day of Pentecost.

Tongues came spontaneously to the 120, Cornelius's household and the 12 at Ephesus, because they knew nothing about it. God had to do it sovereignly.

But we now know that the gifts of God come through our faith. Therefore, we do a deliberate act based on our belief. So if I believe I am baptised in the Spirit, I can speak in tongues, therefore I make up a language that I believe God understands. This is the only way to activate genuine faith. But as the Holy Spirit flows out of us, the language becomes fluent and we are no longer "making it up".

We can start speaking in tongues without any emotional feelings at all, because what we are doing is in faith. We control the speaking at all times. Of course, there will be emotions, but they will be in line with the fruit of the Spirit.

I have arguments on CF about my view about "making up" the language by faith, and your experience about a force taking you over justifies my view. All the people that I have led through to the baptism in the Spirit have acknowledged that when they have become fluent, they have spoken languages that were totally different to the one they made up at first, and they knew that they were no longer making the language up, but the Spirit was flowing out of them as they spoke the language fluently.

I trust that this is helpful.

Because I am not permitted to debate on this forum, I cannot answer any objections to what I am saying, unless anyone comes over to the Spirit Filled Debate forum and make their objection there.

 

[fisherman72]

I was with my wife at a religious retreat in Key Largo,FL the 1st time i spoke in tongue. Not only was it an expierence that bonded me closer to her but also made me have more confidence in my own faith. May the Holy Spirit be with us all

 

[religious&reasonable]

it's wierd, and it's one of the reasons my parents left the first church they went to here.

they walk in, sermon begins, and everyone just starts saying gibberish.

I prefer my church services a bit less, disturbing.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

Never been to a "Full Gospel" service like that. when the Sermon starts, folks may "Amen" during the sermon, but that's typically it.

We Pentecostals all PRAY together when we pray, and we WORSHIP vocally together, but when the sermon commences - the Pastor is the one who speaks.

 

[Matariki]

Speaking in tongues is a gift of communication. The ability to speak to others in their own language or by means that they can understand the gospel.
However I believe It to be a gift thats been heavily misunderstood and abused.

God is not a author of confusion.

1 Corinthians 14:33: For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints.

Speaking in tongues to me from what I've witnessed in modern practice is nothing more than babble. It sends shivers down my spine (and not of the good sort either) and leaves me awfully confused and disturbed.

 

[LinuxUser]

What does everyone here think of it?

It is one of the gifts of the Spirit that God can give a believer. Either a real language or a prayer language

 

[JDawson]

I was with my wife at a religious retreat in Key Largo,FL the 1st time i spoke in tongue. Not only was it an expierence that bonded me closer to her but also made me have more confidence in my own faith. May the Holy Spirit be with us all

So what Jesus did and the inwelling of the HS was not quite enough? You needed a sign? Why? Don't we all need signs at certain times, but get nothing? There are serious flaws in these arguments.

Tongues was never to edify only you. A prayer language is unscriptual to be practiced and is not of God. Nowhere is it documented that any of the disciples, Jesus, or writers of the NT spoke in tongues while praying.

This is SUCH a miraculous event, don't you think they would have spoken extensively about it?

Remember God is never the author of confusion and if you need proof or a sign to make you believe, then you don't have faith. You're rendering the Bible not good enough.

Let me ask you this. Why does anyone need to speak in tongues now days? They don't.

To those who say that to be counterfeited, there must be a real one.... There was. The real tongues was in the NT, that does not mean that it's still around today. Satan can counterfeit something that happened back then in order to ultimately harm the believer and the church. So just because satan counterfeits it today, does not mean that the "real thing" is still around.

Yalllll comeeee onnnnnnn here ok? Gibberish, babbling, speaking in other languages for no reason just sounds out of character with God and how He is and how faith works. God is not in the business of providing signs so we will believe Him. He's done that and now its up to faith.

Idk why people have a hard time with this doctrine. Surely you don't believe prophets are around anymore right? What else is there to prophecy?? Nothing, the Book is written and completed. Don't tell me that people fortune telling about next week in church meetings is prophecy either. So if prophecy is not around and Apostleship is not around, is it thaaattt far out to say that mayyybbbeee genuine tongues isnt around either?

Im not saying God cant, im saying it's not in His character anymore to use that method.

 

[Torporeal]

As others have noted, the importance of an interpreter being present to give meaning to the message being delivered in "tongues" is scriptural and proper. I have my own opinions about someone speaking in "tongues" in private, alone - and suffice it to say I'm skeptical at best, but that's just me. Better if such a one kept word of such utterances to themselves if they had them - for of what value can they possibly be otherwise? The Lord said as much - that we are not to thus pray where others can see [our piety?] but to go into our closets and pray there, where He hears. The same would apply to advertising our prayers (or speaking in tongues).

I've been in a group or two where "tongues" were ostensibly spoken and from my perspective, it was pure gibberish - nor done in the manner it was do I think it was from the Lord. The purpose of tongues was to edify, not impress, not amaze. Without an interpreter present, it's irrelevant whether the "tongue" was an actual language or not, to those who don't know what it is, it's pure gibberish and edifying to none.

 

[chinchillin]

What does everyone here think of it?

I think it's creepy, personally.

 

[a pilgrim]

A Christian brother shared the following story with me. A certain evangelist in S. Africa who spoke English, went to preach in an area prison to the inmates. He faithfully gave the gospel to his audience, in English. At the close of his message a man came up to him speaking in the Afrikaans tongue. For those of you who don't know, or are curious, Afrikaans is a Dutch dialect brought to S. Africa by the Dutch colonizers. Anyways, when the man came up he told Kieth that he knew he began his message in English, but heard the entire gospel in his mother tongue. Kieth, who knew Afrikaans as well, was shocked and blessed to see what God had done. He gave him, without his awareness, the ability to share the gospel with that man. I believe this is completely consistent with the biblical example of tongues.

 

[CGL1023]

You declare, "Speaking in tongues to me from what I've witnessed in modern practice is nothing more than babble. It sends shivers down my spine (and not of the good sort either) and leaves me awfully confused and disturbed."

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:2, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit."

It seems, from the preceding verse, that tongues are not meant to be understood by men but by God.

 

[Torporeal]

You declare, "Speaking in tongues to me from what I've witnessed in modern practice is nothing more than babble. It sends shivers down my spine (and not of the good sort either) and leaves me awfully confused and disturbed."

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:2, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit."

It seems, from the preceding verse, that tongues are not meant to be understood by men but by God.

...and yet in following verses Paul says this: 6 "But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching?"

and then a couple verses down: 13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

So yes, one can be speaking to God, but one can also be speaking to others - and lest the others have no clue what he's saying (and thereby not be edified in any way by the speaking of tongues), it is better spoken (or interpreted) so the listener can hear and be encouraged.

 

[a pilgrim]

The heartbeat behind tongues is evangelism. Notice:

Acts 2
[4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
[5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
[6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Notice the word "tongues" and the word "languages" are interchangable.
[7] And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

Galilaens were not great multilingual scholars, they were fishermen. How could they speak other tongues/languages?

[8] And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
[9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
[10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
[11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

Clearly, this was an evangelistic gift, given to these believers to reach the great multitude visiting Jerusalem in their "mother tongues."
God does not need ecstatic communications. God doesn't need us to move our mouth at all, we can speak to him from our hearts in utter silence. These men, however, needed to hear, as it says in verse 11, the wonderful works of God.
I would also like to point out, tongues is a hearing gift as well as a speaking gift because the unbelieving Jews heard gibberish:

[13] Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
[14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
[15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

Actually, they were preaching. That is what the New Testament word prophesying means;

[16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

I am not so dispensationalist that I don't believe tongues does not still happen, I just don't think it what we see in modern pracitce, ESPECIALLY, when we see it being used in foreign lands in a biblical way...to win souls.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

So what Jesus did and the inwelling of the HS was not quite enough? You needed a sign? Why? Don't we all need signs at certain times, but get nothing? There are serious flaws in these arguments.

Tongues was never to edify only you. A prayer language is unscriptual to be practiced and is not of God. Nowhere is it documented that any of the disciples, Jesus, or writers of the NT spoke in tongues while praying.

This is SUCH a miraculous event, don't you think they would have spoken extensively about it?

Remember God is never the author of confusion and if you need proof or a sign to make you believe, then you don't have faith. You're rendering the Bible not good enough.

Let me ask you this. Why does anyone need to speak in tongues now days? They don't.

To those who say that to be counterfeited, there must be a real one.... There was. The real tongues was in the NT, that does not mean that it's still around today. Satan can counterfeit something that happened back then in order to ultimately harm the believer and the church. So just because satan counterfeits it today, does not mean that the "real thing" is still around.

Yalllll comeeee onnnnnnn here ok? Gibberish, babbling, speaking in other languages for no reason just sounds out of character with God and how He is and how faith works. God is not in the business of providing signs so we will believe Him. He's done that and now its up to faith.

Idk why people have a hard time with this doctrine. Surely you don't believe prophets are around anymore right? What else is there to prophecy?? Nothing, the Book is written and completed. Don't tell me that people fortune telling about next week in church meetings is prophecy either. So if prophecy is not around and Apostleship is not around, is it thaaattt far out to say that mayyybbbeee genuine tongues isnt around either?

Im not saying God cant, im saying it's not in His character anymore to use that method.

It is not that tongues are unavailable to Christians today. It is more that God has not decided to give you the revelation of it. God gives believers the measure of faith and we receive giftings according to that measure of faith He gives us. So, He has given others the measure of faith to pray in tongues and to receive the blessings from it, but not to you.

No skin off anyone's nose. What you don't have, you won't miss.