Tongues Introduction

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Tongues:

A Biblical View

By Ovid Need, Jr.

Introduction

Please keep the following in mind as we examine some things from Scripture concerning the modern day Charismatic Movement:

First, I do not believe the dividing line for Scriptural fellowship in our day can be drawn at "the gifts." Rather, the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ should be the measure of fellowship; world-wide judgment is coming over the issue of "WHO IS LORD?": Christ, the state, self, or any one of the many gods of this world? Second, this study is in no way an attack upon anyone; there are many people who believe in "the gifts" with whom we have stood side by side on many issues. The issue is not "the gifts" but "WHO IS LORD OVER EVERYTHING?" Third, the purpose of this study is to closely examine God's word in our confusing age of many doctrines (Acts 17:11. Note that they searched the OT Scriptures. We could avoid a lot of false doctrine if we did so as well). Fourth, we do not believe (as some do) that those who practice "the gifts" are, as a rule, doing it under demonic influence, but history clearly reveals that tongues (ecstatic speech) can result from demonic activity; therefore, this can be a danger (can you imagine having so much of the Holy Spirit that there is a danger of demonic activity?). We feel that much of the practice of "the gifts" (tongues; also healing other than as described in Ja 5) stems from an emotional experience. We will develop the reasons for this belief in the following pages.

This booklet contains a study which I was compelled to do here at Linden Baptist Church. We had a young couple visit our services with another young couple. When they came a couple of Sundays and didn't come back, another man and I went by to see them; they told us this story:

His mother went to a "charismatic" church. When she found out that her children had come to visit with us, she started inviting them over for dinner on Sunday if they would attend her church. Up until this time she had had nothing to do with them, but suddenly, as soon as they showed an interest in the Lord, she swooped down on them like a vulture.

The thing which upset me and brought about this study was that as soon as she found out they had come to visit us, she sent her pastor by to see them. He went by on a Sunday afternoon and spent two hours explaining to the couple the importance of speaking in tongues. He never once mentioned the importance of salvation or of serving God; his only message was "speak in tongues." (Since then he was sent to prison for defrauding a bank out of about $500,000.00.) When we went by to see them, they both told me about his visit. We shared the gospel with them, and as a result, they both professed trust in Christ. They came back to LBC a couple more times, but they were unable to endure his mother's pressure; she would not leave them alone. It was easier for them to go nowhere at all than to face the "tongues" pressure, so now they are nowhere. When they quit coming here, she subsequently lost interest in them.

I realize this incident probably is not typical with all charismatic, but we have found it typical. The BIG QUESTION is "tongues;" if you don't participate, you aren't as spiritual as you could and should be. As I said, this situation drove me to do some diligent research on the matter, so here we are.

This study is divided into five sections: first, the history of the movement; I must confess that much of the historical material is not original with me. I used several resources to develop the history of the charismatic movement which are still available, which I highly recommend: The Corinthian Catastrophe by George E. Gardiner, Kregel Publishing. We also used Mr. Gardiner's series of tapes on the spiritual gifts, recorded at Bangor Baptist Church, Bangor, ME 04401. Mr. Gardiner was involved in the movement for several years; therefore, he speaks from inside knowledge. In '73, he was pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, MI. Another resource would be Charismatic Gift of Tongues by Ronald E. Baxter, also by Kregel Publishing.

If involvement in the "Charismatic Movement" is a prerequisite for dealing with this issue, then I am by no means an expert; I have never been involved. But does one have to be involved in something to know how God speaks concerning the issue? Therefore, let me lay this basic foundation for this study: The WORD OF GOD must be our basis for what we need to confront. The WORD OF GOD alone MUST be the basis of all we believe and practice, not our own experiences (2 Tim 3:16).

Chapter one deals with the secular history of the modern tongues movement; Chapter two deals with the NT background from Acts; Chapter three deals with the historical background from Corinthians; Chapter four examines the OT usage of tongues; Chapter five defines "What is spiritual?"; and finally Chapter six draws some obvious Biblical conclusions.

Let me close the Introduction with this statement: from what I have observed, if those involved in the charismatic movement were as concerned that others were saved and working to advance the kingdom of God (Mat 6:33 & 28:19, 20) as they are concerned that they "have the gifts," we would see revival and America turned back to God. Furthermore, let me define salvation here as total and complete trust in the redemptive work of Christ (See The Other Jesus, by this author).