I apologize for not posting until today. I have had a not so fun week with work and other things going on in my personal life. On a lighter note, I am stupidly excited about college football being just a couple of weeks away. It is such an emotional time of year for me and I can't get enough of it.
There is another topic I want to address, but I'm slightly hesitant to breach this subject as it can be a "can o worms." Nonetheless, here we go: Do you believe that speaking in tongues is something available to all Christians if we just ask (like forgiveness from God), or that it is something that God chooses to give to only certain people (maybe like how we all have our own individual gifts). Please, I would love to get some feedback on this. I know it can be difficult to answer something like this with the brevity that are comments on blogs, but if you can, please give me your thoughts. Thanks.
About Me
- Stu
- Tulsa, OK, United States
- I have been compared to my grandpa before. I like breakfast. Those are pretty accurate.
5 comments:
I don't think so - as far as I can remember, speaking in tongues is a gift as is interpreting, and not all have the same gifts.
This is a question I've thought of myself - I'm a toddler christian and I remember seeing "ministry" broadcasts of people who were in the middle of preaching and they would just suddenly start speaking in tongues, and then dramatically start preaching again. I'm not even sure that God would bless too many people with something like that in this day and age, but if he did, I don't think it's something you could just ask for unless God felt you were spiritually responsible, but again, the way the world is, I think that miracle is something very rare and precious.
That's my humble, un-wise opinion. Something to pray over, huh??
Read 1 Corinthians 12.
Paul clearly indicates that different people get different gifts and that not all will have tongues (or healing or prophecy, etc.).
The typical argument made by someone with a theology that says that all people can have tongues is that there are instances in Acts where a whole crowd got the gift of tongues all at once. However, just because God chose to give a whole crowd tongues in those instances doesn't PROVE that God will give all Christians tongues. It just proves that God did it at that PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE.
So, no. I don't believe that any Christian can have tongues if he just asks for it. Only those who God chooses to give it to will have it. Frankly, I think that many in the traditional "tongues" camp make an idol out of tongues and seek to express that gift to the exclusion of seeking Jesus.
Though it would be fun to poke multiple holes at Frodo's comment, there aren't any. He's right on.
I have a family member who actually grew up in a church that FORCED children to attend Sunday School classes with the intent of bringing out that "gift."
Needless to say, it was a scarring experience for her, as that would be like asking Brett to dunk a basketball on a 10 foot hoop without a trampoline. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN. Meanwhile people stand around and mock his lack of belief and doubt whether he is really a Christian for not believing and doing.
That being said, I do have a close friend who always wished he had that type of gift...and one day found himself actually having it in a very unique situation on the foreign mission field. When he needed it...he had it. But to my knowledge that was a 1x experience.
To tongue, or not to tongue...that is the question.
If you don't feel like reading the whole thing...just take my short answer: I believe that tongues are still alive and well today.
Ok, for the long answer:
Well if you ask "What's the ESV" girl, she would say that everyone must receive it to have the completion of salvation. But, she grew up in a VERY Charismatic / Penticostal home. That comes from the school of thought that Paul was enabling all to receive tongues and prophecy when he said in Acts 19:4-6 that water Baptism is for repentance, but upon salvation, all will be baptized into Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit which then brings upon tongues and prophecy. This is also the school of thought that sticks whole heartedly to Mark 16:15-18 that talks about all that are baptized will receive tongues and drive out demons. But, then it goes on to say that they can also 'dance' with snakes and drink poison that will not harm them. Yet, then again...Mark 16:15-20 is some of the most controversial scripture in all the bible because, some scholars say that it was added at a later date and holds no real strength.
Well, Paul is the one that wrote Acts...and he's also the one that gave commandments and guidelines to the church in Corinth, saying that one person will receive one gift...while another receives another.
I believe that tongues is still alive and well today, but not all will receive them. The bible clearly states that at "completion" we would no longer need some of the miraculous gifts. But, I (like Babyar) know of a group that goes to India every year and they receive the language of Hindi only when they're there, and never any other time.
And, of course there is also the case of "tongues of angels" and praying in "mumbles and groans". I know of TOO many men and women of faith that have received this very thing to just brush it off. I think that this "kind" of tongue as well as the miraculous kind are still very alive and being used. But, as far as prophetic words in the form of tongues...that is not already in scripture...that is playing with fire if you ask me. - Shelli
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