Dear Pastor D.M.,

My brother and I were raised Baptist growing up. I remember my childhood fondly but have become more at home in Pentecostal denominationalism. I was chatting with my brother the other day and I made a statement to him that he thought unbelievable. What is that statement? When it comes to being saved, one must confess Jesus is Lord, believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and have the evidence of speaking in tongues. My brother strongly disagreed and said that he believes that once a person confesses and believes, they are saved. For him, the Spirit gives all you need when He comes into your life. “Many Christians are saved that do not ever speak in tongues,” he said.

I want to get my brother to see my way of thinking, but I confess, I could be wrong about this issue because it is a denominational doctrine issue.

What advice can you provide? Any counsel you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, A Concerned Reader

Speaking in tongues: evidence of the spirit’s arrival in acts 2

Dear Concerned Reader,

It’s understandable that this doctrinal issue would be one to divide families. After all, Pentecostals and Baptists are not raised to believe all the same things doctrinally. It would be no different than Baptists disagreeing with Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and so on.

What I would like to do is take some time to examine the doctrinal issue itself and then look at the directions and errors in interpretation regarding it.

The doctrinal issue at play here is speaking in tongues. We first see it when the Holy Spirit falls on the Upper Room gathering in Acts 2. The believers who followed Jesus go to the Upper Room because they are waiting for the promised Spirit from on high. And the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus said He would give, falls on the assembly. The evidence of the Spirit’s arrival in the lives of those who followed Jesus (during His earthly, bodily presence) is that they speak in new tongues.

Peter said in his sermon to the gathering in the Upper Room that those speaking in tongues in Acts 2 was the fulfillment of the Joel prophecy from the Old Testament where Joel wrote that God said “in the last days…I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” In the Upper Room, Jews and Gentiles could hear the acts of God in their own distinct languages (see Acts 2:8).

Some never notice it, but the Acts 2 Upper Room Gathering is really a pre-Babel restoration, a way to “undo” the sin of humanity at the Tower of Babel where they attempt to unify themselves to build a tower to reach Heaven instead of scattering themselves in the earth. God sees what humanity is up to, working together to make a name for themselves, and He “confounds” or “confuses” their language so that they, no longer understanding each other, can scatter, as they were originally told to do (see Genesis 11: 4-7).

Prior to Babel (doesn’t it seem interesting that “Babel,” referring to Tower of Babel, and “Babble,” for speak, are rather similar in nature?), “the whole earth was of one language and of one speech” (Genesis 11:1). In Acts 2, everyone has a distinct native tongue but now the common language is to hear about the mighty acts of God.

Notice that Jesus never said that the Spirit would come on them and they would speak with new tongues. For Jesus, the emphasis was on the Spirit Himself, that the Spirit would come and testify of Himself (Jesus). The emphasis was never on the evidence of speaking in tongues. In fact, prior to Acts 2, we never read of tongues being connected to the Holy Spirit. There’s a reason for that. This doesn’t mean that Jesus did not list speaking in tongues as a sign that would come to believers (Mark 16:15). He did, but He mentions it once and spends far more time on the coming of the Holy Spirit, His role as comforter, and what the Comforter would teach them about Himself (John 16:13-14).

Speaking in tongues was an external, visible manifestation of the Spirit’s presence. Unfortunately, Pentecostal denominational doctrine has taken this specific, visible manifestation and made it a de facto, universal requirement for the Spirit-filled believer. That’s just erroneous biblical interpretation.

Let me explain why.

Christian doctrine evolves, and speaking in tongues evolves with it

Over time, Christian doctrine evolved in the Christian church. The Christian community holds onto the essentials, such as Jesus is Lord, God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus rose from the dead, He is God, He created the world, and He came in the flesh in the incarnation. However, there are certain elements of the Christian community and church that change post-Resurrection.

For example, there is the obvious apostle selection of Matthias to replace Judas. Matthias followed Jesus (as did the seventy; there were more than the 12 original apostles following Jesus, even in the Gospels), but Matthias was not one of Jesus’ handpicked disciples. He becomes the Judas replacement in the apostleship after Judas’s suicide (see Acts 1:15-26).

Just a few chapters from Matthias’s ordination and divine selection, we read that the apostles made a decision: that is, the people should select 7 men to serve tables, whom we now know as “deacons” (Acts 6:1-6). Deacons didn’t exist prior to Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus never mentioned them, but as the needs of the believers grew and the church grew in sheer numbers, the needs increased and the skillset and staff of the church increased along with it.

And when it comes to the doctrine of speaking in tongues, it too, evolved. What was front and center in the Upper Room and a sign of the manifestation of the Spirit’s presence in the lives of some in the Book of Acts became a spiritual gift, a gift of the Spirit, that not all would manifest.

speaking in tongues: a gift given to some (1 corinthians 12:10)

Paul comes out of nowhere, to be honest. Though we read about him in Acts, we find ourselves instantly thrown into the conversion of the future apostle who had once been a state executioner. Paul says that God’s grace was with him through it all because he did it ignorantly in disbelief (see 1 Timothy 1:13-14). Paul goes on to write several books of the New Testament, including 1 and 2 Timothy, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Colossians, Romans, Philippians, and Titus. Paul is also credited with writing Hebrews, though some New Testament scholars would rather hand the accreditation to Gentile physician Luke who traveled with Paul.

The next time we hear of speaking in new tongues is when we arrive at the apostle Paul’s writings. In 1 Corinthians 13, we read of the gifts of the Spirit and among them, these words:

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit likewise. In order to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit…to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:4:8, 10).

When it comes to tongues, Christian doctrine evolves to the point where speaking in new tongues is seen as a manifestation of the Spirit’s gifting, like all the other gifts of the Spirit. It is given to a person, in the same way that “the interpretation of tongues” is given. Notice that the gift of divers kinds of tongues is not given to all, but to some. “To another,” Paul says.

In this setup of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, speaking in tongues is no more important than the other gifts the Spirit gives. And lastly, “But all these works that one and the very same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He wills.” In other words, the Holy Spirit gives the gifts as He wills. He gives the gift of speaking in tongues “as He wills,” as His divine prerogative dictates. In other words, there is no indication from the text or even Paul’s letters that everyone will speak in tongues as a sign of their salvation. If that were true, then everyone should have the gift of speaking in tongues and be able to do it.

Last but not least, Pauline doctrine evolves the gift of speaking in tongues. Remember the Upper Room Event in Acts 2 where the Spirit comes and everyone speaks in tongues “as the Spirit gave them utterance”? Everyone was able to hear the works of God in their own language. Now in the Corinthian church, there is a “gift of interpretation of tongues.” Don’t you find it interesting that, if everyone could speak in tongues, everyone should be able to understand what is being said — without an interpreter?

And yet, here in the church, to bring structure and organization to the chaos (hence the label “organized religion”), Paul says that believers need an interpreter in the church or else, “if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God” (1 Corinthians 14:28). Why would Paul want someone to keep quiet about their evidence of salvation if that is indeed what speaking in tongues is, according to Pentecostal doctrine?

speaking in tongues: a pentecostal fascination that ranks last in spiritual gifts

This last statement I’m going to make on this subject may sting, and it may hurt Pentecostal believers most, but here it is: in terms of spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues ranks at the very bottom of spiritual gifts. Yes, it is a gift whereby men can speak to God, and yes they speak mysteries when using it, but in the end, Paul gives a list of spiritual gifts that outrank speaking in tongues:

“And God has set some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28). Apostles, prophets, and teachers are greater gifts in the church than speaking in tongues. And, get this: tongues doesn’t even come first on the list after those three, but at the very bottom of the list. The last one on the list.

So, the question now becomes, if speaking in tongues is the evidence of the “infilling of the Holy Spirit,” as Pentecostal doctrine teaches, why is it that the apostle Paul, who wrote half of the New Testament, makes the case that speaking in tongues ranks beneath so many other spiritual gifts? Even prophesy ranks higher on the list than speaking in tongues. If speaking in tongues is so essential to having a Spirit-filled life, why does it rank so low on the list of spiritual gifts? if it is so essential to Christianity, shouldn’t it rank at the very top?

And, as I said before, if Paul believes we should manifest the signs of the Spirit, why is he telling those who do not have an interpreter to “keep silent” about their “evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit” in the church and speak to himself and to God instead of the entire assembly? Shouldn’t the newfound believer share the manifestation of the Holy Spirit with all so that the church can rejoice with him or her?

Speaking in tongues: a particular sign of salvation that demands a particular context

Speaking in tongues is mentioned in Scripture. In Acts 2, it was the evidence of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was the One Jesus promised would come after He ascended, His way of not leaving His followers comfortless, He said. And yet, somehow, the evidence of The Spirit’s coming in Acts 2 has been taken and plastered onto the salvation experience where every new believer is expected to speak in tongues as evidence of their salvation.

However, Jesus says that the Spirit would teach believers about Him. Jesus focused on believers doing good works and bringing glory to God, loving one another so the world would know that they belong to Him (John 13: 34-35). Jesus was consumed with believers being branches connected to Himself, the Vine, with God the Father, His Father, being the husbandman or farmer. Every branch not bearing good fruit would be detached and thrown into the fire. Good branches would be pruned so they can bear more fruit (John 15:1-4).

And the apostle Paul, in the New Testament, took Jesus’ words about bearing fruit and ran with it when he told the Galatians, “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” in Galatians 5:22-23. Paul’s doctrine on the fruit of the Spirit is warranted by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

When it comes to speaking in tongues today, however, we cannot recreate the events of the Upper Room at Pentecost. When the gathering there spoke in new tongues, those standing around heard their language and they understood without an interpreter. Today, an interpreter is essential in our churches so that he or she can explain what is being said and encourage others in the faith. The presence of the interpreter at every tongue-speaking event is proof that, in the contemporary church era, as close as we may come to re-creating Acts 2 and the Upper Room Experience, we will never relive it in its entirety.

Since we will never get to re-create the experience of Acts 2, we must cherish it for what it is. It is a divine event, an announcement of the Holy Spirit’s coming. It was the way for the Holy Spirit to make His entrance felt and known. We dare not throw it in the dustbin of history and move forward as though it means nothing to the Christian faith; however, at the same time, we must not make the sign of His coming a mandatory requirement for those seeking to come to Jesus today. Understand that it was an early sign of the Spirit’s presence, an early manifestation of His Presence.

Today, however, all the gifts are a visible manifestation of the Spirit’s Presence (1 Corinthians 12:7), and the same Holy Spirit is at work in them all (“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit…and there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all,” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

And we have the assurance of salvation, that we belong to the Lord, for “If we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:15). “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2). “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). If He has given us all that we need, the armor of God, the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit Himself, and “all we need that pertains to life and godliness,” then what other special manifestation of the Spirit do we need? Are not the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gives to believers manifestations of the Spirit?

Why, then do we exalt speaking in tongues, to the exclusion of the other gifts of the Spirit? When are we going to stop treating a special manifestation of the Spirit as a conversion requirement?