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NASB | Acts 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:6 And when this sound was heard, a crowd gathered, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing those in the upper room speaking in his own language or dialect. |
Subject: When will I speak/pray in tongues? |
Bible Note: Scooting over to 1 Timothy 4:14 does not give me the same subject. That is my whole point. The immediate context of 1 Timothy 4:14 is 1 Timothy 4, not Acts nor 1 Corinthians 12 nor Romans 12. Of course these passages provide a larger context for the verse in question, but so do Judges, 2 Kings, and Obadiah. Show me from Scripture that when Jesus said "ask and you will receive," he was talking about tongues. Please cite chapter and verse and make your point, because simply stringing along a group of phrases that Jesus said in a number of different contexts does not make them applicable to your argument. You are absolutely right that tongues were a sign of salvation for Cornelius and his household. I have not suggested that tongues were never a sign of salvation. What I am saying is that Christians have been certainly "well-established" without possessing this gift at all. Martin Luther was not a tongues-speaker. Nor was Jonathan Edwards. To my knowledge, Augustine never mentioned it. John Calvin did not speak in tongues. John and Charles Wesley? Nope. Since you seem to be missing my point regarding 1 Corinthians 12, let me point out the verses in question: "And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?" --1 Corinthians 12:28-30 After discussing throughout the chapter the fact that God in His sovereignty has established different roles for believers within the church (along with different gifts that accompany them), he goes on to say very emphatically that every believer does NOT have every gift (including tongues). This is not due to a lack of asking or a lack of faith. This is due to the fact that God specifically ordained to assign them different gifts. Also, notice how far tongues is down the list. Why does your church major on a gift that Paul assigns such a very minor place? The fact is that Scripture plainly says, in no uncertain terms, that tongues is not a gift that all Christians will truly have. Therefore, it stands to reason, statistically speaking, that many in your church are faking it or are deceived into thinking that the noises they are uttering are truly from God. Perhaps it is you who needs to evaluate how "established" you are. I am with a very healthy church. What are the marks of a healthy church? A healthy, established church is one where the sufficiency and efficacy of God's Word is held to and boldly proclaimed and honored. A healthy church is where the congregation regularly engages in baptism and the Lord's Supper. And a healthy church is one where a biblically-based system of discipline is in place to keep the church doctrinally pure and free from gross, evident, unrepentant sin. The church I attend has all of these, and bears spiritual fruit as a result. --Joe! P.S. Isaiah 7 has nothing to do with tongues. |