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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:13 ¶ Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:13 ¶ Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may [be gifted to] translate or explain [what he says]. |
Bible Question: How relevant is speaking in tounges? Isnt this the most unimportant spiritual gift that you can recieve out of all of them? Is it not also supposed to be done in private or with an interpater? I was going to a church (a good size one) and the paster on mulitiple occassions asked the entire church to start speaking in tounges, and for those who couldnt to try to and to let the words pour out. Deep inside it just felt wrong to me. I have not gone back to the church since and I have not taken the time to ask this question yet. Also, to me, it seems like it would chase a lot of people away, especially if it was their first time attending church. I could easily see it freaking some people out. I know it made me feel uncomfortable. Can anyone help me with this? |
Bible Answer: Dear GenerationBetrayed, It seems to me that the problem here is that when one christian has an experience of God or a revelation of Him that is new to them, then they can easily attempt to force this understanding or experience on others. This is not the spirit of our dear Lord. James 3:17 captures perfectly what the character of th Lord is really like. Please read it in several different translations. As a young believer I was seriously damaged by those leaders who tried to force their understanding of God onto me, rather than give me time to receive the understanding from the Holy Spirit that I needed. The Lord can and does corner us in quite a forceful way from time to time, but only as a parent, and only when he has a really important point to make to us. The rest of the time I believe that He wants us to explore and discover Him without feeling forced or pressured. I have used the gift of tongues for 30 years now and have found it to be a really useful and important gift in growing to love the Lord, but I would never attempt to force it on anybody, and would certainly NEVER in any way try to make someone feel that they were in some way less of a christian because they hadn't received this gift. God bless you in your exploring! |