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By Hank Walker | Pastor at Peach City Fellowship

This is the fourth installment as we seek to answer statements or objections to the premise that much of the way the gift of tongues is practiced in modern churches is not biblical. This article does not suggest that spiritual gifts or miracles have ended in this age—a theological position called “Cessationism”—but that there is no biblical warrant for the WAY they are now practiced in churches.

(5.) 1 Corinthians 14:39-40—“Not to Be Forbidden—Paul explicitly commands not to forbid tongues.” This command—“do not forbid speaking in tongues”—is exactly why I am not a Cessationist. But its application must be GOVERNED biblically. Paul explicitly uses a form of “glossa,” which has a lexical range that limits it ONLY to natural, human language. Suppose missionaries are dealing with a people group who have never received the Gospel and do not have the Bible in their language. In that case, I am fully prepared to accept that God would use a gift of “languages” to bring them to salvation. But in the established church, today, we have the “more sure word” (2 Pet. 1:19) preserved in Scripture.

(6.) Acts 2:4; 10:45-46; 19:6—”Sign of Spirit-Filled Empowerment—Occurred at key Spirit-outpouring moments.” I addressed this in part 2, point 1. The only thing to add here is that these referenced passages DESCRIBE what happened; they do not PRESCRIBE these manifestations as normative for the church today. Instead of unintelligible speech, the opposite occurred—the curse of Babel was set aside, demonstrating the universal reach of the Gospel.

(7.) 1 Corinthians 14:22—“Sign for Unbelievers—Tongues can be a sign to those outside the faith.” Context matters! We mustn’t leave out the rest of this verse: “Thus tongues are a sign NOT FOR BELIEVERS, but for UNBELIEVERS. Again, this points to the missionary necessity that tongues met as Christians (including Paul) needed to speak foreign languages they had never learned in order to take the Gospel to pagan people groups. Moreover, in this verse, Paul is quoting Isaiah 28:11-12 to show that foreign tongues were a sign of judgment against unbelieving Israel; the Gospel to the Gentiles was an affront to those who had been given the responsibility to carry the oracles of God to the nations.

Grace and peace, y’all. Soli Deo Gloria