The Gift of Tongues - Treading Thin Ice

I recently watched a news report on the phenomenon Christians call the "gift of tongues." I'll be the first to admit that this miracle does appear in many scriptures of the bible. That's not the problem. The problem is this. As I'm watching this documentary, I was reminded of a conversation that I witnessed in a Christian chat room. A female user entered into this room, and by the conversation alone, one could assume that she was crying. You see, apparently she had gotten baptized that morning. Later in the day, she joined her congregation in worship. As the congregation commenced to praying, they began to "speak in tongues," which to her surprise, she could not. She had informed the person next to her of her lack of ability, and this person told her that she had to relax and allow the Spirit to speak through her. She tried, but to no avail. She was later told by the pastor of this congregation that this indicated that she had "not been saved yet then," and some in this chat room agreed. Can you believe this?! This girl was shattered, and on the brink of suicide by the time she had come into the chat room. As far as she was concerned, if she couldn't be "saved," then there was no reason to live. I thank "God" and Jesus that I was there to console her. I inquired of her as to what language she heard them speaking. Her answer: "Mumbling." "It didn't sound like a 'regular' language," she said. That it just what I had suspected.

Let's set the record straight, shall we? First of all, the term "tongue" in the bible is the Greek "glossa", which means "language." Not "mumbling," but an actual language. This "gift" as according to ancient prophesy becomes fulfilled, and makes its debut during the feast of Pentecost as anyone can read at Acts 2:4. Later, at Acts 2:8, the men that were present asked, "...how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" Acts 2:13 says that many people thought the Apostles were drunk, but nevertheless, they still heard actual languages! Not jibberish! Not to say we're not to be baptized because that would be foolish, but for the record, wasn't Cornelius and his house "speaking in tongues" before they were baptized? Says so at Acts 10:44-48. Anyway, there's only one place that I can find that people might use to try to prove that this "gift" does not necessarily have to be an actual language, and that's Romans 8:26. Let's examine this verse, shall we? Here it declares, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Now, what does "groanings" mean, Christians? According to the Greek, this word is "stenagmos", which is simply, "a sigh." Now, funny thing is, this word has a root word which is "stenazo." "Pray inaudibly." Now, what does "inaudibly" mean? According to the dictionary, it means "impossible to hear," and "not loud enough to be heard." The word "uttered" here is the Greek "alaletos," which means "unspeakable." This seems a bit confusing, since everybody that claims to be "speaking in tongues" while they pray are doing it out loud! Not that they're seeking the approval of others or anything. All this scripture is saying is that there are times when we don't even know how to put our prayers into the correct words, but "God" knows even what our sighs mean, so during these times, we don't need the right words. "God" knows our hearts.

There are many places where the use of this "gift" can be found in the bible, and normally, it was considered the least of all the "gifts." There is also a rule that had to be followed with this "gift," a rule that I find many ignore. This rule is simple. Make sure you have someone with you to interpret, or interpret yourself, or your "gift" is useless! Even if you interpret yourself, you still need a witness to prove your interpretation is true. This can all be proven in the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th chapters of 1Corinthians. One scripture that definitely is ignored is 1Corinthians 13:8. This scripture declares that prophesy, tongues, and knowledge will all come to naught. Why is this? Any prophetic thing to be taught is now written in the bible. We have no need for new prophesies. Knowledge is nothing, because until the kingdom is established we can never know everything. And the "gift" of tongues? Can you think of one language that the bible is not taught in? This was necessary in the beginning of the Christian movement, but how long do you think this was necessary? Now, Christians are using this "gift" that they don't even truly have as a badge of honor. Take heed. You're treading thin ice.