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Transcript 565B — Is Talking in Tongues for Today?
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Yes. Good evening, Brother Camping. I have a question concerning the use of tongues for today. I've heard you speak on this recently, that it is not for today. And I'm seeking some answers about this. I'm a little bit confused about it at this time, because my husband and I thought we had received the gift of tongues. And at one time we were going to a church that practices this in the church, where they have the interpretations, and everything. And we were just wondering if you could give us some Scripture that would help us to understand better whether tongues is for today or not.
HC: Let me ask this question concerning tongues. When you thought that you had the gift of tongues, or whatever you've been taught concerning tongues, was this something that just came out of your own life, or was this presumably something that you believed came from God? In other words, was it God somehow speaking through you?
CALLER: Well, that's how we felt, yes, that it was a gift from God.
HC: It was a gift from God, but actually, or let me rephrase the question. Did you think that the words that you were speaking, even though they were not understandable, were just gibberish, incoherent words, or were they actually words that were conveying some kind of a message, either a message of praise or a message of prayer or a revelation of some kind, that it really was a message from God?
CALLER: The way that we felt was that it was a gift from the Lord and that it was a way that the Lord would speak through us, that there might be things that He would want us to pray about that we would not know how to pray for, or that there might be something that He would want us to pray about and that by using the gift of tongues we would be saying what the Lord wanted us to say
HC: In other words, God was actually putting words into your mouth, in an unknown language, that was a revelation from God. And it could be in the form of a prayer, or it could be a praise, or something else.
Now that's exactly what happened, of course, when we read in the Bible some of the prayers that are found in the Psalms. Of course they were not in tongues, in an unknown language, but they were in a known language. And so we find various prayers to God. They are actually spoken by men, but holy men of old were inspired by God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In your case, if you truly believed it was of God, you also hoped that someone might interpret, so that others might be edified by what you had been receiving. Isn't that true?
CALLER: Not entirely. I never spoke out in the congregation, either I or my husband. We basically used it for our own prayer language.
HC: I see. But if it had been in the congregation, then of course you would have hoped that someone would interpret.
CALLER: Well, I don't know. That's what's confusing.
HC: All right. Actually then, let me put it the other way. If we actually were going to believe that tongues were normative for today, and we spoke in tongues in the congregation, according to what we read in I Corinthians 14, then God's rule was that there should be someone there to interpret. In verse 28, "If there be no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God." And also of course the women were to be silent in the church, insofar as that phenomenon was concerned, as it took place in the church at Corinth.
CALLER: Right.
HC: All right. You see, when the Bible was being prepared, before the Bible was completed, from time to time God would give additional revelation. He had the written Word, which was complete to that point in time, whenever this was. And then there was additional revelation. And this additional revelation could come in the form of a prayer (and I've already used the Psalms as an example), it could be in the form of a prophecy of some kind, where God is foretelling future events, as was the case with the apostle John on the island of Patmos. He received the visions that now have become the Book of Revelation. Or it could be in the form of exhortation, as for example, when God would speak through one of the prophets, to exhort the people or warn them of impending doom if they did not change their ways, or whatever. But in any case it was additional divine truth that was added to the Word of God.
Now at the time that I Corinthians was being written, that is, when the apostle Paul was writing this letter to the church at Corinth, the Bible consisted of the Old Testament. That was the written Word of God, what we call the Old Testament. There was no New Testament. And in fact, God was still completing the New Testament. God was still giving revelation to this one or that one. And additionally, He was breaking the silence in individual cases, bringing messages directly to them. We find this, for example, when He brought a message to Elizabeth, to tell her of John the Baptist, or to Zechariah, his father, or when the angel spoke to Joseph concerning the fact that Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit.
And there were various other times that God the Holy Spirit spoke in this way. And that's because they did not have the whole Word of God. And whatever they did receive, they could add that to the written Word that they already had, and so they would have a more complete revelation. They would take, for example, the letter that the apostle Paul wrote, and they would begin to recognize that this was the Word of God, and that it could be added to what had already been written in the Old Testament. And so they would have a more complete revelation.
Well, that was all fine, until God came to the last of His divine revelation. He came to Revelation 22:18, and then God declared, "If anyone adds to the words of this book...." Now that had been going on before, and it was legitimate, that they would add whatever they received from God to the words that had already been written. But now God is saying, "If anyone adds to the words of this book [and there's only one book that's in view and that's the Bible; it's one cohesive whole] I will add to him the plagues written herein." In other words, effectively God is saying, "My revelation is completed. There's nothing more that you are to look for. If you want to know divine truth. read the Bible. I've given you the whole revelation." And by the same token, He also warned in the next verse, "If anyone takes away from the words of this book. I will take away his share in the Tree of Life." In other words, make sure that you believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God.
Therefore, the next year, after Revelation was penned, if some individual received information in a vision or in a voice or a dream, and thought that it was of God, they could know it was not of God, because there was nothing more to add. And so when various individuals came on the scene with their visions (and this has been going on to some degree all through the New Testament period), and they were convinced that it was of God, you could know that it can't be of God because we're not to add to the Word of God.
We're living in a day when a great many people, all over the world, are claiming that God is speaking to them, through visions and dreams, voices or tongues. And invariably, you'll find that if people are interested in tongues, they're also interested in visions and voices and dreams, because it's all of the same kind. It is all based on the premise that God is still speaking today.
And so actually, if you were going to allow that this is happening, that God is speaking today, what we really should do then is go back in history and find every statement that anyone had ever received in the form of a vision or a tongue, that had been interpreted, or whatever, and we could write all this down and gradually have a more and more complete revelation of God. And of course by now the Bible would be several hundred thousand volumes thick, if every one of these things had been written down.
But the fact is, God said no, we're not to add to the words of this book. And so this kind of activity that's going on we know cannot be of God. Now it may be hallucinatory. You know, you want this badly enough and you're convinced that this has to be. And so our minds are very tricky, and so we can engage in self-hypnotism or in self-deception of some kind. And so we will have an activity of this kind. Or it could be of Satan. Satan could be accommodating us. You know, when we are seeking for something that is not God's will, and we ask for it long enough, then we're leaving ourselves wide open to allow Satan to accommodate us with this. Whatever it is, it was not of God.
CALLER: But if you were a born again Christian, Satan couldn't possibly be speaking through you.
HC: Now you raised another interesting question. If you are a born again believer, Satan could not speak through you. Yes, that is true. That is a true statement. But the fact is, the Bible indicates that Jesus, for example, said in John 10:8, "All that came before Me were thieves and robbers." Now the Bible defines thieves and robbers as those who claim to be saved and come into the temple, and say, "We're delivered," and yet they are Baal worshippers. That is, they are worshippers of other gospels.
And Jesus said, "All that came before Me were thieves and robbers, but My sheep did not hear them." In other words "My sheep," those who are born again, would not get snared into this. And that's a very significant statement. For example, in Matthew 24:24 Jesus said, "False prophets and false christs will arise with signs and wonders, to lead astray if possible even the elect." Now the elect are the born again believers. And He's saying that if it were possible they would be deceived because those who come with these signs and wonders, and incidentally, isn't it a fact that those who are interested in the supernatural activity of tongues and visions and voices are also interested in signs and wonders? They're all part of the same cloth, you see.
And Jesus says, the elect will not be deceived. They would be, "if that were possible," but we have these others promises "My sheep will not hear them," or like Romans 8 indicates, "Nothing can separate us from the love of God," and so on. So the fact that someone thinks he is born again, or says he is born again, is no clear evidence that he is born again. And if we begin to look for divine truth outside of the Bible, then we effectively are saying we don't want the authority of the Bible, we want something more. And we are indicating by this that there's a strong likelihood that we may not be saved.
And so, on the other hand, if you were saved, then it could have been self-hypnotism or some kind. It would not be Satan in that case.
CALLER: Well, this is what I'm wondering, because at the time that we felt we received this we were going to a church where this is encouraged. And this is what we understood that the Bible is teaching. And I guess at the time we didn't research it well enough ourselves. But recently I've been feeling more and more uncomfortable about it and have come to the point where I never use it anymore. But I've just been very concerned about it because my in-laws did start going to this particular church, and they are still going there. And it really does concern me, because there are prophecies given, and interpretations. It concerns me because I had heard you say just recently that this is not of God. So I wonder . . .
HC: When you use that phrase, "We don't use that anymore," that's an interesting way you've put that. It implies that if you or your husband wanted to speak in tongues, by an act of your will you could speak in a tongue. Now if this were of God, obviously this could not happen, because God doesn't just . . . we can't turn God on whenever we want to turn God on. God is sovereign in these matters. And this suggests very strongly that whatever you were doing it was simply an activity within your own mind. You had conditioned yourself so that you could go into a certain ritual or a certain speech pattern, and you could do it at will. And because you had been told that this was of God, therefore you felt very good about it that this was happening. But there's a good probability that it didn't go beyond this, that it was just out of your mind.
CALLER: So what would you say then in the case of family that is still going to this church? I do believe that they are born again Christians.
HC: Now that's a very good question, a very pertinent question. When we know someone, and frequently it will be a close family member, or it can be a trusted pastor, or an aged couple whom we've known for years and years, and they've been pillars in the church, and they become involved in a gospel that looks beyond the Bible for divine truth, so effectively it is another gospel, what are we to do? Are we to understand then, because we're convinced they're born again, that there must be some saving grace in this activity? How can we relate all this together? And this is where it really gets confusing.
Now the answer has to be, and it's a sad answer, but nevertheless it's the only true answer, is that we must discover truth by the Bible, not by what we see in the lives of others. You can look at people in numerous denominations and congregations that definitely we would call another gospel, because they have other books that they also think are divine, and so on, and we can see in their lives a zeal for God, we can see a loving spirit, we can see fidelity to the Word in a lot of ways, we can see family loyalties, we can see many marvellous things. But we know that they're not saved because they don't believe all the things in the Bible concerning the blood of Christ. And that's easy to make a determination in that case.
But you see, the fact that someone is zealous, the fact that someone says he loves God and we see what apparently is the fruit of the Spirit, and all of these other things, in his life, that is not the way we determine whether someone is really a child of God. We have to determine it by the Word of God itself. And the Bible says, "My sheep did not hear them." The Bible says, "the elect would be deceived, if that were possible." And I know of many cases in which a person has belonged to another gospel and has been saved while he was in that other gospel, because we're saved by the Word of God, we're not saved by the church we belong to. But after he is saved, he becomes very uncomfortable, and it isn't long at all until he repudiates the gospel that he has been in, because he has become convinced that it cannot be of God.
CALLER: Do you think that you should go to the people and share the truth that you have received, through scriptures, with them.
HC: Now the question is, what are we to do in situations like this? First of all, we are to pray for them. This is one ministry that God has given to all of us. And when we have loved ones who are unsaved, or are in other gospels, or in other religions that are not the true religion, we truly ought to pray for them.
Secondly, we are to witness to them as the opportunity arises. You must bear in mind that they may not be interested in hearing from you at all. They may be completely convinced that they are in the true Gospel, and they will be very antagonistic toward being witnessed to. And of course you cannot force it on them.
Now the Bible speaks of the fact that as we approach the end we will come into great tribulation. And I am convinced that that is one of the aspects that really brings great tribulation to the true believers, as we see loved ones, those whom we love very dearly, snared off into other gospels, and they just have no interest in the true Gospel. Wonderfully, it is still the day of grace. And even though someone is completely blinded today, he still can be saved.
CALLER: Thank you. That really has helped me a lot. It's helped me to have a better understanding of it. Can I give you one other quick question and take my answer over the air?
HC: Surely.
CALLER: If you are going to a church and you feel that in that church there has been definite signs that it's coming into apostasy, and you feel that the Lord is leading you from that church into a church that does preach the true Gospel according to the Bible, God's Word, do you owe it to the pastor to go to him and explain why you are leaving? Or should you just not say anything unless somebody comes to see you and asks you why you have left?
HC: The question is, how much should you discuss with the congregation that you are leaving the fact that you really think the church is going into apostasy?
I think that certainly it would not hurt to discuss this with the pastor. This probably would be the wise and fair thing to do. Of course it cannot be from the standpoint of bitterness or from the standpoint of one last lick at him because you're so discouraged by what you have heard. It should be done in love. It should be done from the vantage point that hopefully this might encourage him to rethink his position so that he might know this. It could be used of God, in other words, as a chastisement, where he will say, "My, maybe I have been wrong, and maybe I have to do some soul searching." There's always that possibility.
I certainly think that would be the wise thing to do.
Thank you so much for calling and sharing.