Title: " Pentecostal Tongues "
Text: Acts 2:1-11
INTRO:
1. There Are Many Churches Today which Identify Themselves as Being Pentecostal or Charismatic in their Doctrine.
2. Both the Pentecostal & the Charismatic Churches Place a Major Emphasis on the Biblical Gift of Speaking in Tongues .
3. The Pentecostals Derive their Name from the Story in Our Text from Acts 2:1-11 that took place on the Day of Pentecost when the First Church at Jerusalem was Filled with the Spirit & Spoke with Tongues as the Spirit Gave them Utterance.
4. The Charismatics Derive their Name from the Greek Word Charisma which is Translated Gift in I Corinthians 12-14.
5. Both the Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches Emphasize " Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the Initial Evidence of Speaking with Other Tongues as the Spirit Gives Utterance. "
6. They Both Point to the Story Here in the Book of Acts to Authenticate their Teaching on the Subject of "Speaking in Tongues."
7. However , It is My Contention that The Tongues Being Spoken By & Spoken About Today Among the Pentecostal & Charismatic People Are NOT the Tongues that are Described in ACTS 2:1-11.
I. Biblical Pentecostal Tongues was a Miraculous Ability ( a GIFT of the Holy Spirit ) to Speak in a Human Language that was Unknown to the Speaker but Could Be Recognized & Understood by Others for the Purpose of Spreading the Gospel.
Acts 2:1-11
II. Modern Day Pentecostals & Charismatics Teach & Practice a Different Kind of "Speaking in Tongues" than that which was Practiced in Acts 2:1-11.
A. They Do this by Changing the Meaning of Biblical Pentecostal Tongues .
B. First , they Start Out By Taking Acts 2:1-4 Out of their Context which Includes Verses 5-11.
C. Verses 5-11 Provide the Reader with the Proper Context for Interpreting the Meaning of the Pentecostal Tongues Mentioned in Verses 1-4 .
D. Secondly , they Take Passages in I Corinthians 12 - 14 & Use them to Interpret Acts 2:1-4 .
E. This is Exactly the Opposite Method of Biblical Interpretation than that which Should be Used According to the Science of Biblical Hermeneutics .
III. Two Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics which Must Be Applied In Order to Understand the Biblical Pentecostal Gift of Speaking in Tongues.
A. The Principle of First Mention States that Within the First Mention of a Particular Subject that is Discussed in the Bible the Truth with which that Subject Stands Connected in the Mind of God will be Revealed and that that Meaning WILL be CARRIED All the Way Through the Bible -- Like the Subtlety of Satan Carries All the Way From Genesis 3:1 to Revelation 20:10.
B. The Agreement Principle States that Because God is Truthful & Faithful that His Word Will Not Ever Contain Any Pass- ages which are Truly Contradictory with Any Other Sections in the Bible.
*** Based on the Agreement Principle there is a Corollary which States that You Never Should Build a Doctrine Based on an Obscure Passage ( One which is Not Absolutely Clear as to it's Meaning ) which Clearly Contradicts a Doctrine which is Based Upon a Passage where the Meaning is Absolutely Clear without Any Question.
IV. Consider Some Valid Comments, Observations, & Questions which Tongues People Should Deal with.
A. You Never Build a Doctrine on an Obscure Passage which Clearly Contradicts a Doctrine which is Clearly Taught in a Passage of Scripture where the Meaning is Clear.
B. The Meaning of the Supernatural Gift of Tongues is Crystal Clear in Acts 2.
C. The Meaning of the Kind of Tongues Mentioned in I Corinthians 13:1 & Chapter 14 in Various Places is NOT Clear !
D. It IS Clear, however, that the Gift of Tongues which is CLEARLY Defined in Acts 2 is NOT being Practiced by the Modern Day Charismatics & Pentecostals, because ALL of their Missionaries to Foreign Speaking People Have to Go to Language School.
E. If there are Two Different Kinds of Gifts of Tongues, Why Doesn't God Make that Unmistakably Clear? He Is NOT the AUTHOR of Confusion I Corinthians 14:33.
F. If there are Two Kinds of Gifts of Tongues, Why is Only One of them Present Today Or , At Least Being Demonstrated ?
G. If the Gift of Tongues is So Important, then Why is it Listed Last in the Order of Importance of Spiritual Gifts in I Corinthians 12:28 ?
H. If the Corinthians were Really Spiritual Christians who were so Gifted and Led by God, then Why were they Called Carnal Babies in Chapter 3:1-4 ?
I. If God is NOT the Author of Confusion, then Who Was Behind the Confusion there in the Corinthian Church which So Closely Revolved Around the Issue of the Gift of Tongues ?
J. The Charismatic - Pentecostal Teaching on the Gift of Tongues Doesn't Merely Contradict the Clear Teaching on Tongues in Acts 2, It IGNORES it Completely & Reinterprets it in Light of the Obscure Statements found in I Corinthians 13 & 14 AND the Interpretation their Experience & Leaders have Taught them to Read Into it.
K. The Corrective Nature of Chapter 14 is Completely Ignored Along with the Obvious Question of WHY was Correction NEEDED ?!
L. The Doctrine that They Have Developed is One of a Heavenly Prayer Language whereby they can Commune In the Spirit with God in a Way which Goes Much Deeper than the Human Mind can Understand.
M. Since this Heavenly Language is So Far Beyond Human Understanding, It can Never be Rationally Tested By the Word of God & Our Understanding of It to Determine It's Authenticity OR the Lack thereof, and It has therefore Become a Sacred Cow which is Too Holy to Challenge & Must Not be Messed with At All.
N. Yet GOD Said to TRY the Spirits to See If they were Truly of God or whether they were the Counterfeits of the Devil in I John 4:1 & II Corinthians 11:13-15.
V. Consider Another Possible Alternative .
Romans 8:26-27
*** Trying to Verbalize what was Never Intended to be Verbalized as in Romans 8:26-27. Praying In the Spirit with Groanings which CANNOT Be UTTERED.
A Heavenly Prayer Language of the Spirit of God which Communes with the Father Directly and Cannot be Put Into Words by Man.
The Holy Spirit Makes Intercession FOR Us ; We are Not Doing the Praying in Romans 8:26 ; He Is !
IS IT ELLA ; OR IS IT MEMOREX ?
Is it Acts 2 Tongues ; or Is it Gibberish ?
If God is Not the Author of Confusion , then, Who Is ?
There was Confusion in the Carnal Church at Corinth, &
There is Confusion Among Christians Again Today !