IS THE GIFT OF TONGUES AVAILABLE TO THE
CHURCH TODAY?
By Ezekiel Kimosop
I received two questions from a reader on the above
topical question. Please find below my reflection answers for each of the
questions.
QUESTION ONE
Why is it [that] today's preachers always
ask for an altar-call to fill people with the Holy Spirit?
My question is based on my reading in acts
2 and acts 10 verses 44 going down I need to understand.
MY REFLECTION ANSWER
Under Evangelical Christian tradition, altar calls are
usually done to invite people to Christ at the close of the preaching session.
Sections of the Pentecostal/charismatic traditions are known to invite
believers to come forward to receive the Holy Spirit through special prayer.
They believe that a person who turns to Christ must be filled with the Holy
Spirit and demonstrate evidence of the same by speaking in strange
tongues. They argue that the charismatic events recorded in Acts 2:1-13 and Acts
10:44-48, are evidence of a continuing charismatic experience for the church
throughout its history. Evangelical traditions disagree with this view. They
insist that the gift of tongues ceased with the New Testament Church. They cite
a number of passages of Scripture in support of their view (cf. 1 Corinthians
13:8-10).
Some scholars have suggested that the incident
recorded in Acts 10:44-48 qualifies as the Gentile Pentecost. Luke reports that
Peter was speaking to Gentile believers in Caesarea when the Holy Spirit fell
upon them and they spoke in tongues. Notice that these Gentile believers had
not been baptized despite having previously converted to Christ. The reaction
by those of the circumcision (radical Jewish Christians) in vv. 45-46 and
Peter's statement in v. 47 suggest that this dereliction may have been informed
by racial/ethnic prejudice against Gentiles.
God used the incident to demonstrate to Peter that the
gospel was not exclusive to ethnic Jews.
Now back to our question of context: Is the Holy
Spirit altar-call a legitimate Christian practice? Should preachers pray for
believers to receive the Holy Spirit?
Under Evangelical tradition, we believe that the two
charismatic incidents above were never replicated after the New Testament
church period since no further Scripture evidence is available on the same. We
insist that the theological purposes for the gift of tongues were therefore
served and dispensed with during the New Testament period. Notice also that the
two incidents relating to the raising of the dead by Peter (Acts
9:36-43) and Paul (Acts 20:7-12) were never replicated in any
subsequent church periods. These were among miracles that were exclusive to the
apostolic age. Don Stewart argues that they were intended to authenticate the
supernatural message of Jesus (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:21-22).
We also believe that every person who turns to Christ
is led and indwelt by the Holy Spirit right from the point of conversion (John 14:15-18). At no
time does the Holy Spirit depart from the believer. We are further persuaded
that the gift of tongues was intended to authenticate the proclamation of the
gospel of Jesus Christ during the apostolic period. The gift therefore ceased
thereafter. The cessation of tongues does not suggest that the Holy Spirit does
not operate in the life of the believer! The Holy Spirit continues to lead the
believer in the walk of faith and to inspire for them the holy Scriptures for
their edification and the proclamation of the gospel.
Pentecostal/charismatic groups disagree with this
view. They argue that the gift of tongues continued throughout the church age
and will be prominently demonstrated in the last days. They cite Joel 2:28-29
in support of their view. There is however no historical evidence in support of
the charismatic view throughout the church ages prior to the late 18th
century. Early church theologians such as Justin Martyr, Origen and
Augustine testified that the gift of tongues ceased.[1]
It is instructive that the Pentecostal/charismatic
movement is historically rooted in the American Pentecostal revival of the
early 1900s. The Azusa Street revival meetings of 1905 at Los Angeles,
California, were led by William Seymore, a charismatic African American
preacher.[2] There is no record of
the activities of Pentecostal/charismatic groups in church history prior to the
advent of this revival movement.
My concluding answer to this question from the Evangelical standpoint is that an altar-call for receiving the Holy Spirit is not informed by the revelation and authority of Scripture.
QUESTION TWO
These days pastors preach and people
pretend to speak in tongues but I've never heard any translation of tongues in
there. Where did we children of the Most High go wrong?
MY REFLECTION ANSWER
As earlier explained, Evangelical tradition holds that
the gift of tongues was restricted to the apostolic church period that ended in
the first century AD. We believe that once the sealed canon of the Holy
Scriptures became available to the church following the canonization of
Scripture by the Council of Carthage in 397 A.D, this was sufficient for the
proclamation of the gospel and the instruction of believers in truth. We also hold that the apostolic age ended with the New Testament and that the apostolic foundation was laid by the apostolic writings in the New Testament Scriptures. On the authority of Acts 1:21-22, we affirm that apostolic offices ceased at the close of the New Testament church period and that there are no living apostles today.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (cf. Ephesians
4:11-16). While this statement contextually concerned the Old Testament
Scriptures at the time it was written by Paul, its theological application
consolidates the New Testament Scriptures as well.
When sinners are convicted by the Holy Spirit at the
preaching of God's word, this is evidence that the revelation of Scripture is
sufficient, authoritative, and final for the church. We believe that the Holy
Spirit illuminates the Scriptures for the church.
We do not therefore require evidence of tongues to
back the preaching of the gospel today. This does not suggest that God's power
is absent from the church! His presence is evidence by the transforming power
of the word of God through the preaching of the gospel and the illumination of
the Holy Spirit.
I am aware that Pentecostal/charismatic groups will
disagree with this view. It is also important to recognize that the differences
of opinion between Pentecostal and Evangelical traditions on the gift of
tongues are not fundamental to the Christian faith. It does not suggest that
one side is heretical or apostate. If the two sides are agreed on the
fundamental truths of God's word touching on the sinfulness of humanity and
Christ's redemption work at Calvary, the application of God's saving grace on
sinners, the purpose and future of the church, this would be the basis for our
Christian brotherhood notwithstanding our theological disagreement on the gift
of tongues.
I hope these reflection answers are helpful.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2024
For more articles by this writer, visit www.ezekielkimosop.blogspot.com
[1] Don Stewart, “Why
do Some Believe that the Gift of Tongues has Ceased?” in Blue Letter Bible,
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/speaking-in-tongues/03-why-do-some-believe-the-gift-of-tongues-has-ceased.cfm.
Accessed 23 May 2024.
[2] Michael Corcoran,
"How a Humble Preacher Ignited the Pentecostal Fire" in Cox
News Services. Archived from the original on December 7, 2011. Retrieved
November 19, 2011.
