A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 9 - - By: VCO
Some have told me, “We know that our ‘gift of
tongues’ is real because someone always interprets it.” But are they really interpreting the “
tongues”? Or, are they only doing what is expected, and equally caught up in the emotional frenzy of the charismatic experience? I read an article several years ago about some students at Dallas Theological Seminary that put the gift of interpretations to the test. While I do not think that their method was very nice, but it did prove the point. One of them memorized the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew. Then that group of students attended a Worship Service at the largest Charismatic Church in Dallas. Waiting till members of the congregation started speaking in “tongues”, with another then standing to give the “interpretation”, THEN the student stood and boldly quoted the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew, just as he had memorized it. Sure enough one of the same man that had “interpreted” others, stood and gave a very Biblical interpretation, and the whole congregation was Praising the Lord,
not one word of it came out of the 23rd Psalm.
1 Cor. 14:27-28 NAS, “. . . let
one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him”
(“him” - the man who had the Gift of Tongues) “
keep silent in the church;”.
NOTICE that obviously only one man (“interpreter” singular) had the “gift of interpretations”, and obviously everyone knew who he was, or they would not know when the “interpreter” was not there. Until we can find a man who can miraculously interpret any verse spoken in any language; perhaps we had better obey what Paul said, “
keep silent in the church;”. I absolutely believe that the true “Gift of Interpretations” would have enabled that man to miraculously interpret any language of any people of the world at any time it was spoken in the church. How else would you know if that person was praising the Lord or cursing Him in the church.
An inmate in one of my services recently, without asking me in advance, spoke in his “unknown
tongues” and proceeded to give biblical sounding interpretation. Rather than disturb the Service, I went back to my sermon, and waited until after the Service to explain to him that the Dept of Corrections dictated that we needed to stay away from denominational barriers in the generic Protestant Service. I also told him that even if I believed in the modern day “
tongues”, which I don’t, I could not permit it because there was no “interpreter”. He said, “Oh, but I have the ‘gift of interpretations’ too.” I then said to him in
Turkish, (a language I partially learned while stationed there in the Air Force), “Hi, how are you? And, may God smile on you!” He just said,
“Huh?” So much for the modern day “gift of interpretations”. When “Tongues” ceased near the end of the first century, so did the “gift of interpretations.” If anyone really has that gift today, he could easily get a very high paying job at the U.N.
Why do I believe that Tongues has to be done the exact way that the Disciples did it?
Malachi 3:6 (NKJV)
6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change;…
I will put my faith and trust in the Word of God, not in feelings,
not in personal experiences, and not in things I have seen.
2 Cor. 5:7 NIV, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
Here are the Resource Materials that I have Used for this Study.
Resource Materials used:
Holy Bible – KJV, NKJV, NAS, NIV, RSV, TLB, & TEV
Vine’s - Dictionary
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
HOLMAN Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible/Hebrew – Aramaic & Greek Dictionary
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Americana
Encyclopedia Britannica
“The Mystery Religions” book by Samuel Angus
“The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues” book by John P Kildahl
“The Baptism & Gifts of the Holy Spirit” book by Dr. Merrill Unger
“The Charismatics” book by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“Spiritual Gifts” study guide by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“The Truth About Tongues” tape series by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“Spiritual Gifts” tape series by Chuck Swindoll
“Spiritual Gifts” tape series by Dr. Ed Young
“Spiritual Gifts?” a tape by Ben Alexander (ex-Pentecostal & Assembly of God)
“The Gift of Tongues?” a tape by Dr. Jack MacArthur
“The Baptism of the Spirit” video tape by Dr. Gil Rugh (“Truth or Tradition” series)
Personal interview with Pastor Neil Beery (IFCA Interim Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Susanville, Ca.,1988)