VTO"!?f'C VT TTV J:.

SUBJEC; ·/0"1'1.7Vt"5 t, 'f- ''"f?t1pf1'.5/l-t orf fie tfely:rt',f,ti::. ,, E.F- ~~---- CLASSIFICATION: TEXT------EXPOSITORY - - BIOGRAPHICAL W hat a bout "Tongues" a nd the "Bapt ism of t he Holy Spirit?" TITLE _CrEXTUAL --TOPICAL SCRIPTURE READING,---=A~c~ts~Z~·.,,__l -_c4c,______---DEVOTIONAL

DELIVERIES: Date Hour Place Results and Comments:

FBC 6/ 4/7ti a . m . San Angelo, Tx XXX+++ l B, l l; Gloriet a 7/27/78 Glo rie t a, NM XXX+++ FBC 8- 31-78 Ba llinger, Tx XXX+++- FBC 4/21/ 85 P . M. San Angel o , TX (XXX+++ ) 2L

BIBLIOGRAPHY ______V WHAT ABOUT "TONGUES" AND THE "BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? "

V SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 2:l-4o\: g

INTRO: IN REFERENCE TO SPEAKING IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE, THE LATE DR. JAMES G. HARRIS, PAST PRES:qJ~m ~ OF THE BAPTIST GENERAL CONVENTION OF TEXAS ' i ID : I "THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS NEVER IMPRESSED UPON ME TO , , WANT IT OR TO SEEK THIS EXPERIENCE. WHETHER IT IS RIGHT OR WRONG, I KNOW THAT IF I SOUGHT THIS EX­ PERIENCE AND WERE TO HONESTLY AND OPENLY ANNOUNCE IT, MY MINISTRY IN UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH WOULD BE WRECKED AND -MY USEFULNESS AS A SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER WOULD BE NULLIFIED. I HAVE SEEN IT WRECK THE MINISTRY OF BAPTIST PREACHER AFTER BAPTIST PREACH­ ER. IF I WERE TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THAT I HAD SPOKEN IN TONGUES IT WOULD SPLIT THIS CHURCH WIDE OPEN. THE WORK OF SEVENTEEN AND A HALF YEARS WOULD GO ii, DOWN THE DRAIN AND THIS CHURCH WOULD BE HURT IM- l MEASURABL~ . NOW DO YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD WANT ME TO HAVE A GIFT THAT WOULD DO THAT TO HIS WORK?] I WOULD CAUTION ANY- OF YOU WHO ARE SERIO US- , LY CONSIDERING SEEKING THIS GIFT OF TONGUES TO CON­ SIDER CAREFULLY IF YOU HAVE DREAMS OF A SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTORAL MINISTRY ON A VOCATIONAL STAFF POSI­ TION. I DO NOT KNOW OF A SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH THAT WOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER A BAP TIST PASTOR WHO FRANKLY SAID, 'I HAVE SPOKEN IN TONGUES, I I SPEAK IN TONGUES, I PLAN TO SPEAK IN TONGUES.' - .i .f ! ANY POSSIBLE EMOTIONAL ENJOYMENT OR SATISFACTION I YOU SEEK FOR YOURSELF MIGHT COME AT AN UNREASONABLEj' COST TO THOSE YOU LOVE. IF YOU ARE OR ASPIRE TO BE A LEADER IN A BAPTIST CHURCH, IT IS EXCEEDINGLY IMPOR­ TANT THAT YOU BE CAREFUL IN CONSIDERING , FOR YOUR PLACE OF SERVICE MAY BE JEOPARDIZEI: (Harris, pp. 6-7). WHAT IS THERE ABOUT THIS THING CALLED "SPEAKING IN TONGUES" AND THE "BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT' " THAT IT SHOULD BE SUCH AN EXPLOSIVE AND DEVISIVE ISSUE ? IN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION LET US CONSIDER (1) THE SCRIPTURES IN Q UESTION; (2) THE DOCTRINES IN ERROR; AND (3) OUR ATTITUDE IN RES PONSE .

V I . THE SCRIPTURES IN QUESTION I. --Jesus: " Search the s criptures 11 1 {John 5:39a). · --JOHN: " Beloved, believe not every spirit , but try the spirits whe ther they are of God " (I Jo hn 4:la) v 1 . t erusalem V---Acts 2:1-lJj (Summarize) --EXEGESIS: What is so unusual about this speaking in " his own language?" Look at vs. 7 ·(Readt . · ['hey had not gone to school. They could speak no other language. They couldn't even speak their own language properly . But vs. 8 says (Read). Those speaking are Jews born outside of Palestine. They had returned for Pentecost, not knowing { Hebrew, but speaking a foreign language. And now they ' hear their Gentile language spoken by s imple Ga lileans. A partial list of these la nguages is found in vss. 9- 11. The main emphasis--on preaching the story of Christ, emphasizing Jesus' dea t h-, resurrection and a bility to s ave. (Acts 2: 14-4 7). (McBride, pp. 1-2) . · V 2. t Caesarea / v --Acts 10:4 4-47 1 v~(1) The purpose of the experience - -vs. 45J (Read) This experience was God ' s stamp of approval on the genuineness of the conversion of the Gentiles. This occurred in the home of Cornelius, a Roman Gentile in Caesarea. It shows God's a pprova of the convers ion of hi s family. V (2) The patt ern of this experience v --Acts 11:1.IJ "God g ave the m t he LIKE GIFT .. . " Just exactly as God had given Peter and others the gift of speaking in foreign languages at Pentecost, so God gave Cornelius and his family thi s same identical gift. Not unintelligible utterings ! (Mc Brid e, p. 2)

-2- V 3. At tp__hesus v --Acts 19:1-6 --EXEGESIS: They had heard of Christ from John B. and had believed on Him, but missed John the Baptist's message of the Trinity and failed to understand the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. They had been baptized to show their "repent­ ance" (vs . 4) but now they are baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus," received the Holy Spirit and as evidence spoke in foreign languages and used this gift in "telling forth" the gosp1~ (vs. 6b) 11 ro2._h_es~ d. "p ... A.,. ~~.,,,. AJ> ~ L-- 4. At Corinth T: iH:Z.NG- TO f\ _,_,,, ,..,,..,_,.,, '* v --I Cor. 12 :]J)_-11 ( ) & I Cor 14 y- (1) An erroneous assumption (I Cor. 14) Olt-t( --R,B. Thieme, Jr.: "T

-3- back into some of their previous idolatrous practices. The Lord's Supper was conducted in a disgraceful man­ ner. There were some in the church who denied the reality of the bodil resurrection . This was the kind of church that placed such undue emphasis on speaking in tongues! It was the childish yearning for recognition that was motivating many of these weak Christians to make so much of tongues. "My brothers, don't be like excitable ·' children but use your intelligence! By all means be in­ nocent as babes as far as evil is concerned, but where your minds are concerned be full-grown men! u (I Cor. 14:20, Phillips). Paul urged the Corinthians to grow more mature in their understanding. Little children prefer the spectacular, amusing, and showey things, rather than those that are of more intrinsic value. (McBride, pp. 3-4). V (3) A pagan influence --NOTE: The C,Orinthians had a real problem in relation to paganism. In Corinth stood a great temple erected to the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Venus) . The depraved worship of this pagan diety included ecstatic speaking in tongues . It's possible that some elements of this frenzied type of speaking had seeped over into the Corinthian church. The genuine gift of foreign tongues was also present in the church to some extent , but unfortunately some of the people, sincerely believing they were exercising the genuine gift, were actually in a state of hysteria, reproducing that which was taking place nearby in a pagan temple . Since they were sincer t hough wrong and acting completely under the sway of their emotions, Paul wanted to be very careful that he would not harm their weak, immature faith. The entire weight of Paul 's whole discussion is a discouragement of the practice in their religious gather­ ings, but it stopped short of a complete prohibition. Paul did not forbid the use of tongues in private, which he recognized could be an operation of the Spirit (I Cor. 14:39}. ie1 'T 'T.J ,W,1.J A'e>7 y~ s 'P:Js-7 C 0 But he restricted its exercise within the assembled congregation, and he demanded -that it be interpreted J I Cor. 14:27f) (McBride, pp. 3-4). v (4) A faint praise --::Dr , John Newport said, "Paul was a good psychologist in condemning tongues glossalalia by faint praise." (Bapt. Std. Sept. 1, 1971, p . 14). --Note: Evidently some in Corinth thought the Holy Spirit not only gave the gift of "other language s" but als o " unintelligible languages . " Paul did not want to offend the spiritually weak . Nevertheless, Paul's restrictions are prohibitive in nature in I Cor. 14: (a) Unintelligible tongues. lack lasting value since they do not build up the church 14:4 . (b) They are a source of confus ion (14:23). --I Cor. 14:33 "For God is not the author of con­ fusion but of peace ... " (c) They are not the same as those of Isaiah' s pro­ phecy (Isa. 28:11). Isaiah's were" foreign languages' and was fulfilled at Pentecost. Theirs were ecstatic utterances that were unintelligible to anyone . - (d) Women were prohibited from practicing them. I Cor. 14: 34-35. ' --Richard W. DeHaan: "If all 20th century Pentecos­ tals would enforce this rule ... it would do a great deal to bring about the end of the movement. " (Speaking.,.. in Tongues, P. 28 ,) .... Paul's second letter to this church does not touc h upon this subject. It was no longer a problem. 'Tongues had ceased:" v 5. ark 16:l 7b-18n , , --"In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with NEW TONGUES ... they shall take up serpents. " -- \f . P. N: Most conservatice Bible scholars say "that Mark 16:8 is the end of the genuine of Mark·. The reference to tongues and the handling of snakes in Mark 16:17-18 is not found in the best manuscripts." (McBride, p. 6). V 6. u B tism "Of" The Holy Spirit? ) --NOTE: Never "of" as though some seperate and repeated ! I -5- experience but "with" i.e. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3·16· Acts 1·5· & Acts 11·16 --z711.S O ; ~L"w-1sh,·- rl~"'ff • , • , • , ..;;> ~Mfe /.l''L"''- ..-,1- n, HJ. --NOTE: If you are a Christian/\you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. The only place I see where baptism with the Holy Spirit comes after conversion is on the day of Pentecost. In this case, the disciples lived on both sides of Pentecost, and hence this experience. Baptism is the initiatory rite of the Christian life. The Baptism of Pentecost became the initiatory experience of the church at its birth. There is no need for it to be repeated. The Baptism with the Spirit comes to us when we become a Christian and God's Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. There is no need for us to have a separate experience of baptism.long after our conversion. If someone says to you. 11 Have you been Baptized with the Holy Spirit?" say, 11 yes! 1 ,>It is the filling, not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that happens later and happens repeatedly. Ephesians 5:18 says, "Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit. 11 Literally, what is commanded is "Be continually filled with the Spirit.'' , In other words, Baptism with the Spirit is His finished work at conversion with the believer. To be filled with the Spirit is His continual work. (Harris, pp. 12-13). "? . v II. THE DOCTRINES IN ERROR Ir --Eph. 4:14 V "Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine. " V --I Cor. 12: 1-2 & ~ "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethr~n, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were .Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." v 1. Ton ues Is The Hallmark of The Spiritualli Elete --NOTE: The Corinthian Christians were probably , at the time of the writing of the Epistles to the Corinthians, the most carnal of all the believers in the ancient world. Since they were out of line in many ways, you will not be surprised to learn that they were out of line with the use of the gift of tongues. Some of the Corinthians who had th

-6- gift of tongues were suddenly overtaken by ego and tried to make so_mething 01:1t of this gift which the Bible . does not warrantJt They had erroneously concluded that they were a special type of believer. It is not unusual for believers to want to be something special in their own eyes, or in the eyes of others. Certainly this was a great temptation to those who legitimately s poke in tongues in that first century. Thus in speaking to these Corinthians , Paul makes it very clear in Chapter 12, vs .11 _, t hat this is a and thus i s not given on the basis of merit. (McBride, pp. 6-7). V 2. Ton ues Is A Sign Of Receiving the Holy Spirit --NOTE: There are more than 100 groups in America which teach that speaking in tongues is a s ign of having received the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts does not support the contention of those who say the gift of tongue s i s a "sign" that one has~received the Holy Spirit. Excluding the three occasions mentioned in Acts 2, 19, and 9, in all the ac­ counts of conversion to Christ in Acts (and at least 2 o· specific instances are recorded, including the conversion of indiv iduals and large groups of people), not one word is said about anyone receiving the gift of tongues! To insist that speaking in tongues is a necessary proof that one has been baptized into the Spirit is to overlook the clear statement of I Cor. 12:13: "By one Spirit we were lall baptized into one body." Since only some of the 1Corinthian Christians exercised "glossalalia" (I Cor. I 112 :8-10), yet ~ of them, as Paul specificalty states, had been baptized by one Spirit, it is unwarranted to teach that speaking in tongues is an indispensable sign I of having received the Spirit. (McBride, pp. 8-9). --:-:ILLUS: The greatest Christian leaders in modern times according to their own testimony, did not speak in tongues. Billy Graham has not spoken in tong ues, D. L. Moody did not speak in tongues, George Finney did not speak in . ' tongues, John and Charles We sley did not s peak in tongues, F. B. Meyer did not speak in tongues, Charles Spurgeon did not speak in tongues, George W. Truett did not speak in tongues, George Whitfield did not speak iri tongues, Jonathon Edwaras did not speak in tongues,

-7- John Knox did not speak in tongues. (Harris, p. 13) . v 3. of the Ability to S eak Iri Teffiaues Is e of Havin Lost the Holy S irit --John 3 :6b, "That which is orn o t e Spirit is spirit." .!..:..§..:._ Security of believer. --NOTE: E. Stanley Jones, the famed advocate of the "deeper life," is convinced of his abiding experience of the Holy Spirit but denies that tongues are a normal part of that experience. In some Pentecostal groups when a person reaches the place where he can no longer speak in tongues, it is taken as an indication that he has lo~ th Spirit. (McBride, p . 9). "J.Ce \ tl 7.~: ~ t.- 4. S2eaking In Tongues Is To Be Sought ' ~'1 --Romans 12:6a "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is GIVEN TO US. rr / (Not, "chosen by us;' --NOTE: A believer does not choose a gift, he receives a gift and that according to the soverign will of God. --ILLUS: Eternity Magazine reports: that the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship even uses public relation techniques to advance the pattern. In some circles the gift of tongues · s not only taught, but it is often induced. A group will gather about a seeker and lay hands on his head, and the seeker will be urged to use some foreign words he knows to start the flow. Or the seeker will be instructed to hold his jaw loose and to let his tongue be limp. Or he will be asked to repeat the name of Jesus over and over and urged to go faster and faster until he begins to stammer. "Now you are getting it." the group will tell the seeker. (Eternity Magazine, July, 1963, p. H V s·. S9lvation Is Incom lete Without It --NOTE: There is no sucli thing as "partial" salvation as opposed to "full salvation. 11 You are either saved or lost. And it is not a matter of how much of the Holy Spirit you have, but how much of- you the Holy Spirit has. Salvation is full, it is complete, when through faith you accept Christ and the Holy Spirit enters your life. , \ v III. OUR ATTITUDE IN RESPONSE / O.-' l1 { "fO °°" r-l'J V --I Cor. 13:4-5 \,.;""" --NOTE: Sometimes our attitude toward another who .

-R- believes what we consider to be can be more un­ Christianc1PWL>i9r h3resy he believes V -- AT.TI' BA'r ACKNOM,EDGE TO LIGHT BY THE TONGUES MOVEMENT: 1 . ~ha Need of Indoctri ion --Titus 2:1, "Speak thou the things which become sound doctrine . 11 C , T, --Note: There is no bona fide gift of tongues in our day. Then why do people who are born again accept it? Be ­ cause t hey have failed to learn doctrine, and when any believer does not know his doctrine he always reverts to a system of rationalsim, ritualism or emotionalism, which is just as wrong as any system of modernism. (McBride, p. 10) . V 2. ed of Warmth and Freedom-in Worshi - · · · · - -NOTE: . .President James McCord of Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton-,. N, J.. T says that t he current Pente­ costal movement may be God's judgement on the more normative churches for our coldness and formality ;- - A Yale religious worker thinks it is rebellion against over­ intellectualized and over-organized . There must be an air of freedom, openness and warmth in our services. This does not rule out order and d ignity and reverence. (McBride, p. 10). - -AN ATTITUDE OF DOCTRINAL AND DENOMINATIONAL INTEGRITY: -We are : and t here is no place in our articles of Faith, our historic tradition our doctrines or our inter­ pretation of the Bible for the doctrine of speaking in ecstatic tongues. Basically it is a matter of honesty :..&..:. Baptism in Methodist Church. . There is no evidence that tongues continued After A ostolic Times --I Cor. 13:Sa 11 Charity (love) never faileth: but whether there be , they shall fail; whether there be TONGUES, THEY SHALL CEASE; whether there be knowledge is shall pass away." ____ - W.E. VINE in an Expository Dictionary of New Testament

\ -9- Words defines the word "tongue II as "the supernatural gift of speaking in another language without its having been learned." Then he states, "There is no §Vidence of the continuance of this gift after Apostolic times nor indeed in the later times of the Apostles themselves; this provides confirmation of the fulfillment in this way of Cor. 13 :8, that this gift wou.W~ ease i_n the chur:_cl_les , just as would "prophecies" and "kpowledge~ in...1.ha...s...e.nse of knowledge received_by immediatesu ernatura _':!Y/_e The completion of the Holy Scriprures has provided the church w ith all that i s necessary for indiv idual and callee tive guidance, instruction and edification.' " Dr. R. B. Theime,:J holds t his same position. J --Dr. B.B. Warfield, Presbyterian t heologian, the gift J give n -fo r- a uthentication of the apostles as God's me ssenger s . . The gift passed away with the death of those who received t he -gi ft through the a postles (Miracles Ye sterday and Today). '";J · - - Dr. W. H. Gri-ffith Thomas , the gift constituted a testimony to Israel of the Messiahship of Jesus and ceased at the end of Acts with the Jewish rejection of the Gos pel. (The Holy Spirit of God., pp. 48-49) :) --Dr. H.H. Hobbs states : "Therefore, it appears that 'tongues' was the ability for one to speak languages other than hi s own t o enable the gospel to be preached quickly to all people. It was a temporary gift, not one of the greatest (14:5) , which would fulfil its function and pass away (I Cor. 13:8). The same ability today is derived through language study. 11 (What Ba,ptists Believe . p. 52) h re are Dan ers Inherent In The Current Ton ues vement (1) Thi s practice i s often divisive rather than unifying It cre ates spiritual cliques. (2) It obscures the Gospel, therefore d istracts the unbeliever from finding Christ a s Saviour. (3) It leads to false doctrine, emotional and spiritual instability and retards Christian growth. (4) It turns a Christian's interest inward to self rather than outward to others and thus hinders New Testa me nt persona l soul-winning. Dr. James

-10- Harris said, "There is a tendency on the part of some to lose touch with reality and to develop a 'private telephone line to heaven' complex" (The Holy Spirit and Tongues Part II, p. 5). V Ther Is Too Little About Tongues in the New Testament T r·st· (1) Only one of Paul~ 13 epistles mentions tongues (2) No epistle written by any of the other writers even mention it, though much is mentioned about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (3)" In his Roman letter, which was written from Corinth, Paul emphasized spiritual gifts within the church, and 'glossa:' is not among them (Rom. 12:6-8). What kind of " loss a" is Paul referring to as a "spiritual gift" at Corinth? (I Cor. 14). One that he never ,speaks to them about after his first letter. A gift that he refuses to recommend to any other of the churches to whom he writes. A 'glossa', so far as Paul's writings are concerned, t hat began and ended ,r---'-<._ at Corinth. " !, 4. There Are Several Significant Omissions of Reference to "Tongues" (11 In Acts 6:1-7 seven deacons were to be appointed who were "full of the Holy Spirit. 11 But there is no indication that any ot them spoke in tongues. (2) In Acts 11 :24 Barnabas is described as "a righteous man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith." Yet there i s not the slightest hint he spoke in tongues. (3) In spite of the clear indication that Paul could speak in tongues, there is no record of a s_in~ instance of hi s use of this gift M-. ~--""~ (4) In Paul's list of qualifications for bishop s anq elders (pastors} a Timothy 3: 1-13 , Titus 1 :5-9) he does not mention tongues one t ime. It is not neces sary for leadershi p. (5) The greatest single argument against II speaking in the unknown tongue" is Tesus Christ.

-11- .a Jesus was born of the Spirit (Luke 1 :35). :b Jesus was filled with the Spirit (Luke 4:1) c Jesus ba tized with the Spirit (Mat. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33). Jesus was more nearly a product of the Holy Spirit, more nearly identified with the Holy Spirit, exhibited more of the presence of the Holy Spirit, was better acquainted with the Holy Spirit and talked more about the Holy Spirit than any other individual the world has known, yet he never spoke incoherently nor re- commended "tongues. " The common people heard him...., gladly because they understood him clearly . here Is A Real Need to Rediscover the Resource of the Hol S irit --Billy Gran.am: "I believe the time has come to give the Holy Spirit his rightful place in our churches . We need to learn once again what it means to be baptized

with the Holy Spirit." ("Filled With the Holy Spirit 11 , etc] --John Newport: We need the excitement, the joy and the vigor of the Spirit's presence." --James I. McCord, president of Princeton Seminary: "Ours must become the age of the Spirit of God active in the world , shaking and shattering all our forms and structures, and bringing forth responses consonant with the gospel and the wor.ld' s needs . " --NOTE: This rediscovery becomes ours through the "Spirit-Filled Life." Death to self and turning all over to Chri st. "Christ in you the hope of glory." (We shall consider "How To Be Filled With the Holy Spirit Now!" in our next sermon)

TONGUES

CON: Mine is not the "g ift of tongue 11 Nor heavenly songs that angels sung;

Rather God has given to me A heart that loves and eyes that see.

-12- And with this heart and thru these eyes v I see a world that daily dies--

A world that desperately needs to know That there's a God who loves it so.

l, In simple words MY tongue will say, "Christ still loves and saves today! 11

Jerold R. McBride

SOURCES:

Epton, T. Hollis

Harris, Dr. James G., The Holy Spirit and Tongues , University BaptistChurch, March 5, 1972.

McBride, Jerold, "Speaking In Tongues 11, WHAT ABOUT "TONGUES" AND THE 11 BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?"