by Gary W. Summers<\/p>\n
One of our members had a brief discussion with a man whom he seldom sees. In the course of the conversation, the man effusively praised “speaking in tongues.” When told that he did not practice such, the man told him, “I used to be just like you.” Of course, the obvious response is, “No, if you used to be like me, you would still be where I am.”<\/p>\n
The reason is that what we believe is based on the Scriptures-what they teach, not on some human experience. Of course, probably few people would understand that kind of answer, so here are a few questions to ask.<\/p>\n
First, what do you mean by “speaking in tongues”? Only two responses are possible. The first is that someone would affirm that they speak a known language that they had never studied. The second option is to give an entirely different definition.<\/p>\n
At that point, you might pose the question, “Is the Bible your authority for all spiritual matters?” If the answer is no, then there is a real problem. Ask: “Then what is your authority?” If it turns out to be their feelings, then just plainly state: “We might never agree since we have two different authorities.” (And theirs, personal feelings, is the wrong one-Proverbs 26:28).<\/p>\n
If they agree that the Bible is our only authority, then ask, “How does the Bible define speaking in tongues?” Be prepared to go to Acts 2:1-12. This is the first occasion where the phenomenon is mentioned, and they are defined as languages spoken in various parts of the world. Since speaking in tongues is first defined here, the meaning will be the same anywhere else-unless there is a new or expanded definition that all can recognize. However, it has the same meaning when used elsewhere, and it remains a sign to those who are unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22).<\/p>\n
The Word of God, the faith, was in part; it was revealed in parts at a time (I Corinthians 13:8-10). However, it has now been completely revealed (II Peter 1:3). All truth has been made known for the perfecting of Christians. How all was revealed (speaking in tongues, prophecies, a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom) is no longer needed. A scaffold is used during the construction of a structure. After the building has been completed, the scaffolding is removed. The complete New Testament is the building, and the scaffolding (speaking in tongues) is no longer necessary.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary W. Summers One of our members had a brief discussion with a man whom he seldom sees. In the course of the conversation, the man effusively praised “speaking in tongues.” When told that he did not practice such, the man told him, “I used to be just like you.” Of course, the obvious…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,142,141],"class_list":["post-87273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-speaking-in-tongues","tag-tongue-speaking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52977,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-speaking-in-tongues\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":0},"title":"What is speaking in tongues?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is speaking in tongues and what does it prove? Answer: In Acts 2:5-12 the apostles were speaking in a way that people from 15 different nationalities were able to understand the speakers in their own tongue.\u00a0 Since the hearers heard a language that they understood, it stands to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90346,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tongues-without-an-interpreter\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":1},"title":"Tongues Without an Interpreter","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong The gift of being able to speak in languages that one had not previously known is called the gift of tongues. There are only five references to this: Mark 16:16-20; Acts 2; Acts 10; Acts 19; and the longest one in I Corinthians 12-14. That such was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-balaams-donkey-speaking-in-tongues\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":2},"title":"Was Balaam’s donkey speaking in tongues?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was speaking in tongues done in the Old Testament? The reason I ask is that talking in tongues is nothing more speaking in a language not known to the user. I know it won't be a critical or applicable statement, but didn't even a donkey speak in tongues with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10535,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-speaking-in-tongues-and-prophesying-similar-gifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":3},"title":"Are speaking in tongues and prophesying similar gifts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: With talking in tongues, some of the time it says they talked in tongues and prophesied. Was that part of talking in tongues, or separate? I always get confused. I know in I Corinthians 14:22 mentions reasons for each, but I don't know if they are separate. Answer: Speaking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-wish-you-could-experience-speaking-in-tongues-first-hand\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":4},"title":"I wish you could experience speaking in tongues first-hand","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been reading your sermons for years and using some of them in my own examples. I enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas on the Scriptures. The one thing that you are missing in the text about Speaking in Tongues is the experience of hearing it first hand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1894,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-tongues-still-in-existence-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":87273,"position":5},"title":"Are tongues still in existence today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are tongues still in existence today? Answer: When the gift of speaking in tongues was first mentioned in the Bible, the people found it a wonder. \"And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?\" (Acts 2:8). Hence, the proper definition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}