Before everyone starts suggesting, why don't we all go in depth
into the Bible?
A. The Dominance of Love
1. DISCUSSED
The Bible teaches that love is the very essence of God because it
says that "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8b). The Bible also teaches that
the highest expression of love is the Lord Jesus Christ, who
"having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the
end [lit. `unto perfection']" (Jn. 13:1b). Jesus was the perfect
example of one who loves. The kind of love that the Bible talks
about is a love that "passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:19). Only by the
Holy Spirit can we comprehend its "breadth, and length, and depth,
and height" (Eph. 3:1
. This same love of God "is shed abroad in our hearts"
(Rom. 5:5).
Love, then, is very dominant in Scripture. It is the nature of God
expressed in Christ, and beyond human understanding. Yet, it is
poured through believers. What a tremendous truth that is!
2. DEFINED
Love is not a feeling or an emotion. Love is a spirit of self-
sacrifice. It is a willingness to do what is needed by somebody
else--even if it means sacrificing something we need or
possess.
3. DISPLAYED
Love is to be such a dominating characteristic in the life of a
Christian--such a way of life--that a Christian should be able to
be recognized by virtue of his love. In John 13:35, that's
essentially what Jesus said: "By this shall all men know that ye
are My disciples, if ye have love one to another." This is
reiterated in 1 John. For example: "He that saith he is in the
light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He
that loveth his brother abideth in the light..." (2:9-10a). In
other words, Christians are people who love their brothers. In 1
John 3:16 it says, "By this perceive we the love of God, because He
laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren." And in 1 John 3:18 John says, "My little children,
let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in
truth."
Our lives, then, are to be characterized by love. It is vital to
every believer.
B. The Departure from Love
First Corinthians 13 is an overwhelming chapter discussing the
reality of love. I wish I could just teach this chapter about love
straight through from beginning to end, and do nothing but
celebrate the greatness of love. You say, "Why don't you do that?"
Well, because I get stuck at the word "tongues" (Gk. glossa) in
verse 8. And the reason I get stuck at that point is the fact that
this is an issue today. So, I have to talk about it. If I had lived
a hundred years ago, I would have been able to preach straight
through the thirteenth chapter without a hitch. In my discussion of
verse 8, I would have simply said, "The word `tongues' refers to a
spiritual gift that was present in the Apostolic Age but is no
longer around. So, let's just go on." I can't say that today,
however, because there's something going on that we have to talk
about. It would be nice if we could just talk about love and leave
it at that. But I believe we have to depart from the main subject
of the chapter to deal with the issue of speaking in tongues before
we can continue our discussion of love.
C. The Demonstration of Love
The world doesn't understand love, so it's important that we live
out God's love in our relationships with them. But it is also
important that they see the love we have for one another. This has
many applications, one of which is the attitude that we have when
we discuss an issue like speaking in tongues. We must maintain a
spirit of love.
When the world says, "I love you," what they are saying is, "I love
myself, and what I want is you." The world's love is a selfish
love. Alan Redpath tells a story about a girl who was totally
despondent. She called up her pastor and said, "Oh, what am I going
to do? There's a man who loves me so much that he says he'll shoot
himself if I don't marry him." The pastor replied, "Don't do
anything. Let him shoot himself! Such a threat is not love, it's
pure selfishness." That's right, isn't it? That man wasn't saying,
"I love you," he was saying, "I love myself; therefore, I need
you."
The world doesn't understand love, so we have to demonstrate it to
them. And it's not as simple as just loving the world; we must also
show the world that we love each other even when we disagree.
Christians must love one another! We must realize that those who
are involved in the Charismatic movement, for the most part, are
our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must also keep the
perspective that love is what's eternal--gifts are going to pass
away. All of that, however, doesn't mean that we are to avoid the
issue of speaking in tongues. We have to do what Paul says in
Ephesians 4:15 by "speaking the truth in love." And that's exactly
what I intend to do!
Review
I. THE PROMINENCE OF LOVE (vv. 1-3)
II. THE PERFECTIONS OF LOVE (vv. 4-7)
III. THE PERMANENCE OF LOVE (vv. 8-12)
A. Gifts Are Temporary--Love Is Eternal (v. 8; see pp. xx-xx)
"Love never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall be
done away [lit. `be rendered inoperative']; whether there be
tongues, they shall cease [lit. `stop by themselves']; whether
there be knowledge, it shall vanish away [lit. `be rendered
inoperative']."
In verse 8 the verb katargeo is used to describe what happens to
both prophecy and knowledge. Used in its passive form, it means
that knowledge and prophecy will be rendered inoperative. In other
words, something is going to act upon those two gifts to cause them
to cease. Now, the verb used to describe what is going to happen to
the gift of tongues is a totally different verb-- pauo--which means
"to stop." And not only is it a different verb, it's in a different
voice--the middle voice. The middle voice in the Greek is
reflexive, indicating that the subject is acting upon itself. It
also indicates intense action on the part of the subject. In other
words, tongues will stop by themselves. According to 1 Corinthians
13:9-10, knowledge and prophecy are said to be stopped by "that
which is perfect." Notice that tongues are not mentioned in those
verses. Why not? Because nothing stops tongues--they stop by
themselves before "that which is perfect is come."
In our last lesson I departed from the outline of 1 Corinthians 13
to take a closer look at the gift of tongues. Let's continue that
discussion:
AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE MODERN TONGUES MOVEMENT
(continued)
I. AN EVALUATION OF THE CESSATION OF TONGUES
A. The Reasons Why Tongues Ceased in the Apostolic Age (see pp. xx-
xx)
In our last lesson we discussed the fact that the legitimate gift
of tongues has indeed ceased. I gave you six reasons why this is
true; however, these six reasons can be summarized into two major
points: 1. The purpose for the gift of tongues came to an end; and
2. History records that the gift of tongues ceased.
B. The Responses of Those Who Say Tongues Are for Today
It is interesting to see how our Charismatic brothers and sisters
respond to the evidence that the gift of tongues has ceased. They
usually respond in one of two ways. Some of them claim
that...
1. TONGUES NEVER CEASED
There are some Charismatics who point to people like Montanus,
Mother Ann Lee, and some of the others who spoke in tongues since
the first century (see pp. xx-xx), and claim that these people were
their forerunners. In doing that, however, they're putting
themselves in a heretical tradition and saying, "Our movement has
been a part of the heresy of the church for years." I'm not sure
that's what they want to say.
The only other alternative for the Charismatics, which is what most
of them believe, is to admit that tongues ceased but then...
2. TONGUES STARTED UP AGAIN
Most Charismatics believe that tongues did cease in the first
century, but that they are starting up again. Why? Well, they say
that because we are now in the last days, God is giving us the
last-day outpouring of His Spirit. That's the most reasonable view
that they will present. Unfortunately, that's the same view that
the heretic Montanus held during the middle of the second century.
When he was asked why the gift of tongues suddenly started up with
him after having ceased many years before, he said, "It's been
restored now because these are the last days. The Kingdom of God
will be established at any moment with its headquarters in my
hometown." Well, in a similar way, we're asking the Charismatics
where the gift of tongues has been for the last nineteen hundred
years and their reply is, "It's been restored because we are in the
last days."
Now, if you ask the Charismatics what scripture they use to back up
this last-day phenomenon of speaking in tongues, they will
invariably go to Joel 2:28-29. Let's look at it.
II. AN EXAMINATION OF THE CHARISMATIC MISINTERPRETATION OF JOEL
2:28-29
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions; and, also, upon the servants and upon the handmaids in
those days will I pour out My Spirit."
A. The Context
The Charismatics say that we are now experiencing the last-day
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Now there are several problems with
that. First of all, this passage must be looked at in its prophetic
context. According to verse 31, the context is "the great and the
terrible day of the LORD." In other words, the general context is
the Second Coming of Christ. Joel 2, then, is dealing with an
end-time prophecy. Let's look at more of the specifics of this
chapter:
1. THE SETTING UP OF THE KINGDOM (v. 20)
In verse 20 the Lord says, "But I will remove far off from you the
northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and
desolate...." In what period of time is Israel confronted by a
northern army? Well, during the Great Tribulation, Israel will be
under the siege of a great northern power (Dan. 11:40), but this
northern army will be defeated when Christ comes in the great
victory of Armageddon. Now, what happens immediately after
Armageddon? Christ judges the nations and sets up His Kingdom. So
the northern army is defeated in verse 20; then verse 21 introduces
the Kingdom.
2. THE SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF THE KINGDOM (vv. 21-27)
The land of Israel will be under a terrible siege which will result
in unbelievable bloodshed. In fact, Revelation 14:20 says that the
blood from the Battle of Armageddon will be as deep as a horse's
bridle for a length of two hundred miles. Beginning in Joel 2:21,
the Kingdom is introduced: "Fear not, O land. Be glad and rejoice;
for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the
field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree
beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their
strength." In other words, "You may not have anything to eat for a
little while, but something dramatic is going to happen--the
pastures of the wilderness are going to spring, and there's going
to be a proliferation of crops and growth" (cf. Isa. 30:23-24;
35:1- 2,6-7). Marvelous things are going to happen in the Kingdom
when the Lord puts the land back together.
Continuing on in verse 23: "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and
rejoice in the LORD, your God; for He hath given you the former
rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain,
the former rain and the latter rain in the first month." Now people
make a big deal out of the significance of "the former rain and the
latter rain," but it simply refers to the autumn rains and the
spring rains which secured the crops in the land of Israel. In
other words, there is going to be so much rain when the Kingdom
begins that everything is going to experience incredible growth.
God's going to dump a normal season of rain all in the first month
of the Kingdom to make everything grow--so much so that "the floors
shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and
oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath
eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer worm, My
great army which I sent among you" (vv. 24-25). In other words, all
the crops that were lost during the Tribulation will be
proliferating in the Restoration.
Verses 26-27 then say, "And ye shall eat in plenty, and be
satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD, your God, who hath
dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am
the LORD, your God, and none else; and My people shall never be
ashamed." When will the Lord be in the midst of Israel? When Christ
sits on His throne in the city of David and reigns during the
millennial Kingdom.
You see, the context of Joel 2 is the great millennial Kingdom,
when the Jews are in their land, when the crops begin to grow, when
the desert blossoms like a rose, when it rains in the first month
as it would rain in a whole year of rain, when everything grows
without the threat of pestilence or plague, and when everybody
worships and praises God. That has never happened in the history of
Israel, has it? No! It's referring to the Kingdom.
3. THE SPIRIT'S WORK IN THE KINGDOM (vv. 28-29)
Now look at verses 28-29: "And it shall come to pass afterward
[after the Kingdom has begun], that I will pour out My Spirit upon
all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and,
also, upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out My Spirit."
4. THE SIGNS PRECEDING THE KINGDOM (vv. 30-31)
To further clarify when "those days" of verses 28-29 occur, verses
30-31 tell us, "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the
earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
the terrible day of the LORD come." In other words, all of these
signs will follow the great judgment, and then the Kingdom will be
set up.
You don't have to be a Hebrew scholar to see what Joel 2:28-29 is
talking about. All you need to know is whether or not the word
"afterward" in verse 28 means "afterward." Well, it does! So the
Spirit is poured out after the army of the north has been defeated,
after the day of the Lord with all the signs and wonders has
occurred, and after the Kingdom has been set up. After all of that
has happened, then God will pour out His Spirit.
B. The Comparative Passages
1. EZEKIEL 36:24-27
Referring to what will happen in the Kingdom, Ezekiel quotes God as
saying, "For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you
out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from
all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A
new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine
ordinances, and do them."
Can "the former rain and the latter rain" of Joel 2:23 be taken
metaphorically?
There is absolutely no basis for believing that Joel 2 has anything
to do with the present scene. Some people say that "the former
rain" refers to Pentecost and the speaking in tongues that occurred
at that time, and that "the latter rain" refers to the speaking in
tongues that is occurring now. Well, first of all, the rain in Joel
2:23 is nothing more than plain water. It certainly isn't speaking
in tongues.
Now, if there is a metaphor in that verse at all, the metaphor is
this: the former rain could be referring to David's kingdom and the
latter rain is the Messiah's Kingdom. That would be the only
possible picture that Joel could be making. In other words,
"David's kingdom was nice, but it had its problems. The Messiah's
Kingdom, however, is going to be far superior." There could be a
possible metaphor there, but it certainly has nothing to do with
Pentecost and what occurred in 1901. The context of the passage is
clearly in the millennial Kingdom.
Can the current Charismatic movement be supported biblically?
There is nothing in Scripture to support the current Charismatic
movement. Nothing in the Bible substantiates the notion that God
would do now what He did in the Apostolic Age in reference to the
gift of languages. People who want to claim that this is the age of
the outpouring of the Spirit are wrong. This is not the age of the
outpouring of the Spirit. The only thing the Bible says about that
particular time is in reference to Israel; and God's Spirit hasn't
been outpoured on Israel yet. Right now, there's only a remnant.
The outpouring of the Spirit referred to in Joel 2:28-29 will not
occur until the Tribulation is over, until the Second Coming is
over, and until Jesus sets up His Kingdom and reigns in Jerusalem.
And when the Spirit is poured out, He will be poured out on all
flesh.
Furthermore, did you know that Joel 2:28-29 doesn't say anything
about anybody speaking in tongues? It does talk about prophecy,
dreams, and visions--but it does not talk about tongues. Why?
Because when tongues ceased, they ceased permanently! That's the
meaning of the Greek word for "cease" (pauo) in 1 Corinthians 13:8.
The gift of tongues has ceased--never to return.
2. ACTS 2:16-21
People always ask, "If Joel 2 isn't referring to the gift of
tongues, why does Peter quote it on the Day of Pentecost?" There is
much confusion on this point, so let's look at it:
a. The Announcement
In Acts 2, Peter stands up after the occasion of Pentecost and the
speaking in tongues, and says, "But this is that which was spoken
through the prophet, Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last
days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy..." (vv. 16-17a). "You
see," say the Charismatics, "it says right there that Peter
identified what happened at Pentecost as the outpouring of the
Spirit discussed in Joel." Well, look at verses 19-20. Did the
following events occur on the Day of Pentecost? "And I will show
wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath: blood, and
fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the
Lord come." Did all of that happen? Of course not! It's future.
Peter's quoting Joel, who is talking about the coming of the
Kingdom.
b. The Application
You say, "Why in the world does Peter quote something about the
Kingdom on the Day of Pentecost?" I believe that Peter was simply
telling the people that the power they had just seen displayed was
a preliminary glimpse of the kind of power that the Spirit would
release over all flesh in the Kingdom. What the crowd in Jerusalem
saw happen to a handful of 120 people, was a sign to them of what
God's Spirit would someday do on a worldwide basis. In other words,
it was a glimpse of the Kingdom. The writer of Hebrews alludes to
this when he refers to the tasting of "the powers of the age to
come" (Heb. 6:5). The Jews who were present at Pentecost got a
little taste of the kind of power that will be released in the
Kingdom when Christ comes during the great and terrible day of the
Lord.
One of the great biblical scholars of the nineteenth century was
George N.H. Peters. He wrote this: "The Baptism of Pentecost is a
pledge of fulfillment in the future, evidencing what the Holy Ghost
will yet perform in the coming age" (The Theocratic Kingdom [Grand
Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1972], p. 66). German theologian
Helmut Thielicke holds that same view. He considers the miracles of
the first century as "the lightning of the Kingdom of God on the
horizon" (Man in God's World [New York: Harper and Row, 1963], p.
112). He's right. Those first-century miracles were the lightning
flashes which were to draw attention beyond the horizon to the
coming millennial Kingdom. That's exactly what happened at
Pentecost. It was not the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. That is
yet to be fulfilled in the Kingdom.
Summarizing what we've just seen, Joel 2:28-29 can't be used as a
basis for saying that the gift of tongues has started up again for
the following reasons: Joel did not say that tongues would
accompany the outpouring of the Spirit; and the outpouring of the
Spirit at Pentecost was not the outpouring that Joel prophesied
about. Joel's prophecy was in reference to the millennial Kingdom.
What happened at Pentecost was simply a glimpse of the power that
would occur in the Kingdom.
The whole point of Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 13:8 is that
tongues will stop. There's nothing in the Bible that supports the
belief that tongues will return in the Church Age. You can search
all over the Bible, but you will not find the gift of tongues
starting up again. People say, "Well, what about Luke 11:13 where
Jesus says He'll `give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him'? We're
asking for the Spirit and for tongues and He's giving them to us."
Let me just say that people may be asking for the gift of tongues,
but if God isn't giving that gift in this particular age, those
people may be getting something that isn't from God!
III. AN EXPLANATION OF THE CURRENT TONGUES PHENOMENON
You say, "All right, John, if I accept the fact that the gift of
tongues has ceased, and what's going on today isn't scriptural,
what is going on? How do you explain all the people who are
apparently speaking in tongues?" Well, let me give you some
suggested answers:
A. Some Realistic Possibilities
1. IT MAY BE SATANIC OR DEMONIC
Every false religion in the world was spawned from the same
individual--Satan. The Old Testament says that "all the gods of the
nations are idols [lit. `demons']" (Ps. 96:5a). There's demonic
influence behind every false religious system. So whenever tongues
occur in a false religion, it's highly possible that its basic
source is Satan or demons.
Joseph Dillow, in his helpful book entitled Speaking in Tongues,
has compiled the following data, complete with references: "The
Encyclopaedia Brittanica cites many instances of tongues speaking
in pagan cults....D. C. Graham tells of a girl in the Szechwan
province of China who was possessed by demons and `began to utter
words incoherently.' Edward Langston says that in East Africa many
persons possessed by demons speak fluently in Swahili or English,
although under normal circumstances they do not understand either
language. Junod reports that among the Thonga people of Africa,
when a demon is being exorcised the person sings a curative song
which he himself composes. Usually the songs are in the Zulu
tongue. Even if the person does not know this language it is
claimed that he will be able to use it `by a kind of miracle of
tongues.' As far back as Vergil (70-19 B.C.) there are references
to the tongues speaking of the Sibylline priestess on the Isle of
Delos. This is described in his Aeneid. Today, ecstatic speech is
found among the Mohammedans, and the Eskimos of Greenland.
Non-Christian alchemists of the middle ages were reported to have
spoken in tongues. This caused them to be popularly feared as men
skilled in sorcery. The Bwiti cult among the Fang people of the
Gabon Republic has been observed speaking in tongues. The
parapsychology laboratory of the University of Virginia Medical
School reports incidents of occult speaking in tongues. A Turkish
actress claims she learns the `language of Jakosta' from a black
man she sees in her dreams. Joseph Smith, the founder of the
non-Christian sect of Mormonism, taught his followers to speak in
tongues in the following manner, `Arise upon your feet, speak or
make some sound, continue to make sounds of some kind, and the Lord
will make a tongue or language of it' " (Speaking in Tongues [Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1975], pp. 172-173).
So, you see, there are all kinds of possibilities for Satan and his
demons to introduce this phenomenon of speaking in tongues. Just to
say that the existence of speaking in tongues validates the
practice as being from God is foolish--as foolish as saying that
the existence of a religion proves it's of God.
A second explanation of the phenomenon of tongues is that...
2. IT IS LEARNED BEHAVIOR
For the most part, speaking in tongues is not a supernatural
experience, nor is it miraculous. It is simply something that a
person just learns how to do. I personally believe that this is the
most common explanation for what is happening in the Charismatic
movement today. People are just "learning" how to speak in tongues.
One of the reasons I say that, is the amazing similarity in the
terms that I have heard used by tongues speakers all over the
country. They all speak the same thing in the same way. In fact,
I've heard the same things spoken so many times, that I could
repeat those words and "speak in tongues" myself. I could...but I
won't. The claim, though, that is constantly made by Charismatics
is that every Christian is supposed to receive his own private
prayer language.
John Kildahl, in his book The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues
(New York: Harper & Row, 1972), says that speaking in tongues
is definitely a learned behavior. Commissioned by the American
Lutheran Church and the National Institute of Mental Health to do a
long-range study on the phenomenon of tongues, John Kildahl (a
clinical psychologist) and Paul Qualben (a psychiatrist) concluded
that the vast majority of tongues speaking was simply learned
behavior. People learn how to speak in tongues because they are
told that it is the right thing to do.
a. The Deliberate Inducement of Tongues
I went to a Children of God meeting one night, to help persuade
someone to get out from under their influences and to see what was
going on there for myself. As I was sitting in the lobby, I was
able to listen to someone as he tried to teach a new convert to
speak in tongues. In a most laborious way, he tried to induce this
poor guy to receive the gift of tongues. And even though he tried
to give him all the steps and procedures to speak in tongues, the
novice couldn't figure out what to do.
On another occasion, I was watching a Charismatic talk show on
television. When the person being interviewed confessed to having
spiritual problems, the interviewer said, "Have you spoken in
tongues and used your prayer language every day?" "Well, no, I
haven't," the person admitted. "That's your problem, then," replied
the interviewer. "You have to do that every day. And it doesn't
matter how it starts; because once you get it started, the Holy
Spirit will keep it going." When I heard that, I thought to myself,
"If the Holy Spirit wanted them to speak in tongues so much, why
doesn't He start it going Himself? I'm sure He can handle it!" It
just doesn't make sense. Furthermore, do you see how intimidating
it would be if someone said to you, "Your spiritual problems stem
from the fact that you aren't speaking in tongues"?
b. The Disillusioning Potential of Tongues
When speaking in tongues is a learned behavior and strongly induced
by pressure from somebody else, it is a potential for great
disillusionment. Why? Because once the experience comes, people
eventually realize that it is nothing more than learned behavior.
They also realize that it isn't supernatural or effective to do
what is said that it will do. People end up having the same
problems in their life whether or not they speak in tongues, so
they become disillusioned. According to Kildahl and Qualben, the
more sincere a person is when he starts to speak in tongues, the
more disillusioned he could become.
Kildahl and Qualben also point out that peer pressure and the
desire to belong cause a strong sense of identification and
attachment to a certain leader or group. However, when people lose
confidence in either the group or the leader, these people cease
speaking in tongues.
Another realistic explanation for the phenomenon of modern tongues
is that...
3. IT CAN BE PSYCHOLOGICAL
Some of the more bizarre cases of tongues speaking might have a
psychological explanation. For example:
a. Motor Automatism
Have you ever watched a newscast that showed young teenage girls at
a rock concert screaming over some freaky musician? In the heat of
the excitement, emotion, fervor, and loud noise, people sometimes
lose voluntary control of their vocal chords and their muscles. And
sometimes they even fall to the ground and start flopping around.
Why? Because the brain has tremendous control over the
body--including speech. Psychologically, then, tongues can be
explained as motor automatism, which is clinically described as
"radical inward detachment from one's conscious
surroundings."
Motor automatism is a disassociation of nearly all voluntary
muscles from conscious control. Some call it ecstasy, which is
described as "a pleasurable state of intense emotion linked with an
altered state of consciousness." We've all experienced moments when
we feel a little detached, woozy, and a little faint. Well, with
the right kind of driving, pounding emotion, coupled with the kind
of rhythmical music that is often associated with Charismatic
gatherings, a person could easily lose conscious control and be
driven to speak in tongues.
Another psychological explanation is in the area of...
b. Hypnosis
Psychologically, tongues can also be explained by group hypnosis,
individual hypnosis, or self-hypnosis. Kildahl and Qualben made the
statement that "hypnotizability constitutes the sine qua non of the
glossolalia experience" (The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues [New
York: Harper and Row, 1972], p. 54). They also concluded that
people who fall into tongues are usually people who are
hypnotizable. Did you know that not everybody is hypnotizable? I'm
not. People have tried to hypnotize me, but they can't do it.
Probably because I'm too fact oriented, or too strong in my own
mind. But according to Kildahl and Qualben, people who are
submissive, suggestible, and dependent on a leader, are the people
who fall into tongues. What happens when people's desire to belong
is strong enough, they become more submissive to the power of
suggestion. Then when the emotion gets hot and the pressure becomes
great, tongues result.
Now, we can't go around trying to determine the specific
reason
for each person's tongues experience. The only reason I'm
mentioning these things is to show you that there are many
explanations for speaking in tongues other than the explanation
that it's of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we know it's not of the Holy
Spirit because the Bible says that the gift of tongues has
ceased.
Dr. E. Mansell Pattison, a member of the Christian Association for
Psychological Studies and an instructor at the University of
Washington School of Medicine, made the following observation: "The
product of our analysis is the demonstration of the very natural
mechanisms that produce glossolalia. As a psychological phenomenon,
glossolalia is easy to produce and readily understandable. I can
add my own observations from clinical experiences with neurological
and psychiatric patients. In certain types of brain disorders
resulting from strokes, brain tumors, etc., the patient is left
with disruptions in his automatic physical speech circuit patterns.
If we study these `aphasic' patients we can observe the same
decomposition of speech that occurs in glossolalia.
"Similar decomposition of speech occurs in schizophrenic thought
and speech patterns, which are structurally the same as
glossolalia. This data can be understood to demonstrate that the
same stereotypes of speech will result whenever conscious, willful
control of speech is interfered with, whether by injury to the
brain, by psychosis, or by passive renunciation of willful
control." To enter into the state of "passive renunciation of
willful control" is essentially what is said to those who want to
speak in tongues. People are told to release themselves, to give up
the control of their voice, to just say words and let them flow
without thinking about what's being said. Dr. Pattison continues,
"This corroborates our previous assessment that glossolalia is a
stereotyped pattern of unconsciously controlled vocal behavior
which appears under specific emotional conditions" ("Speaking in
Tongues and About Tongues," Christian Standard [Feb. 15, 1964], p.
2).
Dr. Pattison's conclusion, then, is that glossolalia (tongues) can
occur wherever conscious, willful control of the brain is
interfered with--which could either be psychological or
physiological.
You say, "But John, why are people speaking in tongues? Why is it
happening?" Well, let's look at...
B. Some Reasons for its Popularity
1. SPIRITUAL HUNGER
Basically I think that the popularity of tongues comes from a deep
spiritual hunger. People are told that speaking in tongues is a
great spiritual experience, and that if they haven't done it they
haven't arrived spiritually. Well, since they haven't been properly
taught, they feel they need this experience.
2. SPIRITUAL EXPRESSION
People are seeking for some way to express themselves spiritually
because many of them have been attending church for years without
any real involvement.
3. INSTANT SPIRITUALITY
Within the Charismatic movement, speaking in tongues is considered
to be a manifestation of spirituality or holiness, so it attracts
those who desire that external recognition.
4. A REACTION TO SOCIETY
Another reason for the popularity of tongues is that it is a
reaction to our secularized, mechanized, academic, cold,
indifferent society. Speaking in tongues gives a person the feeling
that he's involved in something supernatural, rather than academic
and explicable in terms of reason.
5. THE NEED FOR ACCEPTANCE AND SECURITY
The need to belong, to be accepted, and to be secure, drives people
into movements where they can be a part of the "in" group--where
they can be among the ones who "have it." That can be very
satisfying. In fact, it's a form of self- actualization to be able
to say, "I am a Charismatic." It makes many people feel that they
are something, belong to something, and have something that others
don't have.
IV. AN EXHORTATION TO BE CHARACTERIZED BY LOVE
First Corinthians 13:8 tells us that tongues have ceased, but the
point of the chapter is that love is eternal. We must never forget
that! In discussing this whole issue of tongues, all I'm trying to
do is teach what the Word of God says. I don't have an axe to grind
with Charismatics--some of my friends are in that movement. In
fact, I thank God for Pentecostal and Charismatic people who
believe in the authority of the Word of God. I believe they ought
to study it a little more carefully, but I thank God they believe
it and hold it up as authoritative. I also thank God that they
believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His sacrificial death, His
physical resurrection, salvation by faith and not works, the need
to live a life of obedience, and proclaiming their faith. I thank
God for all of those things. I'm sorry we can't agree on this one
issue, but they're still my brothers and sisters in Christ and I'm
commanded to love them. Remember, love is eternal and the gifts are
just temporary.
I fear that people are going to try and shove this particular
series on tongues down the throats of all their Charismatic
friends. That's the last thing I want people to do! If you know
somebody who is involved in this movement, the best thing to do is
to constantly and fervently show them love, so that they will
disassociate love from tongues. That's important to do because
they're under the false impression that Christians don't really
know how to love until they've had the experience of speaking in
tongues. I've heard Charismatics say, "Oh, I never really loved
until I had this experience. I've never felt so good or had such
joy." Well, if you show them that you have love, joy, and
happiness, they may begin to see that those things aren't connected
to tongues. Then, when the day comes that they ask you why you
don't speak in tongues, you will have earned the right to show them
why.
It grieves my heart that there's a rift in the church over this
issue. And I don't think there's any point in jamming a bunch of my
tapes in the gap--because that will just make it harder to reach
them. What we need to do is to love Charismatic people with all our
hearts and to be available to answer their questions when they ask.
We also need to be sensitive for the right moment to come when we
can share the truth with them in love. Remember, it's important
that we love. It's the whole message of 1 Corinthians 13.
Is it unloving to criticize the Charismatic movement?
I am constantly being accused of being unloving because of my stand
against speaking in tongues. But what is the definition of love? Is
it unloving to speak the truth? Is it unloving to teach the Word of
God? I love God and His Word more than I love anything else, so I'm
going to proclaim His Word with boldness--even if it seems that I'm
being unloving to people in the process. The Bible clearly says
that we are to be "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15a)--and
that's exactly what I'm doing.
Now I know that I'm not always right. But I don't stand alone in
what I teach about tongues. There are many, many scholars far more
competent than I am, who stand on the same ground. I'm confident
that the Word of God teaches that the gift of tongues has ceased.
And because I believe that this is the truth, the most loving thing
that I can do is to teach it. You see, when people know the truth,
they're able to live it out and be in the place of God's
blessing.
People say, "John, you shouldn't get into those controversial
subjects. When there's an issue like that in the text you should
just go by it and not deal with it." Well, that's the worst thing I
could do! Should I ignore God's Word? Am I doing anyone a favor by
not telling them the truth? Of course not! If I'm in error, I pray
that someone will show me where I'm wrong. But I believe that what
I've said is the truth of the Word of God, so I have to deal with
it as such. And I hope that you sense that I'm giving it in
love
