Apostasy in Religious Charismata – Tongues – a works doctrine based in paganism that weakens faith and subverts the Gospel…

Heresy debated in a religious forum…the premise: “POWER OF THE SPIRIT – You will know when you are sealed with the Spirit. You will begin to speak in tongues!” True or False?

Christian response,

Not true. The Gift of Tongues was given by the Holy Spirit at the initiation of the New Covenant Church at Pentecost as a sign to unbelieving Jews that the Holy Spirit, a promise of the New Covenant, had indeed manifest through Messiah and Tongues (actual languages and dialects not previously studied) assisted in initiating the Great Commission, the teaching of the Gospel message to the known World as mandated by Messiah Jesus (Acts 2; Matthew 28:16-20).

The Biblical “sign” of salvation, redemption, a Spirit-filled life,

That actual “sign” that one has received the Holy Spirit as Guarantor and Seal of New Covenant promise with the Father is a changed life, a redeemed life manifesting in changed behavior, a new desire for the interests of the Father and His Kingdom, a sincere pursuit of righteousness in obedience to the daily sanctifying work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus said you will know them by their “fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20); that is, the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Foundational scriptural error,

Some charismatic legalists will cite Mark 16:17 as bedrock doctrine for tongues today while these charismatic leaders don’t realize that Mark 16:9-20 does NOT appear in early manuscripts and is therefore contested as inspired Scripture; therefore, the foundation for charismatic legalism relevant to tongues today is absent in our best and most reliable transcripts. The absence of Mark 16:9-20 in our early manuscripts is why the better translations bracket these verses with a relevant notation.

Today’s tongues as a stumbling block,

Suggesting that Tongues is a sign of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of the redeemed is a stumbling block to new believers who are immature in their faith and knowledge and believe such charismatic nonsense and when they honestly evaluate their daily walk and honestly KNOW they don’t speak in a tongue, this immature believer enters into doubt, worry, fret, feelings of doom and unworthiness, doubt concerning the legitimacy of their salvation, all of which are completely unnecessary and the result of charismatic legalism, false doctrine teaching that Biblical Tongues remain relevant today.

A brief history of pagan tongues,

The “tongues” in Churches of Charismata today (the unknown tongue) are pagan in origin finding their genesis in the pagan temple at Delphi adjacent Corinth in the First-Century. These Delphic Oracles were intoxicated oriented prophecies delivered by a temple priestess having inhaled an intoxicating burning substance below her throne…prophetic utterances of unintelligible gibberish that far too often left the awaiting patrons more confused than when they entered the temple seeking guidance and enlightenment.

This pagan nonsense ultimately carried over into the nearby Corinthian Church and caused much consternation for Paul who ultimately demanded that women remain silent in Church services (1 Corinthians 14:34); apparently, women desiring to be theologically relevant and garner attention to themselves, much like the adoration of the Delphic pagan priestess by her subjects, were speaking out of turn, disrupting services in the Corinthian Church; this pagan nonsense led to much confusion as do pagan tongues in Pentecostalism and other Churches of Charisma today. Charismatic “Tongues,” a false doctrine of pride and arrogance has manifest into a works doctrine, a pagan ritual celebrated by the deceived under the guise of Christianity. Runaway!

Truth is,

The Father desires intimacy with YOU…YOU being YOU with authenticity and faithfulness concerning His will for your life. The Father does not NEED your gibberish, your self-ingratiating “tongues” in order to communicate with you. The Father simply desires your heart, your love, your intimacy, your thankfulness for His presence in your life. Just be honest with the Father, talk to Him, love Him, honor Jesus with thankfulness and adoration and obey the Holy Spirit in sanctification, you will do well.