Is speaking in tongues still for believers today?
I recently attended a Pentecostal service and they said tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. My home church never speaks in tongues. Who is right? Is this still a gift for today?
2 Answers
1 Corinthians 12-14 regulates but does not abolish tongues. The cessationist argument relies on 1 Corinthians 13:10 ('the perfect') referring to the completed canon — a reasonable but contested reading. The burden of proof falls on cessationism, since Paul's instruction assumes tongues are a functioning gift to be ordered, not abandoned. However, we gently push back on the teaching that tongues is the only or necessary initial evidence of Spirit baptism — 1 Corinthians 12:30 implies not all speak in tongues.
I speak in tongues daily as a private prayer language and it has deepened my relationship with God. But I agree it should not be used as a measuring stick for other believers. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is the clearest evidence of the Spirit's work.
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