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Dear Dr. Betters,
Thank you once again for the doctrinal series you are preaching. Let me preface my first question by saying that I grew up in doctrinally conservative churches. First, I had believed over the years that speaking in tongues was at best delusional and at worst demonic. I have since met some very sincere and in most other areas, biblically sound, deeply faithful Christians who practice speaking in tongues. When I read the Scriptures there is clearly the gift of tongues -speaking in other (previously unknown to the speaker) human languages. But I have trouble seeing this definition in, for instance, I Corinthians 14 or Romans 8:26 - 27. I don't buy the idea some have that tongues are a necessary gift and evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Nor that it is a secret language Satan doesn't understand. However, I am not so quick to dismiss it as religious quackery as I once was because of these Scriptures. What are your thoughts about the above-mentioned passages?

Pastor Betters responds:

Good question. There are volumes written on this topic but let's see if I can answer your question briefly to your satisfaction.

Romans 8:26-27 is one of my favorite passages. This passage says nothing about modern day tongues. I do distinguish between what happened in the NT concerning tongues and the modern counterfeit. But this passage does not even imply tongues. There are many times in our pain, sorrow, or trial moments when we do not know how to pray. Romans 8 is about the response to the desperate question posed in Romans 7:24 where Paul says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death." Keep in mind Paul spent 25 verses in Romans 7 addressing the issue of why we sin and why we cannot seem to stop. Then he opens Romans 8 with a promise that all in Christ will not stand in condemnation. The rest of the chapter elaborates on that theme. The context is suffering when we reach verse 18 and perseverance when we reach verse 25. Note how verse 26 opens - "And in the same way..." What way? In the same way that all of creation groans and yearns for the hope realized, that is, the coming of Christ, so also, in the same way we yearn for deliverance when all around us screams out there is none. These are the most difficult times to pray, when we do not how or for what to pray. It is at those moments the Spirit of God takes the cravings of our hearts before the throne of grace and mediates our conflict. In love the Spirit prays for us since we are in too much turmoil to do so. That is why the Spirit is often called our Advocate. This is a legal term and means lawyer. He pleads our case before God since we are too wrapped up in pain to do so. The context demands this explanation. To interpret it as our charismatic friends do to refer to a prayer language is neither contextual nor said elsewhere in the Word.

When we come to 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses a variety of issues where the worldly church there needed direction. His tone throughout the letter is firm, confrontational, and somewhat condemnatory. After all, they were a church filled with pride, arrogance, cliques, and immorality including incest involving a prominent member with his stepmother. They even sued one another. Talk about a church in need of a good swift kick in the pants - this was it. In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul is dealing with the matter of the gift mix in that church. One cannot read chapters 12, 13, and 14 as though Paul is commending them. He is not. In fact, he is so hard on them he had to write 2 Corinthians to soften the blows. In chapter 14 Paul deals with the gifts this way. Some of you speak in tongues. Some of you prophesy. All of you think you are more spiritual than the other. The gifts are not for your benefit - they are to benefit the Body. Thus, we conclude that the gifts are given for a specific purpose - to edify the whole church not just someone's private devotional life. Thus, "private tongues speaking" has no place in our devotional life. Some may argue that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:4 that when "one speaks in tongues he edifies himself" and that this is a confirmation of their use in private. But Paul is not commending this practice he is condemning it. He spent considerable space in writing that the gifts are given for the "common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Also, Paul regulated the practice of tongues to be used only where there was interpretation. And throughout the New Testament all tongues were known discernible dialects. All of these abuses are common practices in many charismatic churches today. I am excited that many good scholars in this sect are encouraging their people to revisit their teachings. Some have even abandoned their practice altogether. That is for good reason. The gift of tongues occupied a place in redemptive history only until the canon of the New Testament closed. Once the scriptures were finalized there no longer existed a need for the "revelatory gifts" such as tongues and the interpretation of tongues. For more information or study ask for my sermon series "Charismatic Confusion."

In His Grip,
Dr. Chuck Betters

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