YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CESSATIONIST | Tongues is NOT for Every Believer

Welcome to the

Fighting for the Faith YouTube channel and our ongoing series titled you don't have to be a cessationist.

This is the series of videos that recognizes that currently there is a stalemate between the two camps continuationists and cessationists and it's become a winner -take -all approach and so what we're demonstrating in these videos is that you don't have to be a cessationist to recognize that many of the doctrines practices and claims coming out of the charismatic movement are not biblical in fact not biblical at all but unfortunately the way things have kind of ground down if you would is that people think that they've got to make a decision between one camp or another is it cessationism is it continuationism which one is biblical and for many if the continuationist is not convinced that cessationism is biblical then well in their way of thinking anything goes and to challenge any of the prophecies any of the claims any of the bizarre stuff that is going on within the charismatic and Pentecostal movements would cause you to risk your own salvation by committing the blasphemy of the

Holy Spirit and when I talk anything goes you know I literally mean anything goes here's an example of what

I mean by that some experiences have you had and she shared a few and so then I said to her I said listen have you ever had an experience with a werewolf and she said no but I've read about them so I said well

I have she says you have like what kind of experiences by this time we're sitting down at the lunch table and she chooses to sit beside me and I said well you know

I was over you know in another country we were doing some ministry with some street people trying to get them you know safe from it from from drug problems and that and the last person in that meeting that stayed for prayer as we were praying from there's three people in the room we're all praying as we prayed this man started to manifest a werewolf spirit his hair bristled back almost like ears were formed out of his hair fangs came down out of his mouth he got on all fours and started howling like a wolf she said you're kidding

I said no not she said well what did you do I said well I cast the werewolf out of him

I said those werewolf spirits aren't very good you know they're no yeah those werewolf spirits you know they're terrible and stuff you you know you don't want to you know have a werewolf spirit so I think you kind of get the idea when

I talk about anything goes yeah anything goes and if you challenge the story of Patricia King casting out the werewolf spirit then you know you risk committing the blasphemy of the

Holy Spirit so we try to move beyond that by you know taking individual ideas and then you know testing them according to Scripture so today we will be doing that and we're gonna be looking at the topic you don't have to be a cessationist to know that tongues is not a gift that is promised to every

Christian and this is absolutely biblically demonstrable certainly so and so let's go ahead and get to it and we're gonna first look at some charismatic claims one of them historical one really recent and to start off with we're gonna head over to charisma magazine's website and an article that was published on March 12th of 2018 so really not that long ago by Becky Dvorak speaking in tongues your powerful plus is the name of the article and in it she makes some interesting claims but one paragraph two begins with these words speaking in tongues is the beginning step to being baptized in the

Holy Spirit and is for every born -again believer that's the claim and she goes on and says

Luke 5 37 through 38 no one puts new wine into old wineskins otherwise the new wine will burst the wineskins which is not a text talking about tongues and it will be spilled and the wineskins will be destroyed but new wine must be poured into new wineskins and both are preserved so when you become born again your spirit becomes eternally alive in heaven bound with Jesus concerning the gift of tongues it is given to all believers who believe and activate their faith to receive the baptism of the

Holy Spirit Peter said to them in Acts 2 38 through 39 repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit it's important to note that in Acts chapter 2 38 and 39 that is talking about water baptism that's exactly what that's referring to and we'll talk about this more in just a little bit but I want to get the claims out here and so she repeats it makes it clear she says speaking in tongues is for all believers from the time of the early church to the day of Pentecost to today with ourselves and our children and our grandchildren and their children until the day of the

Lord's return so she's explicitly stated twice that well speaking in tongues is for all believers and she claims that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the

Holy Spirit we're gonna test this according to Scripture in just a minute but I also wanted to throw into the mix then a historical claim you have some historical claims regarding this from the late

John Osteen and John Osteen is the father of Joel Osteen of Lakewood and so we're gonna go back in time to 1993 and a series of videos that actually teachings that John Osteen released regarding speaking in tongues here is the first of them

I'm going to be talking in the next three services about this manifestation of speaking in tongues that comes when

Jesus baptizes you in the Holy Ghost all Christians have the Holy Ghost in regeneration but you need the baptism in the

Holy Ghost and when that happens then you begin to speak in other tongues your spirit is liberated to worship and praise

God now I'm gonna do a quick comparative work here and that is we're gonna have to first establish something from Scripture and Ephesians chapter 4 makes this very clear and let me read out the text to you there is one body one spirit just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call one

Lord one faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is over all through all in all

Scripture is very clear there is only one baptism and Pentecostals believe that there is a second baptism this baptism of the

Holy Spirit the scriptures clear on this and it's irrefutable there is only one baptism and that baptism well is not the second baptism of the

Holy Spirit so we're gonna have to just clean that up a little bit but let's continue listening to John Osteen God is a spirit

I am a spirit you're a spirit and when you get this language it's your spirit talking spirit to spirit to God you know they say speaking in tongues is of the devil well the

Bible says in Acts chapter 10 they speak with tongues and magnified God we need to recognize that God is warning to reinvigorate his church he wants to and the doorway to the supernatural is this experience where you get the speaking in other tongues all right so you're gonna know

John Osteen seems to think that speaking in tongues also is for every believer we will debunk this from Scripture in just a minute but let's take a look at another example from that same series here again is

John Osteen and you know we need to realize that from Acts 1 and 2 there came a church flowing out like a mighty river sparkling with the supernatural power of the

Living God and one Presbyterian preacher said you know we denominational people have jumped over Acts 2 and wonder why we can't see the miracles in Acts 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and you know that church sparkles it's glorious with the supernatural angels are everywhere signs miracles and wonders are there it's all by the power of the

Holy Ghost but you see the devil knows that the initial evidence of the baptism is speaking in tongues so he's made everybody afraid of speaking in tongues mm -hmm so he's claiming that it's the devil who knows 100 % for sure that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism of the

Holy Ghost hmm yeah again we're gonna biblically tear this apart in a minute but again what he's doing here is twisting

God's Word so I said well the evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost is joy or peace or love no all

Christians who are born of the Spirit who have the Holy Spirit in regeneration have joy and love and peace and I went 19 years believe that that was the evidence but I'll tell you

I was empty I was I was powerless I was restless and I needed more of God and so I began to climb the hill of God and I was amazed to climb the hill of God where's that located fine that I had been robbed of what

God wanted me to have Oh God wanted you to have it why didn't he just give it to you pastor to this church a pastor to wherever I preach the gospel and I wanna

I'm covetous for God's people oh I do not want any of them to live in this darkened hell -bound generation without the power of the

Holy Ghost which Christian doesn't have the Holy Ghost again we shouldn't be ashamed of speaking in other tongues notice the the grand we there we we we all of us should be speaking in tongues and not ashamed of it the

Bible says that they all spoke in other tongues and that they all spoke in other all that means everybody needs to be speaking in tongues wants to cut off that power why should it be thought incredible that God would give us another language okay now here's another portion from the same sermon series and listen in another question what is the evidence that you have the baptism in the

Holy Ghost again I'll come back to the fact that Ephesians 4 makes it clear that there's one Lord one faith one baptism well according to the book of Acts every time they receive they either spoke in tongues or there's an indication that they did and Paul who wrote about it said

I want you to all speak it does and I speak it does more than you now we're gonna we're gonna test what he just said there from first Corinthians 14

Paul said I want all of you to speak in tongues so you better start doing it at least that's how

John Osteen makes it appear what the Apostle Paul was teaching so the evidence is not love is not joy is not peace but it's a supernatural language coming out to worship

God okay so the initial evidence is a supernatural language okay

I think you kind of get the idea so we're gonna spend some time in first Corinthians chapters 12 through 14 yeah it's gonna take us a little bit of time to work through this and if you want a more thorough treatment of this at the end of this video we'll make a link to one of my longer lectures titled debunking the two

Pentecostal distinctives debunking the two Pentecostal distinctives which does a fuller complete you know the hour -long lecture of handling of this topic and this particular text today we're gonna be keying specifically in on this idea that every believer can have the gift of tongues watch what

Paul does first Corinthians chapter 12 by the way this is like the ground zero text for the charismatic and Pentecostal movements he says this now concerning spiritual gifts brothers

I don't want you to be uninformed you know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols however you were led therefore

I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed and no one can say

Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit now there are varieties of gifts but the same

Spirit and there are varieties of service bought the same Lord and there are varieties of activities but it's the same

God who empowers them all in everyone and you're gonna note this varieties thing is going to be the whole point early on in chapter 12 and the

Apostle Paul's are literally gonna argue that the same God treats the body of Christ as if it has different members and those different members receive different gifts so that the body of Christ can behave like a body so he's talking about the importance of understanding that the gifts are given in variety not in singularity so he says there are varieties of service but the same

Lord there are varieties of activities the same God to each is given the manifestation of the

Spirit and here's important words for the common good that's why God gives us you know different gifts it's for the common good the building up the equipping of the church for to one is given through the

Spirit excuse me the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same

Spirit to another faith by the same Spirit to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit to another the working of miracles to another prophecy to another the ability to distinguish between to another various kinds of tongues so note here all right that to another various types of tongues it doesn't say to every believer that you know various kinds of tongues no it says to another because this is arguing for a variety of gifts to another the interpretation of tongues important to note here that somebody who is given the supernatural ability to speak in a language they have not studied does not necessarily mean they know what they're saying and so to another is given the interpretation of those tongues all of these are empowered by one in the same

Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills for just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body though many are one body so it is with Christ for in one

Spirit we were all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks slaves are free and all were made to drink of the one

Spirit for the body does not consist of one member but of many and that's kind of the point here is is that if every

Christian had the gift of tongues then we'd all be a mouth and that's exactly what

Paul is arguing against the body does not consist of one member but of many if the foot should say because I am

NOT a hand I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body and if the ear should say well because I'm not an eye

I don't belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body if the whole body were an eye where would the sense of hearing be if the whole body were an ear where would the sense of smell be but as it is

God arranged members in the body each one of them as he chose if all were a single member where would the body be and so you're gonna note already the

Apostle Paul is arguing against this idea that every Christian can receive the exact same gift that's not what this text is arguing at all as it is there are many parts yet one body the eye cannot say to the hand

I have no need of you nor again the head to the feet I have no need of you on the contrary the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty which are more presentable parts do not require but God has so composed the body giving greater honor to the part that lacked it that there may be no division in the body but that the members may have the same care for one another if one member suffers all suffer together if one member is honored all rejoice together now you are the body of Christ individually members of it and God has appointed in the church first Apostles second prophets third teachers then miracles then gifts of healing helping administrating various kinds of tongues and now the

Apostle Paul is going to ask a series of questions and it's important to note here that when you look at the

Greek and here's the Greek over on this window the over all the way over that in the

Greek each of these questions has a particle the particle is pronounced may and when may appears in a question the question being asked is to be understood as being answered in the negative and so he asked the question are all

Apostles may Pontus Apostolo the answer is in the

Greek text it says no so you can say are all Apostles no next question may

Pontus prophet I are all prophets answer no may

Pontus did ask alloy are all teachers no may

Pontus dunamis do all work miracles no may

Pontus Karis Mata exodus in Yamaha Motton do all possess gifts of healing no may

Pontus glasses la la lucid do all speak in tongues no do all interpret no but earnestly desire the higher gifts this text is absolutely rock -solid clear are all

Apostles no are all prophets no are all teachers no do all work miracles no do all possess gifts of healing no do all speak with tongues no so when a charisma magazine argues sorry that was

Patricia King when charisma magazine argues that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the

Holy Spirit and that it is for every born -again believer no that's absolutely biblically untenable now some try to get around this by claiming oh well tongues is a supernatural ability to speak a human language but that every

Christian has the ability to speak in tongues which is a prayer language and where they get that from is a twisting of first Corinthians 13 will note this where the

Apostle Paul now talking about the exercise of the different gifts that God has given he argues not that everybody has a prayer language but that if you exercise the gifts that God has given you without love then you are nothing that's his whole point so first Corinthians 13 1 if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love

I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal and so you're gonna note this is not saying but every

Christian can receive a prayer language that's not what it's saying at all his whole point is if you even if you have this gift and you don't have love you're a clanging cymbal if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge if I have all faith so as to move mountains but I have not love

I'm nothing if I give away all that I have if I deliver up my body to be burned but I have not love

I gain nothing love is patience kind does not envy or boast it's not arrogant or rude it does not insist on its own way it's not irritable or resentful it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth the whole point is exercising the gifts that God has given you the various gifts that he gives within the body of Christ with love love never ends so now we get to chapter 14 in chapter 14 you're gonna know is a continuation of the

Apostle Paul's previous points so the Apostle Paul just said not all our

Apostles not all our prophets not all work in miracles not all have the gift of tongues that's still part of the context of chapter 14 so Paul then writes pursue love earnestly desire the spiritual gifts especially that you may prophesy for one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God notice it says for the one it doesn't say for all of you when you speak in tongues don't speak to men but you speak to God again the

Apostle Paul is making it very clear that the the one person who might have this gift well he if he doesn't know what he's saying well he's speaking not to men but to God for no one understands him but he utters mysteries that are in the spirit on the other hand the one who prophesies speaks to people for their up building encouragement and consolation the one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself and notice it doesn't say in all of you when you speak in tongues it's no the one because there are varieties of gifts and not all have this have this gift the one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself but the one who prophesies builds up the church now

I want you all to speak in tongues but even more to prophesy the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless someone interprets so that the church may be built up I think you get the point it is unambiguously clear that scripture teaches that not everybody has the gift of tongues and it would make no sense because then the entire body of Christ would be comprised of mouths that's not how the

Spirit hands out the variety of gifts that he gives to sustain equip and build and protect his church so I think you get the point now if you found this helpful and you found this able to add some clarification to your understanding of scripture then consider supporting fighting for the faith and our ongoing work here not only on YouTube but also on our podcast which you can find over at fighting for the faith comm and the way you can support us is by sharing this video send us comments below if you have questions about anything that was said and of course if you'd like to financially support us we can truly use that help several ways that you can do it is that all of the information is down below you can either join our crew support us about becoming a patron on patreon or even sending in a one -time contribution and so until next time may