SOUNDING OUT:
Letter to the Editor
The Tipp City Herald recently
printed an article, the gist of which was that speaking
in tongues is no longer available and what churches
claim to do now is not what the Bible describes in Acts
and other places. I wrote a letter to the editor, which
follows:
July 30, 2006
Dear Editor,
I was amazed to read the
article in last Thursday’s Tipp City Herald. There
is truly nothing new under the sun. The verses Rev.
Blackaby used to discourage people from speaking in
tongues were the same ones used on me forty years ago.
By God’s mercy and grace I was not discouraged.
I now speak in tongues and have been doing so for almost
forty years.
Why do I speak in tongues? The answer to this
question is simple, scriptural and satisfying. I speak
in tongues because Jesus said I should and Paul said
I could. Jesus said in Mark 16:17 that “these
signs shall follow [accompany] those that believe…
they shall speak with new tongues.” Paul, inspired
by the Holy Spirit in I Corinthians 14, said, “I
would that ye all spake with tongues.” Later on
he commands in I Corinthians 14:39 “to forbid
not to speak with tongues.” In other words, if
I’m a believer, Jesus said I should speak in tongues
and Paul, as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, said
I could for God would never ask us to do that which
we could not.
Indeed, Paul did say that in the church he would
rather speak five words with his understanding than
ten thousand words in tongues (I Corinthians 14:19),
but in the verse preceding that he says “I thank
my God, I speak in tongues more that ye all.”
He spoke in tongues voraciously, and was thankful that
he did. Indeed there are times and places where speaking
in tongues is indecent and out of order. Paul was not
objecting to or downgrading speaking in tongues, he
was simply trying to restore proper order to the Corinthian
church.
I agree speaking in tongues, as it is operated
in many churches, is indecent and out of order. Paul
also addressed that in I Corinthians 14:23. He noted
that “if the whole church be come together in
one place and all speak in tongues, and there come in
those that are unlearned will they not say ye are mad?”
That is the typical reaction of most people when seeing
speaking in tongues done improperly in the church. There
is a proper way it should be done and Paul lays it out
in I Corinthians 14. It should be by two or at the most
three, in course [one after the other] and it should
always be interpreted. Therefore, everyone can hear
and understand. They will be edified by way of exhortation
and comfort.
In close to forty years of ministering the gospel
of Jesus Christ I have led hundreds of people into speaking
in tongues. In those almost forty years, I have never
yet had an occasion where the individual desiring to
speak in tongues did not receive his heart’s desire.
It usually just takes a little explanation, but when
they learn the truth about speaking in tongues, it sets
them free.
Many churches state that speaking in tongues
is a special gift for only certain chosen people. That
is not true. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34;
Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; and James 2:1). Speaking
in tongues is available to all believers, just as it
was in the New Testament. The verse that is used to
say it went away with the apostles (I Corinthians 13:8-10)
does not refer to the canonization of the scriptures,
it refers to the return of Christ for his church. If
you read the verse (I Corinthians 13:8) carefully you’ll
see that if speaking in tongues has ceased, knowledge
has also vanished away. Obviously this has not yet happened.
These manifestations will be available until the return
of Christ for us. Until then, the manifestations of
Holy Spirit are available to every born-again believer.
We simply need to be shown from God’s Word what
we have in Christ.
Speaking in tongues doesn’t require a “baptism
in holy spirit.” Speaking in tongues does not
require a “second work of grace.” Speaking
in tongues, as well as all the other manifestations
of the Holy Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10,
are available to every born-again believer.
You may call it “being saved,” “being
converted,” or “being born-again.”
But if you have confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believed in your heart that God has raised him from
the dead (Romans 10:9,10) you have been saved. When
you were born-again of God’s spirit you became
His child, and He placed the spirit in you. Once you
have it, you can use it. I Corinthians 12:8-10 lists
the nine different manifestations you can produce. God
will work with His people to unfold all that He has
already given them in Christ Jesus. Don’t let
anyone talk you out of letting Him fulfill the desire
of your heart. If you want to speak in tongues find
another born-again believer who can instruct you in
how to do it. I’m not the only one who can, I
know of hundreds of people who are so equipped. Let
God lead you to someone who can help. Don’t delay,
you can receive today.
Sincerely,
In His service,
Wayne Clapp
