Every person today has come in contact in some form or fashion the Charismatic church. It is this intriguing denomination of Christianity that has had a tremendous growth in the last few years. People join this movement with great zeal as they prepare to become "real Christians". But is this denomination based on what the Scripture says? It is my intent to enlighten those who wish to know more about the Charismatic denomination and what is their beliefs. In today's day and age, people are basing their religion more and more on their "beliefs" rather than on the Bible. Many of these people make claims that the their beliefs are based on the Bible's teachings, yet they contradict everything the Bible makes clear. I will admit through personal experience that not all of the Scripture is easy to understand, but it is all understandable once one takes the time to study it. The problem is in those who simply take it to mean whatever they are told it means. There are many false doctrines being taught today, both inside and outside of the church. It is my ultimate desire to see these teachings exposed and refuted by the Word of God. It is my belief that Christianity is purely your relationship with Jesus Christ, your personal Lord and Savior. It is your responsibility to know what you believe in and support, not anyone else's. The Church is there to help guide you and support your beliefs and spirituality, but it is not their job to teach you what you believe. Not only must you know what you believe in, but you must also know why you believe in it. It is a terrible thing to see a Christian who goes around spreading the Word of God, but when questioned about where the things they speak of are found in the Bible, they are unable to reply. Satan is using this ignorance everyday to drive a wedge in your relationship with God. He uses the fact that most people believe what they hear without questioning its authenticity to make them stray away from the true teachings of the Bible.

"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God - I say this to your shame."

I Corinthians 15:33-34

It is because of this that I only base my studies on what I have read from the Bible, not from what someone else says it means. Everything mentioned is available in the Bible, the ultimate source of scriptural guidance. I keep everything in the context it was used in without twisting the facts to fit into what I am trying to get across.

"Not everyone that saith unto me,

"Lord, Lord",

shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day,

"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?"

And then will I profess unto them,

"I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Matthew 7:21-23

Let me make just one thing straight: just because a man carries a Bible, has a vision, and goes around praising the Lord does not prove he is a Child of God. Here God says that not even those that prophesied, cast out demons, and did wonderful works in the Lord's name can get into heaven; it takes more than that.

One thing I wish to make clear before I begin is the authenticity of the Bible. The Bible is so holy because it is the Word of God. The Word of God cannot contradict itself. It simply is not possible. Therefore, this creates a simple rule for correctly interpreting any Scripture: if a verse that is being interpreted contradicts IN ANY WAY only ONE OTHER VERSE, this interpretation cannot be correct. My best proof of this is from Jesus himself:

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said,

'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'

Jesus answered,

'It is written:

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."'

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

'If you are the Son of God', he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written:

"He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."'

Jesus answered him,

'It is also written:

"Do not put the Lord your God to the test."'

Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.'

Jesus said to him,

'Away from me, Satan! For it is written:

"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."'

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."

Matthew 4:1-11

This verse shows Jesus being tempted in the desert by the devil. Notice that even the devil can try to convince you by using Scripture. Jesus shows that Scripture can be manipulated to mean false things, yet correctly interpreted Scripture does not contradict itself. Also, notice the fact that Jesus only gives one verse in reply EVERY TIME! This is because it only takes one verse of Scripture to be contradicted to know that the Scripture is being interpreted incorrectly.

Many of the false teachers of today use questionable scripture to support their views. There are many such scriptures where more than one interpretation can be made. In these cases, you must compare the difficult passages with the clearly understood ones. Only the interpretation that fits well with the other passages can be correct. Scripture may have more than one interpretation when in isolation, but when placed next to the clear passages, only one correct interpretation exists. False teachers will build their views on a few difficult passages and twist and ignore the clear ones to fit their views.

Then how does one know if what they are being taught is Scripturally correct? It is up to you to scour the Word of God to find the true meaning and to make sure it does not contradict what is written. After all, it is the Christian's responsibility to know the true Word of God, not what they think it means.

"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

Acts 17:10-11

When reading this paper, please pray that God make the you open to the Scripture's true meaning. It is on this note that I begin my study into the spiritual gifts of Christianity.

Of all of the spiritual gifts given in the Bible, the most widely disputed gift is the gift of tongues. It is this gift that has caused the most division in church teachings. The gift of tongues has been interpreted in many ways, but there is really only one way to interpret this gift. In today's Charismatic churches, the gift of tongues has often been used to reflect one's spirituality. You may not be considered "spiritual" or "righteous" if you do not speak in tongues. Even though this act of judgment may not be directly supported by the church, it is without a doubt that this takes place in almost all Charismatic churches. I have even had a Charismatic Christian tell me that speaking in tongues signifies that you have received the Holy Spirit, and that if I don't speak in tongues then I have not received the Holy Spirit and therefore I am not truly saved! They provided this Scripture as evidence:

"...And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

Romans 8:9

It is this ignorance and confusion that upsets me.

First of all, I am going to speak of the Charismatic church's beliefs and practices. According to Charismatics, speaking in tongues is an act that comes upon you from the Holy Spirit. Many churches believe that there are two types of tongues. The first occurs during worship, and is uncontrollable. You begin to speak in a tongue which you or noone else knows. Some say you are praying directly to God, others say you are praising Him. The purpose of this "speaking in tongues" is to pray to God in a language that only you and God know. Noone else understands this "heavenly prayer language", not even Satan. This is usually taken as a sign to the believer that they have received salvation and the Holy Spirit. The second type of tongues is speaking in a language that you did not know, but someone else verifies that it was indeed an earthly language. Speaking in tongues usually occurs in groups, usually during worship. Anywhere from a few to the whole group of people will begin to "speak in tongues" at once. Almost anytime someone speaks in tongues, it is never interpreted. According to the Charismatics, it does not need to since it is a "heavenly prayer language". What does the Bible have to say? Let's just see.

Just what does the word "tongue" mean?

"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."

Acts 2:4-6

This passage says that "tongues" are languages. This can be confirmed in the following passages:

"I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."

Acts 26:14

"...whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans."

Ezra 4:7

"...and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue."

Daniel 1:4

"...whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

Revelation 9:11

Also, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 14 about languages:

"Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is

without meaning."

I Corinthians 14:10

So it is easy to see that anywhere in the Bible the word "tongues" is used, it means language. Please keep this in your mind, since much of what the Charismatic church 'speaks' in is not a language at all.

If there is any Charismatic pastor is reading this now, he is probably already objecting. Many Charismatics will say that there are two types of tongues: an actual language and 'ecstatic utterances'. Where in the Bible does it say that there are two types of tongues? It doesn't! Many Charismatics say that the tongues in Acts 2 are different from those found in I Corinthians 14. This confusion is brought on by the fact that I Corinthians 14 says that tongues must be interpreted to be understood, yet in Acts 2 the tongues were understood without interpretation. Could there really be two types of tongues?

It must be pointed out that a person who spoke in tongues was supernaturally given the gift of God to speak in a language that he did not previously know. The person speaking did not know what he was saying, unless God had also given him the gift of interpretation.

So why did the tongues spoken in Acts 2 not have to be interpreted?

"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because of each one heard them speaking in his own language."

Acts 2:4-6

After carefully reading this passage, it becomes clear why interpretation was not needed. This passage is a record of the events at Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost, people "from every nation under heaven" were present to witness the event. So many languages were being spoken miraculously that no interpretation was needed. Each person present heard what was being spoken in his own native language. But this is not what happens in I Corinthians. When the local Christians in Corinth gathered together and a person began to speak in a language that he did not know, they did not understand the language either. Therefore, it needed to be interpreted. Both tongues mentioned in Acts 2 and I Corinthians 14 were the same tongues. They were both languages. The Bible says nothing of any other types of tongues. As I stated at the beginning of this paper, the Word of God cannot contradict itself. Since the Bible only refers to one type of tongues, any Scripture that is used to support any other type of tongues is being incorrectly interpreted. To say that any other Scripture supports more than one type of tongue would contradict Paul when he said that tongues will have to be interpreted. He did not say "only the interpreted tongues, not the heavenly prayer tongue must be interpreted"! Any other types of tongues contradict what the Bible says, and therefore cannot exist.

Now we know that there were indeed tongues, and that there was only one type. What was the purpose of speaking in tongues, anyways? Tongues were a sign to the unbelieving Jew.

"In the Law it is written:

'Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,' says the Lord

Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers..."

I Corinthians 14:21-22

This verse is in reference to Isaiah 28:

"Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues

God will speak to this people,

to whom he said, 'This is the resting place, let the weary rest';

and ,'This is the place of repose'-

but they would not listen.

So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:

Do and do, do and do,

rule on rule, rule on rule;

a little here, a little there -

so that they will go and fall backward,

be injured and snared and captured."

Isaiah 28:11-13

God is saying that he will cause people to speak to the Jews(this people) with another tongue. Yet they will not listen, but will fall backward, be injured, and captured(judgment will come).

On the day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in tongues and a great crowd from Jerusalem gathered. Peter then spoke to this Jewish crowd. One thing he told them was:

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

'The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand until I make our enemies a footstool for your feet.'

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this:

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

The same Jesus the Jews had crucified was now in Heaven, exalted at the right hand of God. His foes(including the Jews that had crucified Him) will be made his footstool. He then told them to save themselves from the judgment to come upon the generation in verse 40:

"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them,

'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'"

Acts 2:40

The evidence that this judgment would come was that Jesus had "poured out what you now see and hear" - tongues. The tongues were a sign to the Jews who had killed the Messiah of the judgment that was to come.

This goes against the Charismatic view that speaking in tongues is a sign to the believer of receiving salvation and the Holy Spirit. As for those that wish to have a sign from God, the following Scripture is a response from God:

"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him,

'Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.'

He answered,

'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'"

Matthew 12:38-40

Jesus has said that those that require a sign are wicked and adulterous! He also says that the ONLY sign that will be given is His death, burial, and resurrection.

The sign of tongues was used to strengthen the church. When his judgment came, it showed authenticity of the Lord's word to the unbelieving Jew.

"...When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."

I Corinthians 14:26

As one can figure, one that incorrectly uses the gifts of the Lord only weakens the Church. This has many implications, though. If a church bases its beliefs on the incorrect use of the gifts of the Lord, then this church is only weakening the Church as a whole, the Christian faith. This church is now doing the total opposite of what it is supposed to do!

Who exactly was able to use the gifts of tongues? Let's take a look at the Scripture:

"Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues?"

I Corinthians 12:29-30

The understood answer for all of these questions was no. Not everyone speaks in tongues.

"To one there is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

I Corinthians 12:8-11

This Scripture plainly says that not everyone will receive the gift of tongues. Notice it says "to another" instead of "to all". The Holy Spirit determines who gets each gift, not the believer. The believer receives his gifts upon being saved. It is up to him to develop the gifts given to him.

What about women?

"Utterly amazed, they asked,

'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?'"

Acts 2:7

Anywhere else in the Bible where tongues are being used, women never participate.

"...women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church."

I Corinthians 14:34

The Holy Spirit obviously was not an equal rights activist! So we now know that no women and not all men were able to speak in tongues. That sure does contradict the Charismatic belief that EVERYONE can speak in tongues! Who shall we believe: the Word of God, or a Charismatic pastor?

There were restrictions placed on the true use of tongues in the church.

"If anyone speaks in a tongue, two - or at the most three - should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God."

I Corinthians 14:27-28

From this verse, three restrictions can be derived:

1. No more than three may speak.

2. Only one may speak at a time.

3. Tongues must be interpreted or not spoken at all.

As with any part of the Bible, if one is to believe in the Bible, he must believe in the WHOLE Bible. One cannot pick and choose what he believes. That is the heart and soul of the Christian faith, yet churches continue to disregard parts of the Bible they see 'unfit for obedience'. As was just stated in the preceding verse, tongues should not be used unless the rules are adhered to.

One of the first times I came in contact with the Charismatic belief was when I went to a Christian rock concert at the local Charismatic church. Midway through the concert, the band stopped playing, got quiet, and told the crowd to worship God in their own way. I began to pray, as I normally do, but within five minutes of the interlude everyone in the room was 'speaking in tongues'. After about twenty minutes of this, the youth pastor came up and promoted what they were doing. Needless to say, the effectiveness of the band's and the church's message was lost to me after that point. In this situation, it can be seen that more than three people were speaking, all of which were speaking at once, and not a single person was interpreted. It is amazing how a church can disobey the Word of God so proudly! It is this exact situation that the following Scripture speaks about:

"So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?"

I Corinthians 14:23

Here Paul warns disobeyers of some of the consequences of abusing the gift of tongues. Paul also shows the priority of speaking in an understandable language over speaking in a language that noone understands:

"But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."

I Corinthians 14:19

We now have written proof in the Bible that tongues were used correctly and incorrectly in the ancient days. Why then is there still controversy over the authenticity of the gift of tongues being used today? The only reason for argument would be if tongues were no longer in existence. Does it say anything about this in the Bible?

"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears."

I Corinthians 13:8

It is evident that this passage says that tongues will cease. But when will they cease? When their purpose has been fulfilled.

We referenced previously in this paper to the purpose for the gift of tongues. The purpose of the gift of tongues was to be a sign to the Jews who had killed the Messiah of the judgment that was to come. Once this judgment came, the purpose for the tongues would be fulfilled and the tongues would cease.

Has this happened? Of course! When did it happen? Let's see.

"The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city."

Matthew 22:7

This passage speaks of Jerusalem, the Jewish holy city.

"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said,

'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace

- but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within our walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.'"

Luke 19:41-44

"...because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you" speaks of the Jews rejecting the Messiah when he came to earth in the flesh.

"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near...For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written...They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."

Luke 21:20,22,24

The previous passages refer to 70 AD when the Lord sent judgment by allowing the Roman armies to destroy Jerusalem. "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" speaks of the current day and age since the destruction of Jerusalem and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Upon the Crucifixion, the world changed from Law to Grace. Before, Jews had to adhere to strict laws given on the way to live. Judgment came immediately for their sins and they had to offer sacrifices to have their sins forgiven. This was the time of the Jews. Upon the Crucifixion, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and we moved on to a period of Grace. This period is when we are accountable for our sins, but are not immediately judged for them. We must wait until after death to account to the Lord our sins. From the Crucifixion on is the time of the Gentiles.

The spiritual gift of tongues was a sign to the Jews who had killed the Messiah of the judgment that was to come. After the judgment on the Jews came, the purpose of tongues was fulfilled and the tongues ceased. All of this is justified within the writings of the Early Church. Tongues were not used after Jerusalem's judgment, and they cannot be found in the Bible after Jerusalem's judgment. This means that noone has truly used the spiritual gift of tongues since 70 AD! That sure does mean a lot of people have been disobeying God since then!

"...Yes," declares the Lord," I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare ,"The Lord declares". Indeed, I am against these who prophecy false dreams," declares the Lord. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in he lease," declares the Lord."

Even though true tongues is no longer in existence, that does not stop people from doing it. What, then, is the true force behind these 'tongues'? There are only two reasons that I can come up with, each of which is equally bad.

The first lies in the fact that 'tongues' still exist today, just not only within the boundaries of the Christian religion. "Ecstatic speech" can be found in many modern religions and ethnic groups, such as in Eskimos, Muslims, Tibetan Monks(Buddhist), and those in the occult.

One may begin to see the problem of speaking in tongues in the current day and age. If this is truly a God-given gift, does this mean that God is also providing these other religions with the same gift?

"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues."

I Corinthians 12:28

This passage says that God only gave the spiritual gifts to those that were within the Church. Other religions and people were not given these gifts. Since these gifts exist today outside of the Christian church, they obviously are not the Biblical gifts that God gave his followers. The same spirit that is misleading those in false religions must also be misleading those within the Christian Church.

The second reason would be faking it. Many people, especially youth, feel pressured by others within their church to be holy. When the leaders of the church promote these unbiblical gifts as making one holy or showing that one is holy, these people will naturally try them to make themselves appear holy. There are many references out there from the Charismatic church about speaking in tongues, but it is disturbing when you come across a reference that tells you to begin speaking nonsensical syllables and to let the tongue go. It is these references that say to 'get started' and the Holy Spirit will take over. God is not the one making this happen, the person speaking is! The problem lies in the Charismatic attitude. A Charismatic will argue that no matter what you say, they KNOW what they FEEL, and nothing can change that. I'm sorry to break it to them, but God most definitely is not here to make you feel good all of the time. What you feel is emotions, not God. If Christianity were based purely on emotions, then one would lose his salvation and holiness everytime he felt that he was not saved. As I recall, salvation cannot be taken away.

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."

Jude 1:20

Many Charismatics interpret this verse to mean that praying in the Holy Spirit refers to speaking in tongues. Does that mean "walking in the Spirit" means to "walk in tongues"? Of course not. it means to walk "according to" the Holy Spirit's leading. To pray in the Spirit means, then, to pray "according to" the Holy Spirit's leading. The Holy Spirit will prompt us to pray for certain things. When we answer these prompts, we are "praying in the Spirit"

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

I Corinthians 13:1

Notice that the passage says "tongues", not "tongue". This passage does not say that angels speak in "a tongue"; rather, it says that angels speak in "many tongues". This passage, then, does not say that angels speak in a heavenly language. What is this passage really saying then? It is saying that if I were able to speak with all the tongues(languages) that a man might be able to speak with and even all the tongues that angels speak in(which may well be over a thousand!), I would just be making a lot of noise unless I had love. This verse is saying that love is far more important than speaking in tongues.

"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."

I Corinthians 14:2

"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."

I Corinthians 14:14

Charismatics often interpret this to mean that speaking in tongues is a "heavenly prayer language." As it can be seen be reading the previous passages, the tongues mentioned hear could not be languages, for no man is able to understand them. Paul is not saying tongues is a private prayer language; quite to the contrary, he is showing how futile it is to speak in a language that is UNKNOWN to the hearers! This verse has to do with edification. If someone is speaking in a language that is unknown to the hearers, how is that edifying? That person is left speaking to the only one who can understand - God. That is why Paul forbade speaking in tongues without an interpreter.

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

Romans 8:26

Charismatics often interpret this to mean that since we often don't know what to pray for, we should speak in tongues and the Holy Spirit will pray through us the very thing we need to pray for. This is not true, since the passage says that the Holy Spirit will pray FOR us, not 'through' us. Also, note the "which cannot be uttered." Since tongues are uttered, this cannot be what the verse is referring to.

Then what is this verse saying? Exactly what it says. Since we do not always know what to pray, the Holy Spirit prays FOR us. His groanings cannot be heard.

"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church."

I Corinthians 14:4

The common Charismatic interpretation of this verse is that tongues is a "heavenly prayer language" that strengthens and edifies the believer. It is interesting to note that I Corinthians 14 was written to rebuke the Corinthians for their misuse of the gifts, especially the tongues. The Corinthians were each trying to take center stage and show themselves as the most spiritual. Paul rebukes them for this and tells them that this is not edifying for others in the church.

By trying to flaunt their gifts, the Corinthians were "edifying" themselves. This verse is not a commendation, but rather a rebuke.

The Charismatics have brought in the belief that in salvation there are two baptisms: the physical baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They believe that upon becoming a Christian, you must strive to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? They believe that you do not receive the Holy Spirit upon salvation, but rather at an unspecified later date. Being baptised in the Spirit enables you spiritual. The general sign of finally becoming baptised in the Spirit is when one begins to speak in tongues. When does the Bible say you receive the Holy Spirit?

"No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."

I Corinthians 12:3

This says that noone can truly say that Jesus is their Lord except by the Holy Ghost. This removes all shadow of a doubt that anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior also has within them the Holy Ghost. Why then do Charismatics pray for the Holy Ghost when they claim to already have been saved? I say it kindly simply because the Word of God says it:

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant."

I Corinthians 12:1

First of all, they misunderstood what happened on the Day of Pentecost and when a person starts on the wrong road, if they do not turn around, it doesn't matter how far or how fast they travel, they will still be on the wrong road! The Holy Ghost is a gift from God given to every believer at salvation, not at any other time.

If the Spirit-filled believer is not to use tongues, then what shall they do?

"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:17-20

This Scripture did not say be filled with the Spirit and speak in tongues, but rather "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs".

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against the flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching whereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel."

Ephesians 6:10-19

Not once did he encourage speaking in tongues. They are not included in the equipment for spiritual soldiers. Truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer are all listed as equipment for the spiritual soldier, but tongues play no role.

Just remember:

"These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

Proverbs 6:6-19

When Paul left the Corinthian church to go on mission work, the church began to fall apart. They began becoming immoral, and outright evil. They began to bicker and try to make themselves look holier than others by "possessing spiritual gifts" that God had supposedly given them. When they wrote a letter asking if it was better to be married or single, and if it was alright to eat meat offered to another god, Paul let them have it.

I Corinthians 14 is purely a letter to the Corinthian church from Paul rebuking them for their evil ways. By reading I Corinthians 14, one can see that the misleadings of the Charismatic church today are the same that existed and caused the downfall of the Corinthian church. I must point it out that Paul did not rebuke them for not being holy and not having any spiritual gifts. Rather, he rebuked them for the MISUSE of the spiritual gifts. You see, the Corinthians had ALL of the spiritual gifts, but that did not make them holy. Simply put, spiritual gifts do not reflect spirituality! Any pastor that attempts to use Scripture from I Corinthians to support modern-day tongue speaking has little-to-no sense! Then again, it must take little sense to believe that Scripture from I Corinthians could support speaking in tongues.

It is my hope that this paper cleared up any myths within the church about the spiritual gifts. It is now plain to see now that the Charismatic church is not following God's plan as they seek ungodly things. Please keep your heart pure, and pray for those that are mislead.