About Jesus Steve Sweetman
Acts
Two And Tongues
Those
who don’t believe that speaking or praying in tongues is for today say that
the only kind of tongues they could possibly accept today is the tongues that is
seen in Acts 2. They say the Acts 2
tongues is actually preaching the gospel to the non-Christian in a language that
was understood to the listeners. They
thus say that any use of tongues in any other way, example, in a meeting of the
saints, is not real tongues.
I’d
like to differ with this opinion. If
you notice in Acts 2:11, those who heard the disciples speaking in tongues heard
them speak in their own language. What
they heard in their own language was the disciples “declaring the wonders of
God”. I’m not convinced that
“declaring the wonders of God” is the same as preaching the gospel.
As a matter of fact, I tend to believe it isn’t.
If they were actually preaching the gospel to these foreigners, I believe
Luke would have said so by wording what he said differently.
Speaking
in tongues is associated with praying in tongues by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.
In 1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul says that speaking in tongues is actually
“speaking to God’. If you are
speaking to God, then you are not preaching the gospel to men. You are
proclaiming the wonders of God to God.
Thus
the argument that tongues aren’t for today, and if they were, it’s only to
preach the gospel to others that don’t understand your language makes no
sense. We have no record of anyone
preaching the gospel in tongues in the New Testament.
In
conclusion, I don’t believe the Acts 2 tongues was the preaching of the
gospel. It was what Luke said it
was, and that is the proclaiming the wonders of God, and their words were
directed to God, not to men. Such
words might be, “you are great O Lord, the creator of all things, the one who
has redeemed us…”.