The Plain Truth about Tongues & Healing
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Copyright © 1998 James L. Melton
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The Pentecostals, the Church of God, and the Assemblies of God have been the traditional standard bearers of Charismatic doctrine, although their teachings are also promoted by various groups such as “Full Gospel” churches and “Praise and Worship Centers”. These groups do differ in some practices and beliefs, but their basic doctrines concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit are the same, and are false.
It is important for the Bible believer to know and remember that there were NO CHARISMATIC GROUPS AROUND BEFORE 1900. The whole mess began in the year 1900 when Charles F. Parham established the Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas. He taught his students that speaking in tongues was the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. On January 1, 1901, Agnes Ozman, a student at BBC, spoke in tongues. From that day forth, Pentecostal groups have taught that speaking in tongues is the “evidence” of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In 1906, W. J. Seymour, a student of Parham’s, began holding meetings at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Regular meetings were held here for three years, and it was from here that the movement spread across America with the establishment of churches and denominations.
The principle errors found within the Charismatic movement have to do with tongues, healing, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Please note the following scriptural facts about these subjects:
1. The Jews, as a nation, began with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8, 9, 17, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23; 10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22).
2. The Old Testament Jews lived by signs (Deu. 11:18; Jos. 4:6; 1 Sam. 10:7; 2 Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22; Ezk. 4:3; 20:12, 20).
3. The Jews demanded signs from the Lord Jesus Christ (Mat. 12:38; 16:1-4; 24:3; Jhn. 2:18; 6:30).
4. The Jews require a sign, not the Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:22; Jhn. 4:48).
5. According to the Lord Jesus Christ, the gifts of tongues and healing are signs (Mar. 16:16-20).
6. These signs were for the purpose of confirming the word of God (Acts 14:3; Heb. 2:3-4).
7. These signs are spoken of in the past tense in 2 Corinthians 12:12 and in Hebrews 2:3-4, not in the present or future tense.
8. Those who still look for signs and wonders today are on dangerous ground for the Antichrist will deceive the world with signs and wonders (Rev. 13:13-14; 2 Ths. 2:8-12).
9. The Lord Jesus Christ said that an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (Mat. 12:39).
10. The Bible speaks of various spiritual gifts to believers, but tongues and healing are never emphasized more than the other gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-11).
11. The gifts of tongues and healing were not considered the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:28-31).
12. The gift of healing was a sign (Mar. 16:17-18; Exo. 4:6-8; 2 Kgs. 20:8-9).
13. It is not God's will for all Christians to be healed (2 Cor. 12:5-10).
14. The apostle Paul could not heal himself (2 Cor. 12:5-10).
15. Near the end of his ministry, Paul could not heal Trophimus (2 Tim. 4:20).
16. Instead of healing Timothy, Paul gave him medical advice (1 Tim. 5:23).
17. Contrary to the modern faith healers, "love gifts" and "faith offerings" were not a part of the healing ministries of the disciples (Mat. 10:8-9).
18. A Christian who hasn't confessed his sins and repented of them has no business expecting God to heal him of anything (Psa. 6:1-4; 41:4; 2 Chr. 7:14; Hos. 5:10-13; 1 Cor. 11:29-32; Jas. 5:14-16; 1 Jhn. 1:7-10).
19. If modern faith healers really have the gift of healing, then they should prove their ministry by visiting hospitals and nursing homes and healing the sick, rather than writing books, holding healing meetings, and begging for money on television (2 Tim. 4:5; Mat. 10:8-16; 1 Tim. 6:5-10).
20. Satan has the power to heal and this will cause millions to be led astray in the coming Tribulation Period (Rev. 13:1-4, 12).
21. The gift of tongues was given as a sign (Mar. 16:17; 1 Cor. 14:22).
22. The gift of tongues was the supernatural ability of some Christians to speak in foreign languages in the presence of unbelieving Jews (Acts 2:7-11).
23. God has never caused or commanded Christians to speak in unknown tongues (Mar. 16:17; Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Cor. 14).
24. The Bible never says once that tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
25. There is no baptism of the Holy Ghost in 1 Corinthians 14.
26. Paul said that all true Christians were baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 12:13), and all true Christians were sealed with the Holy Ghost until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), but all Christians did not speak in tongues (1 Cor. 12:29-31).
27. The Bible never says that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a second Christian experience or blessing.
28. The baptism of fire is the condemnation of the wicked in Hell (Mat. 3:11-12), not being "on fire for the Lord."
29. Acts 2:3 speaks of "cloven tongues LIKE AS of fire," but the Book of Acts says nothing at all about tongues of fire or a baptism of fire.
30. If a person does not have the spirit of Christ, he has no business waiting for the baptism of the Holy Ghost, because he doesn't even belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9).
31. Pentecost was never a religious movement, or a religious experience. It was a Jewish feast day which always occurred fifty days after the Passover (Lev. 23:15-22 ).
32. Jesus said that when the Holy Ghost came He (the Holy Ghost) would not speak of Himself, because He would glorify Christ (Jhn. 16:13-14).
33. No Christian in the Bible is ever told to pray, preach, sing, or praise God in tongues.
34. The disciples received the Holy Ghost in John 20:22, but they did not speak in tongues when this happened.
35. The filling of the Spirit in Acts 4:31 and Eph. 5:18-20 does not include speaking in tongues.
36. When speaking of spiritual gifts in Ephesians 4:8-12, Paul does not mention tongues.
37. There were only three cases in the Book of Acts where people spoke in tongues (not unknown tongues), and these tongues were a sign to the Jews each time, because the Jews require a sign (Acts 2:1-11; 10:44-46; 19:6-8; 1 Cor. 1:22; 14:22).
38. The former and latter rain of Joel 2 has nothing to do with Acts 2 or the modern-day Charismatic Movement, because the rain of Joel 2 is literal wet rain from the sky in Israel (Joel 2:1-31).
39. Tongues are not even mentioned in the list of spiritual gifts in Romans 12:6-8.
40. Although tongues (not unknown tongues) were permitted in 1 Corinthians 14 (because there was a Jewish synagogue in Corinth - Acts 18:1-4), they were not encouraged because tongues did not edify the church (1 Cor. 14:4-5, 26). 41. It is better to speak five words clearly than ten thousand with an unknown tongue (1 Cor. 14:19).
42. No more than three people were allowed to speak in tongues in the church assembly, and then only one could speak at a time (1 Cor. 14:27).
43. No one was permitted to speak in tongues in the church without an interpreter (1 Cor. 14:27-28).
44. Women were not allowed to speak in tongues in the church (1 Cor. 14:34-35).
45. Those who did speak in tongues (foreign languages) had power over their own spirit (1 Cor. 14:32).
46. A religious man who doesn't bridle his tongue is deceived and he has a vain religion (Jas. 1:26).
47. Many "seducing spirits" are in the world and it is every Christian's duty to "try" these spirits (1 Tim. 4:1; I Jhn. 4:1; Rev. 2:2).
48. The word of God is the standard by which we are to judge all doctrines (Isa. 8:20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
49. He that is spiritual judges all things (1 Cor. 2:15).
50. Teaching the Scriptural Truth about signs, healing, and tongues is not a matter of being mean, prejudiced, or intolerant. It is simply a matter of obeying the command to RIGHTLY DIVIDE God's word (2 Tim. 2:15).
You Can Be Saved Right Now!
Jesus Christ came into this world to lay down His sinless life for YOU--to pay for your sins, because you couldn't. Jesus is your only hope for salvation. Only by receiving Him as your Saviour can you enter the gates of Heaven. There is no other way.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6)
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
The Lord Jesus Christ has come and PAID for your sins by shedding His own Blood on Calvary. By receiving Him as your Saviour, you can be WASHED from all your sins in His precious Blood (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14; Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19). Notice these important words from Romans 5:8-9:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Jesus PAID your way to Heaven for you! By receiving Him as your Saviour, you will be receiving God's ONLY means of Salvation for you. Are you willing to forsake YOUR righteousness and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your ONLY HOPE for Salvation? Romans 10:13 says, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Are you willing to forsake your own righteousness, and trust Jesus Christ alone? He will save you just as He promised. Why not receive Him today and trust Him to give you a better way of life?
For more information about salvation, please send for your free copy of Understanding God's Salvation Plan.
Apostolic Signs & Wonders
Pocket Size Tract—Tri-fold
Copyright © 1997 James L. Melton
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In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Because of their inability and refusal to rightly divide the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15), the Charismatics operate under the false assumption that these signs are still in effect today and that it is THEIR duty to fulfill them. This is why we have charlatans like Oral Roberts and Jim Baker living in mansions and begging people for money.
In their haste to make a dollar, the Charismatics consistently ignore the fact that Jesus said these were SIGNS, and that I Corinthians 1:22 tells us that SIGNS are for the JEWS. Israel began with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8 ,9, 17, 23, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23; 10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22), lived by signs (Deu. 11:18; Jos. 4:6; I Sam. 10:7; II Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22; Eze. 4:3; 20:12, 20), and demanded signs from Christ (Mat. 12:38; 24:3). There is more scripture to support the doctrine of signs being for Israel than there is to support the Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of Scripture combined! Anyone who ignores this truth is absolutely unqualified to teach, preach, or write anything about the Apostolic Signs. If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the signs were used to CONFIRM the word of God, and you will also see that the signs are spoken of in the PAST TENSE. They are also spoken of in the past tense in II Corinthians 12:12. Those who insist that we should practice the signs today because they were practiced throughout the New Testament haven't been reading (or believing) their Bible. They were not practiced throughout the New Testament. In fact, Paul left Trophimus SICK at Miletum (II Tim. 4:20); he gave Timothy medical advice instead of healing him (I Tim. 5:23), and he had infirmities of his own from which he could not be healed (II Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Now why all this sickness if the Apostolic Signs were still in effect? Answer: They WEREN'T still in effect, because they were only needed in the early ministry of the Apostles for the purpose of confirming the truth to Israel.
Now we firmly believe that God can still work miracles and heal anyone He chooses, and we believe that the prayers of God's people can move Him to work miracles, but let's not confuse answered prayers with Apostolic Signs, because there's a vast difference. We believe in healing; we just don't believe in healers.
You say, "Well what about speaking in unknown tongues through the Holy Ghost? Do you deny that people today speak in unknown tongues?" No, of course not. People have spoken in unknown tongues for thousands of years. Ever read Genesis 11? Was that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? When the Church of Satan speaks in unknown tongues (which they do), is that a work of the Holy Ghost? When a psychologist can have you blubbering in unknown tongues within fifteen minutes, is that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? You see, too many people have the idea that if something is highly abnormal or miraculous that it MUST be of God. The coming Antichrist will have a field day with such feeble minded people, because HE will work such "signs and lying wonders" that the entire world will follow after him (II Ths. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:13-14).
Nowhere in the New Testament did God command anyone to speak with unknown tongues. We do read about "new tongues" (Mar. 16:17), "other tongues" (Acts 2:4) and "divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10), but these are all FOREIGN LANGUAGES, not senseless gibberish! There are no unknown tongues in Acts 2, and there is no baptism of the Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 14. Instead of rightly dividing the word of truth, the careless Charismatics wrest the scriptures to their own destruction by ignoring the set divisions and doctrines that the Holy Spirit has inspired in the scriptures. The Apostolic Signs are not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God to the unbelieving Jews in the first century. The Bible warns us to beware of anyone who professes to practice these signs today (II Cor. 11:13-15; Mat. 7:15; 24:11; I Tim. 4:1-2), and the Lord commends the church at Ephesus for trying out some professing apostles and finding them to be LIARS (Rev. 2:2).
Friend, don't allow yourself to be led astray by these wolves in sheep clothing. If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, we urge you to do so right now. Turn from your sins and trust Christ alone to save you.
Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." All men are sinners and need to be cleansed from sin (Rom. 3:23), and that cleansing can only come through the precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14).
Consider Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Your only way to Heaven is through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins (Luke 13:3) and trust Jesus Christ alone. Claim His promises and trust Him to save you while there's still time. Romans 10:13 says, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Why not turn to Him right now? Tomorrow could be too late.
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