A few weeks ago, I was eating lunch with a bunch of guys from my charismatic church, and we got on the subject of tongues. I brought up the fact that in the Bible, tongues were never used for evangelism. That surprised some of them.
The next day, our pastor, who rarely speaks about tongues, talked about how on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in tongues, and 3000 people were saved.
Oof.
Look in Acts. There are three examples of tongues of people talking in tongues, and not once did it directly lead to people becoming Christians. That isn’t the purpose of tongues.
Tongues are not for evangelism. They are for edification.
Let’s take a closer look.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians — we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Acts 2:1-13 (ESV)
We all agree that on the Day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. I think most people agree that the 120 mentioned in chapter one all spoke in tongues that day, though I’ve heard some say it was only the 12. I believe it was the 120.
We also agree that “devout men from every nation under heaven” were there. Okay, maybe not from “every nation,” but from “many nations.”
We agree that these devout men heard the disciples (Galileans) speaking in their native languages: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so on. There are at least 15 different languages identified here.
Here’s where the agreement starts to divide.
- Did the disciples speak in these different languages or did the people have the Holy Spirit interpret into their native languages?
- Was the Gospel message proclaimed, or not?
For the first question, I can really go either way. I can see that it was probably the disciples speaking these languages, which I think most people agree on. But let’s imagine the scene: there’s a crowd of thousands (way over 3000 people) celebrating The Giving of the Law, when suddenly they hear a commotion coming from an upper room. Do they suddenly go quiet, and listen, expecting it to be the priests reading the Law? Possibly, but doubtful. More than likely, they started asking each other, “What’s going on over there?”
Listen to what they say: “We hear (them speaking), each of us in his own native language.”
What else did they say?
Some said, “What does this mean?”
Others said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Did any of them say, “What must we do to be saved?” No.
What did they hear in their native languages? “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Awesome!
But the response wasn’t repentance. The response was amazement, perplexity, and mocking. Basically the response was what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:23: “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?”
The Gospel wasn’t preached until Peter stood up with the eleven and addressed the crowd. It was only after Peter preached a sermon that all understood that the crowd cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
So, the first time that tongues are given, they were not used to preach the Gospel.
There are only two other times when people speak in tongues in the book of Acts. First, in Acts 10 when Peter shares the Gospel at Cornelius’ house. Who spoke in tongues? Not the evangelist (or apostle). It was those who were being saved – the Gentiles.
The last occurence of tongues in the book of Acts is in chapter 19, when Paul meets some disciples at Ephesus. They had been baptized into John’s baptism (for repentance), but had not been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (vv. 3-5). Verse 6, “And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.”
In all three instances, it was the “newly saved” that were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues. Never was it the apostolic minisister or evangelist.
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul tells us exactly what tongues are for: “the one who speaks in tongues builds himself up” (v. 4). And in the church, “Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret” (v. 13). Notice, a native speaker is not needed. The one speaking in tongues may interpret his own tongues. Why? They are both spiritual gifts meant to edify, not proclaim the Gospel.
First Corinthians 14:22-23 says, “Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?”
Tongues are a sign for unbeliever, but if they hear a bunch of people speaking in tongues, they will say “that you are out of your minds.” And that’s exactly what we see in Acts 2.
Tongues are meant to build up the church (both individually and corporately). They are not meant to preach the Gospel.
“Ah!” you might say. I’ve heard or have experienced speaking in tongues and being understood by an unsaved person. Wonderful! Were they saved directly because of what they heard in tongues, or did they still need to hear a Gospel message of some sort? If they were saved directly because of what they heard, again, Awesome! Praise God!
Still, according to Scripture, that is not the purpose of tongues.
We need to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also need to speak in tongues to be better qualified to do so (but that’s another lesson).