True or False: Tongues and Prophecy?

Testing the Charismatic Movement by Scripture

August 29, 2004

The nature of God’s self-revelation

• God will never contradict himself (Rom 3:4; Titus 1:2; John 14:6; 1 John 5:6; John 17:17).
• God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (2 Pet 1:3).
• The Bible is complete, and we need nothing more for salvation or sanctification (2 Tim
3:15–17).

Scriptural conditions for prophecy

• Someone speaking on God’s behalf is laying claim to be absolutely truthful. God is a God of
truth, who does not lie. Therefore, God’s revelation is coherent and never self-contradicting
(1 Cor 12:3).
• Someone who claims to speak God’s prophecy is guaranteeing it will come to pass. If it does
not come true, it is a false prophecy (Deut 18:20–22). A false prophet was condemned to
death under the Law for presuming to speak for God.

Scriptural conditions for tongues

• All Christians do not speak in tongues (1 Cor 12:30).
• The use of tongues must be to build up the Body of Christ (1 Cor 14:5, 12, 17).
• Tongues should never be spoken without an interpreter (1 Cor 14:13, 28).
• There are only to be two or three people speaking in tongues in a service (1 Cor 14:27).
• The use of tongues must be orderly, not chaotic (1 Cor 14:30–33, 40).
• Women may not speak in tongues (1 Cor 14:34–35).

If they are not from God, where do these things come from?
• Many so-called miracles, signs, or wonders are the work of charlatans and tricksters (Rom
16:18; 2 Cor 4:2; Titus 1:10).
• Self-deception is a definite possibility (2 Tim 3:13; Jer 17:7; Gal 6:3).
• The Devil is able to counterfeit the works of God. He is very powerful and can do amazing
things (cf. 2 Cor 11:13–15; Exod 7:10–12; Matt 7:22–23; 2 Thess 2:9).

Three important points to remember

1. God’s self-revelation in the Bible is sufficient for the believer (2 Tim 3:14–17).
2. The Bible clearly teaches the universality of Spirit baptism (1 Cor 12:13).
3. We ought to beware of anything that attempts to bypass the mind (Matt 22:37; Acts 17:11;
Rom 12:2; 15:6; 1 Pet 3:8).