Foundations of Faith
SPIRITUAL GIFTS (VII)
As noted previously (May99), there is disagreement whether these “sign gifts” continue to exist today. Here are some principles and rules from Scripture for any who claim to speak in tongues, particularly in the setting of the local church:
1. The tongues are real languages (Acts 2:4,6,11), not repetitious syllables like “ka-ka la-la da-da imba-imba- imba.”
2. No more than three men are to speak in tongues in a given service (1 Cor. 14:27).
3. Those who speak in tongues are to do so one at a time (verse 27).
4. They are to pause after the first sentence or two to give room for a translation or interpretation (see point 1 below concerning interpretation of tongues); if there is no interpreter, they are to be silent (verse 27).
5. They are to pray for the gift of interpretation (verse 13), in which case, if everyone in the room speaks the same language, it would be preferable to skip the tongues and go straight to the interpretation (verses 19,24).
6. The women are not to speak but rather are to keep silence in the assembly meetings (verse 34).
Those who believe they have the gift of interpretation should bear in mind the following points:
1. A message in a foreign tongue that is ten minutes long cannot be credibly interpreted in two minutes, and vice versa.
2. The word “interpretation” really means “translation” (the Greek words in Matt. 1:23, John 1:38,42, and Heb. 7:2 are the same as those in 1 Cor. 12:10,30 and 14:26-28). Thus, the interpretation should be given after every sentence or two of the message in a foreign language.
3. If the original tongues message has may repetitious syllables, words, and phrases, the interpretation should include the same kinds of repetition.
More will be written about speaking in tongues, in connection with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in the next issue of GROWING. Even though the original gifts of tongues and interpretation may no longer be present in the Church today, let us consider possible present-day applications of these gifts.
The gift of tongues was given, in part, to bridge communication barriers, as was evident on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Today, by studying foreign languages, we can prepare for the possibility of being led into foreign missionary work. Even if we all speak the same language, there may be cultural, social, economic, and educational barriers to be bridged in an assembly. Suppose there are blacks, whites, and Hispanics in an assembly; doctors and third grade dropouts; teenagers and senior citizens; relatives of mine and non-relatives. These diverse groups, even though every one is a born-again Christian, may tend to form little groups or cliques. So the Lord may raise up someone with the gift and ability to bridge the communication and fellowship gaps among these different groups.
A modified form of the gift of interpretation is sometimes helpful even when there is no speaking in tongues. I refer to an area of ministry in which one may not be specifically gifted as a teacher but is gifted in understanding teaching ministry and making it more plain to others. For example, a teacher may present a complex explanation of a particular doctrine. A listener who understands what has been taught, but who senses that it might have gone over the heads of simpler souls, may give some simple examples and illustrations to aid others in the understanding of that doctrine.
Running the Race
SERVING THE LORD (IV)
Here are some examples from the Bible of serving the Lord in evangelizing or giving the good news of God’s salvation to others.
1. Peter, Paul, Stephen, and Philip preached to both large crowds and small groups of people, including leaders and common citizens, Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles, both at home and abroad (Acts 2-28).
2. Paul and Silas gave a good testimony in jail, praying and singing hymns of praise to God, resulting in the jailer coming to them and asking how to be saved (Acts 16:25-30). (See Assignment 9)
Most of us do not have the gift of evangelist; yet, as the apostle Paul instructed Timothy, we are all to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). Here are some suggested ways in which our readers might do the work of an evangelist:
1. Pray for the Lord to give wisdom and opportunities.
2. Obtain gospel tracts that present the gospel clearly and that are appropriate for your purposes. (Sample packets of tracts may be obtained from Christian Literature, P.O. Box 1052, Anoka, MN 55303; Moments With The Book, P.O. Box 322, Bedford, PA 15522; or your local Christian book store.)
3. Enclose gospel tracts in birthday, get well, sympathy, and other greeting cards to your friends and neighbors.
4. Hand out tracts on a street corner; put tracts under the windshield wipers of parked automobiles.
5. Mail out appropriate tracts to the bereaved (from newspaper death notices), survivors of accidents (from newspaper reports), taverns, abortion clinics, or to all the persons listed in your local community telephone directory.
6. Go door to door with gospel tracts and/or invitations to the assembly gospel meeting.
7. Hold Bible classes after school or Vacation Bible School in your home for the neighborhood children.
8. Start up a Bible study at work or school.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Six of our readers completed all 27 (15 regular plus 12 review) assignments for 1998, and all had scores over 93%. Drew Johnson and Daniel Kasper, both of Pennsylvania, led the way with scores of 98.9% for the year. Others included Kate Kauffman (Pennsylvania), John Hope (Virginia), Dickson Wanga (Kenya), and Lori Spielman (Pennsylvania). Ojukwu Jonah and Gabriel Ofagbe (Nigeria) completed 25 and 23 assignments, respectively. Joseph Amusak (Nigeria) completed all of the 1994 and 1995 assignments.
Assignment 9: (a) Write out verses in 2 Kings 5 that describe three different persons or groups of persons who helped Naaman to be healed of his leprosy. (b) Who were the different people that God used to bring you to the Lord?