Walk With Me
Christian discussion of biblical topics, and a dose of daily application. Yes the Bible is still relevant, and we find out more and more each day how relevant it has always been.
Walk With Me
Speaking in Tongues: Key to Salvation or Misunderstood Tradition?
Hello everybody and welcome to today's episode of Walk With Me. I am your host, jj. It's so good to have each and every one of you here. Thank you all for taking a moment to listen to this podcast. There's so many podcasts out there. You could be listening to any of them, but you've taken a moment to listen to this one and I really do appreciate it. Thank you all to my sponsors, drew Bars, lyricists with the intro and outro, exquisite Creations, and to Iron Gate Ministries. That's a new venture we've launched, so you will see. If you follow the podcast on like YouTube, you'll see like visual sermons and stuff like that. But I'm just waiting to see what else God has in store for us. I do appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you all so much.
Speaker 1:Um, one other thing before we get started. Uh, if you have any questions or comments, you can either leave them on the youtube page or you can email me, especially questions, especially questions, because a lot of people prefer to have their questions private. Um, and that's fine, and what I do is I just answer the questions, but if it's a long, drawn out sort of an answer, I will. I can use them here on this podcast on this show. If you do want your name to be acknowledged on the question, just put your name in the subject line. In the subject line, that way I know to say hey, jim, this question is, this is your question and I'm answering. If not, I'm going to naturally assume that, that you would prefer to remain anonymous and that's just fine, because I, even though a lot of people have questions about the Bible, know a lot of people have questions about the Bible, about the Word of God. They prefer, they sort of take it, you know, like a personal, private matter and that's absolutely okay. It is absolutely okay. As a matter of fact, my first time in the church I got born again and I had a question and I've seen this same question several times come across in this podcast. So it just sort of confirms a lot of people do have questions and today we are going to answer a question and, like most biblical questions, it seems like a simple answer, but it's not and this is why I decided we're going to use this question for today's episode.
Speaker 1:The question is do I have to speak in tongues to be saved? Do I have to speak in tongues? Basically, that was the entire question Do I have to speak in tongues? Now let's have something here. We have to go over one of the rules of the podcast.
Speaker 1:The rule of the podcast is, when we go over a scripture, you want to read a verse or two above or a verse or two below, but preferably the whole chapter because context is key. With that in mind and I want to get right into it, because, while this may seem like a very simple yes or no answer, it is absolutely not a yes or no answer, and I'll explain what I mean the simple answer is yes, speaking in tongues is necessary. But the problem is is that when you say speaking in tongues is necessary, people get the wrong idea and start chasing tongues and start making up tongues, and this leads to kind of a weird scenario where they think they're speaking in tongues but they're really just uttering gibberish. And once you get the Holy Ghost, you can kind of tell when someone is kind of gibberish. So let's go back and really dig into why the yes is the correct answer. So first thing we're going to do is we're going to take the words of Jesus and we're going to go to John 3 and 3 and 3 and 5. And three and three and five, now just the.
Speaker 1:The scenario of this situation was when jesus was talking to nicodemus and nicodemus was basically trying to ask a question of jesus without asking the question, and that generally tends to end up not going very well, because jesus already knew the question that he was trying to ask. So before Nicodemus even got into the question, jesus just cut him off and answered the question and John 3 and 3 said Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So the whole idea of getting to heaven is being born again. Okay, not being born, not speaking in to heaven, is being born again. Okay, not being born, not speaking in tongues, but being born again. Please stay with me for the answer. You've got to stay all the way through because I know I just it's seemingly like I just contradicted myself, but you've got to stay through to the end.
Speaker 1:So Nicodemus came back with how does a man get born again? Because it doesn't make any sense. Jesus said except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. And there's the key right there being born of the spirit. So how does one become born of the spirit.
Speaker 1:Well, first off, we got to even talk about how it was even talked about in the Bible, about what being born of the Spirit is. And in the Bible, in Joel 2 and 28,. It shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. There's that again being born of the Spirit. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. So you say, oh, okay, so that's going to be a sign of the spirit being born out. Now then, when you go to the other reference and that's going to be in Isaiah 28, 11, for with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to his people so this is still in the Old Testament, prophesying about what's going to happen when people get the Holy Ghost or get born of the Spirit. And, just as an aside, being born of the water means being baptized in Jesus' name. And we're going to get there. But I just don't want to get ahead of myself because this is important.
Speaker 1:So, that being said, that being said, jesus then spoke to Peter and when he told Peter exactly what he was doing and what was going to happen, he told Peter that, in Matthew 16 and 18,. And I say unto thee that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against me and I will give to you, given the keys. Given this to peter, I give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever shall you bind and earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall lose shall be loosed in heaven. Now, why did Whatsoever you shall loose shall be loosed in heaven. Now, why did Jesus do that? Because he knew that Peter was going to be a no-nonsense type of guy. And we see all through the scriptures that Peter was really a no-nonsense type of guy and he wasn't as old as we would like to think. You know, we've seen in movies where they kind of depict Peter as, like this, 40-year-old guy. And no, I'm starting to believe that Peter had to be somewhere in his late teens, and we'll talk about that maybe on a different podcast. But I'm starting to believe that Peter had to be somewhere around maybe 15, 16 years old. So this is a huge bit of responsibility to lay on a kid. But Jesus knew Peter's heart. So when Peter Peter got those keys and it took a while for Peter to really sort of get into what having those keys meant.
Speaker 1:Peter, all of a sudden and this happened in the day of Pentecost, and this was the everything finally came full circle. And if you read the book of Pentecost and it starts off with, they were all in one place, one accord, and suddenly they became from a sound from heaven, as a rushing mighty wind, and it fell upon the house, fell upon the house where they were sitting this is actually Acts, chapter two and they appear unto them cloven tongues as a fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them the utterance. Now here's where we first start seeing that someone actually spoke in other tongues, and this is in the New Testament. Before then they didn't. They were prophesied about it, but they didn't really do that, especially, especially on a large-scale basis, a widespread basis. You know what I'm saying? So it was more like Jesus was giving Peter an opportunity to fully come into the truth that he was actually going to give to Peter. So Peter's dead in there.
Speaker 1:And then he went into about a 34 minute, 34 verse sermon. It wasn't very short, it wasn't very long at all. Well, basically, because everybody started mocking them. These people are saying, hey, they're drunk and they're just making up words and there's something's wrong with them. They're crazy. And Peter said no, these, this is what was spoken of by the prophet joel, what we just read it. I read about june 28. And then he said but you guys crucified the guy that joel was prophesying about, and everybody got convicted.
Speaker 1:And when they got convicted, they said well, what do we do now? Here's where the most important, the, the most important thing that was said in the New Testament well, outside of the gospel, this was the most important thing that was ever said in the New Testament, between the book of Acts and the book of Revelation. And I say this because this is the key to being born of the water and of the spirit. This is actually that being explained because Jesus had told Peter to say Acts 2 and 38. Peter said unto them repent. Here's where you are dying out to your previous sins, you're dying out to your old. You Be baptized, each and every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins can be washed away and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So you have a death bit there, you have a burial and baptism and you have resurrection and receiving the Holy Ghost. Now, each and every time, each and every time that they followed that formula, that they followed that formula.
Speaker 1:Now, it didn't necessarily have to be in that order, because there's a situation in Acts where Peter came across people who had already repented but didn't even know that there was such a thing as the Holy Ghost. This was in Acts, chapter 10, and we're going to start at about 44, because Peter's preaching yet again, and while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them, which heard the word, and they of the circumcision, which means those that were Jews which believed, were astonished. Which the people who were actually Christians already, who were Jews but are not Christians, were surprised. Why? Because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, how did they know that they had the Holy Ghost? Because it's a spiritual thing. You can't really see it. Let's be honest, you can't really see it. It's not like painting a red dot on your ear or something. See it. It's not like painting a red dot on your ear or something.
Speaker 1:But the next verse was the telltale sign that they had the Holy Ghost Acts, chapter 10, verse 46. For they heard him speak with tongues and magnify God. Now, here's why I said it doesn't have to be in necessarily order, because the very next verse shows that it happens, quote-unquote, out of order. It happened. It didn't repent first and then get baptized and then get the Holy Ghost. It can happen in any order that God sees fit. So Peter said Can any man forbid water? That these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we have. In other words, they had the same experience as we did back in Acts, chapter 2. So they got baptized in Jesus' name and then in Acts 19 and 2, they had basically the same problem Well, not problem, it's more like the same situation.
Speaker 1:And it came to pass. And this is 1901 we're starting at. And it came to pass while Apollos was at Corinth, all, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples Well, certain disciples means disciples of Jesus Christ and he said unto them have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said we don't even know anything about a Holy Ghost. So 19 and 3 says Well, how were you baptized? Now, they had already believed all the words of Jesus Christ. They were already gathering together in a church-like setting and they were baptized under John's baptism, and they said so in verse 3. And he said sorry, in verse 3. And he said unto them how then were you baptized? They said Unto John's baptism.
Speaker 1:And then Peter explains the difference between John's baptism and the Jesus baptism, which sort of tells us that there's a right and a wrong way to be baptized. Let's read this very carefully. Then said Paul right, john verily baptized with the baptism of repentance. So they had already repented, saying unto the people that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. And then when they heard that by they they mean the disciples they had heard that they were baptized in Jesus' name, in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them. And how did they know? Because they speak tongues and prophesy. So these are like like 12 guys.
Speaker 1:Now here's the thing, and here's why the answer is sometimes simple. Answer is sometimes wrong, because you need the holy ghost to get to heaven, that there's no way around that. I mean I, I know what some of us were taught. I know what I was taught. I was was basically you know, hey, just accept the Lord as your first and savior. Pray the sinner's prayer, you know, do this formula every so often if you sin and believe it or not. These things, while not being completely wrong, they are incomplete and being incomplete is a very dangerous situation when it comes to God. So I'm saying the Bible is saying that when you get the Holy Ghost, you will speak in tongues, but people can speak with tongues and not have the Holy Ghost. I mean I don't want to say it. Well, you know what Sometimes you'll have to. You have to just be blunt about it, like this isn't some Hoka Masai, tie-my-tie, bye-bye-bye.
Speaker 1:This is a real plugging into the Holy Spirit, the spiritual realm, the godly realm. It sort of seems scary to people who have never done it before and it may seem strange. It may even feel off-putting to you, and that's okay until the first time it really happens to you. And I'll never forget the first night I got the Holy Spirit and that was, oh my gosh, that was got to be at least 30 years ago, that when I first was praying, and I was praying specifically for the Holy Ghost, because I really wanted the Holy Ghost and I got to a point where I couldn't really speak the way I wanted to and it was kind of weird to say like that I didn't remember when I first faked it, I don't remember that part, just sort of everything sort of whited out.
Speaker 1:But after that, after that initial baptism, you can, but it's it's more along the lines of kind of plugging in, and I mean that really plugging in, imagine almost like sticking your finger in the logic. You know you will feel it, you will absolutely feel it, and once you get the holy, you can kind of tell when people are just baking, which is a very sad thing. And this is why I don't just I didn't just email you back and say, yeah, you need to speak in tongues to be saved, because speaking in tongues doesn't save you. Having the Holy Ghost saves you. And speaking in tongues is the symptom of having the Holy Ghost and, believe it or not, that's just the first symptom of having the Holy Ghost, because you have so many symptoms that come after that the desire for holiness and the desire for to be in the presence of God and the desire to just live right. That's really an oversimplification of it because of the show, when you get the Holy Ghost, your life does change.
Speaker 1:Even, yeah, and I've seen people who have gotten the Holy Ghost and backslide. I backslid, and I'm just being honest with you guys, I backslid for about I don't know about 10 years, maybe, yeah, probably about 10 years. But there was always something in there. There was always something in my spirit, in my heart, that was drawing me back to God. But wouldn't, let me settle for incomplete salvation, wouldn't let me just go along and get along. There's always something there that just sort of pulling me to a deeper relationship.
Speaker 1:So, and I used to be really harsh on some of the other salvation doctrines that we've heard. Some of them I've already gone over. I used to be real harsh to them. But then I'm realizing that, you know, people are just going by what they're taught, and even those formulas can be a stepping stone to a deeper relationship with God. And the only way to do that is by going by the Bible. And the Bible says how do they know without a preacher and how does a preacher get sent? You know what I'm saying. So it's one of those things that we have to make sure that we are. We keep an open spirit. I'm not going to say open mind, because being saved is not about what you know, it's about what you love. You know what. That was the best thing ever. It's about what you love. Do you love God or do you love church? That's a completely different aspect.
Speaker 1:I was sitting in a particular situation some time ago in the recent past where it seemed like everything was all ritualistic and it was all a big show and and it was and and you could tell that people were feeling god. They were feeling god but not actually in touch with god, and that's a very sad situation, because I remember my very first touch of God actually came in high school and I came home I said, oh my God, ma, I think I felt God tonight and I was like I was singing with the gospel choir and I felt a touch of God. But then that touch wears off. It's kind of like putting on cologne. You smell good for a while and everybody says, oh, you smell good, and they give you all kinds of nice compliments, but then, unless you keep reapplying the cologne, you go back to smelling the way you were smelling already before you put the cologne on. That's exactly what happened to my behavior.
Speaker 1:I went back to being the same person I was, and then I finally got the Holy Ghost. I finally got it inside of me, rather than a coating of it, and my life changed. I changed, and one of the first things I noticed and I'll just share this with you guys before we end is that the first thing I noticed was that I didn't curse and I'm talking about somebody who used to have a mouth like a sailor and I was in the army and so we invented curse words. We invented curse word parties, and not only that the way you talk to people, the way you interact with people, just changes. And that was the very first thing I noticed.
Speaker 1:And then, you know, I wanted to make sure that this was really what it was, so I kind of doubted it, and I think everybody who gets it I don't know if they're going to be honest with themselves at the moment, but when you first get it, you kind of doubt that you got it, because there's been so many. You probably run across so many fakes. You run across so many incomplete salvations. You probably had a touch of god before, like I did. But then when you, when you finally realize that now this thing is permanent, this thing is real, this thing is inside you, it's a whole different ball of wax.
Speaker 1:So, yes, speaking in tongues Is a symptom of being, of having the Holy Ghost. You need the Holy Ghost to be saved. So a severe oversimplification Of the answer Would be yes, you need to speak in tongues In order to be saved. But I caution you. I caution you against tongue chasing, because it is a very prevalent thing in the Christian community where we tongue chase. People speak and they do their thing with their tongues and make up syllables, but you can tell that their lives aren't different, their minds aren't different, their minds aren't different, their hearts aren't different and certain things happen. So, yes, seek the Holy Ghost, pray for the Holy Ghost, repent of your sins, get baptized in Jesus' name and get the Holy Ghost, and then you will speak the tongues and the tongues will be genuine. So I hope this helps.
Speaker 1:I hope, if you have any further follow-up questions, make sure you email me. Anybody else listening to this have any other follow-up questions? Be sure to email me. Trust me, I love questions. I will put whatever show we have on hold and answer questions. I love answering questions. If you have any other questions, walk with me Bible study gmailcom. Walk with me Bible study gmailcom. I got to get out of here. I love each and every one of you and I hope you tell someone else that you see today that God loves them, because he does. He literally came down and died for us so that we can experience this little slice of heaven while I'm here. Right, god bless you all. Talk to you soon.