Angela...I say the following respectfully and it really needs to be understood
NO ONE has said that if you do not speak in tongues you are not saved
That has been the accusation from those who say tongues are not for today...it has been repeated over and over by some in these forums and has been refuted over and over as well.
It is my understanding that someone did actually come along and say that...but in a different thread and if I remember correctly, they were eventually banned...they were certainly refuted...not by myself because I did not respond much in that thread
I have said a good number of times that you do not have to speak in tongues to be saved and have posted this verse:
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, Eph1:13
more than once and I believe it might be in this thread also
why is it that certain people can go about saying how hurt they were while stating I or someone else said something we never actually even said?
I'll tell you right now...when I read this:
it hurts me. I want to say to you...how can you say such things? you renounced tongues...well that was YOUR choice...another poster comes right out and states tongues is a demon spirit speaking through us...
you have one experience...I and many others have another. Trashing what we believe is true is not the way to go
I know full well that some churches are not following the biblical injunctions for tongues, but that is neither God's fault nor is it the fault of any save those who do such things
Reading your post, and not trying to insult you, it seems you have thrown things out because of what others do
well, we can only believe what we can accept...I doubt you or I would have accepted all that Paul was taught by the Holy Spirit and we probably would not have liked to live that life of faith either
What I am really finding troublesome is the contined line that we think you have to speak in tongues to be saved...that seems to be a major defense for some reason...it seems no matter how often we declare otherwise, we are still told that is what we say
not much a person can do but just repeat themself as I have done here
well, the Bible never says you are special if you speak in tongues...this was a lie you believed...that does not turn my experience or someone elses' experience sour
we should not judge truth by personal experience...we can testify or not...but for me, the Bible is plain on the subject of tongues
hope you understand this is not to castigate or hurt you in any way, but there are two sides and really, we are not saying and have not said you must speak in tongues
when I refer to the Holy Spirit with regards to the gifts, it seems clear to me that God gives those gifts to whom He chooses...many people will call themselves this or that or claim to be a teacher or pastor or whatever..but truthfully, if you refuse the gifts and say they are not for today or perhaps just some are, what are you really saying?
you may be saved, but you are not experiencing what God has for those who accept His gifts
this does not mean speaking in tongues either, because there are different gifts of course...but how can a person mock one and hate one and fight with those who say otherwise and then claim to love everyone?
You can reach your own cconclusions....my conscience is clear because I have not said what seems to be the big hue and cry
I was going to PM you and say, "Not talking about you, Ember!" You have always been kind and gentle about your "experiences" and even though I do not agree with tongues, I do not condemn you, because you are open and honest.
BUT, there are people on this thread, who if they have not said it, they have implied that people who do not speak in tongues are "second class" Christians. That we NEED the tongues to be joyful, fulfilled, walking with God, etc. Those are the people I take issue with. Because my whole walk with Jesus has been the power of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding me. So I guess that makes me a third class Christian because I renounced tongues?
I renounced tongues because I knew in my heart I had been lying and pretending before God. For me, it held me back in walking with God. How can you follow the Holy Spirit if you are lying to God? I knew I had been. And the more I learned, the more I realized most people that I had gone to church with were also lying to God.
I do know of one incident, where a Pentecostal speaker at a Christian banquet spoke 4 words he didn't understand. He did not babble, just 4 distinct, unknown words. At the end of the banquet, a man ran up from the back, with a napkin in his hand. He said to the speaker "Why didn't you say you spoke Armenian?" The speaker, of course, did not speak Armenian, but as the man read the 4 words, he was absolutely stunned at God's working! The 4 words said "Jesus Christ is Lord."
He led the man to the Lord, then made repeated trips to visit the man and his family, and 27 people were saved!
That is the real meaning of tongues! That people would hear the gospel in their own tongue and be saved. And that was the turning point, when I realized what I was doing wasn't the Biblical model at all. I have heard other stories like this, but this is the only one where I knew the speaker for years, and yes, I saw the 4 words on that napkin.
So sorry for not contacting you earlier, Ember!