Often I come across the claim "Tongues is for evangelism".
That is a myth. While I don't doubt it could be used for evangelism, as the Spirit wills, the whole idea of a tongue-speaker fronting up to a foreign country in which they have no knowledge of the language (nor interpreter) , speaking in tongues , the receivers hearing the Gospel gladly and being saved is misconstrued, illogical, and frankly, wrong.
So here are a couple simple and practical reasons why tongues for missionary work is generally useless, and it makes no sense to say "tongues is for evangelism":
a) In Acts 2 at pentecost, scripture says they were declaring the works of God in tongues, yet , to explain the situation and the Gospel , Peter addressed the crowd in the common tongue for the rest of the Chapter. The common tongue is most useful since most understand it. No use speaking in French in tongues, if 10% of your audience is German. So speak in English which they can all understand.
b) You have control over when you stop and start speaking but no control over what you say. Your tongues might be praising and adoring God, or praying for your dying grandmother, when you should be declaring the Gospel. The point is, you really have no idea of knowing when the Spirit is getting you to declare the Gospel in tongues, or pray for your grandmother. If you were declaring the Gospel in tongues, you wouldn't know when you've said enough of the Gospel, or only half way through it. When should you stop?
c) You can't order lunch, book a hotel room, or ask where the toilet is in tongues. No good if in a foreign country.
d) Even though you might be able to speak in tongues, you might as well hire an interpreter all the same because you would not be able to understand if someone said "yes I accept the invitation to salvation". Evangelism and missionary work is not just about declaring the Gospel, and expecting some sort of whiz bang miracle conversions to take place. It is about day to day interaction with people and that includes two-way communication with them, which is not possible with tongues.
So no, tongues is not, and has never been "for evangelism" as unlearned people claim. As scripture shows, it is for a) personal edification, b) inspired messages (with interpretation) for the edification of others, and c) as a sign to unbelievers.
If it ever were for evangelism, it is only as the Spirit wills, limited to short periods of time (as per Pentecost) and not really suited for declaring the Gospel or delivering inspired sermons in a language you have no clue about.
Believe me, as a tongues speaker myself, if tongues could be used for evangelism, I and every other evangelist and missionary would be using it all the time for that purpose. Rather, as far as unbelievers go, tongues is only really useful as a sign (1 Cor 14:22.), nothing more.
That is a myth. While I don't doubt it could be used for evangelism, as the Spirit wills, the whole idea of a tongue-speaker fronting up to a foreign country in which they have no knowledge of the language (nor interpreter) , speaking in tongues , the receivers hearing the Gospel gladly and being saved is misconstrued, illogical, and frankly, wrong.
So here are a couple simple and practical reasons why tongues for missionary work is generally useless, and it makes no sense to say "tongues is for evangelism":
a) In Acts 2 at pentecost, scripture says they were declaring the works of God in tongues, yet , to explain the situation and the Gospel , Peter addressed the crowd in the common tongue for the rest of the Chapter. The common tongue is most useful since most understand it. No use speaking in French in tongues, if 10% of your audience is German. So speak in English which they can all understand.
b) You have control over when you stop and start speaking but no control over what you say. Your tongues might be praising and adoring God, or praying for your dying grandmother, when you should be declaring the Gospel. The point is, you really have no idea of knowing when the Spirit is getting you to declare the Gospel in tongues, or pray for your grandmother. If you were declaring the Gospel in tongues, you wouldn't know when you've said enough of the Gospel, or only half way through it. When should you stop?
c) You can't order lunch, book a hotel room, or ask where the toilet is in tongues. No good if in a foreign country.
d) Even though you might be able to speak in tongues, you might as well hire an interpreter all the same because you would not be able to understand if someone said "yes I accept the invitation to salvation". Evangelism and missionary work is not just about declaring the Gospel, and expecting some sort of whiz bang miracle conversions to take place. It is about day to day interaction with people and that includes two-way communication with them, which is not possible with tongues.
So no, tongues is not, and has never been "for evangelism" as unlearned people claim. As scripture shows, it is for a) personal edification, b) inspired messages (with interpretation) for the edification of others, and c) as a sign to unbelievers.
If it ever were for evangelism, it is only as the Spirit wills, limited to short periods of time (as per Pentecost) and not really suited for declaring the Gospel or delivering inspired sermons in a language you have no clue about.
Believe me, as a tongues speaker myself, if tongues could be used for evangelism, I and every other evangelist and missionary would be using it all the time for that purpose. Rather, as far as unbelievers go, tongues is only really useful as a sign (1 Cor 14:22.), nothing more.
