Must You Speak In Tongues In Order To Be Saved?

I am part of a few Christian forums, and in the one that I am a part of, there is someone claiming that you must speak in tongues in order to have salvation. He has said the only evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is by speaking/praying in tongues.

I have never seen anywhere in the Bible where it states that you must speak in tongues to have salvation.
 
They may be perverting the message in Acts where Peter proves to the Jewish followers that the Gentiles have also been saved because they also spoke in tongues the same way the disciples did at Pentecost.

My response to them would be, God has given us all different gifts, and the Holy Spirit works in different ways. If you counterfeit the Gifts of the Spirit, you're denying the power of the Spirit, which is to deny God...
I Corinthians 12:4 NKJV

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
 
The answer to your question is: no.

Anyone who is Bilingual or multilingual 'speaks in tongues'. Speaking in tongues is simply speaking in another language. 'Hearing' other tongues is hearing the Gospel in your own language even though the speaker is speaking another language. God opens the ears of the hearer to the understanding of His Word when the heart is truly seeking Him. There have been documented cases of this all over the world even in our present days. The account in Acts is the first documented case after Christ's ascension.

God's Word is simple to understand if we let it speak to us; WE over complicate it and create doctrines of man rather than showing the wonder of God. 'Speaking in tongues' is simply the use or hearing of another language as used in the Bible. Speaking in gibberish or in a language that no one understands (like Latin) is of no profit to the hearer and is ungodly. What good does the misunderstood Word do for those who are lost and starving for truth? Answer: NONE!

The answer is between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21.

Example: Genesis 1:1: oioj oklejj ehakd; olkwkkl haewwgn. This is a complete utter nonsense and mockery-if not blasphemy of god's Word. Lord forgive me...

If you did not know the language-what good would it do you to hear? Faith comes by HEARING (and understanding) God's Word.
 
I know VERY, very little about the subject of speaking in tongues, but from what I understand, even Pentecostals who are very known for speaking in tongues often don't hold this position that it's necessary for salvation. Isn't speaking in tongues considered to be a gift rather than a necessity for salvation?

No, speaking in tongues is not necessary.
 
I know VERY, very little about the subject of speaking in tongues, but from what I understand, even Pentecostals who are very known for speaking in tongues often don't hold this position that it's necessary for salvation. Isn't speaking in tongues considered to be a gift rather than a necessity for salvation?

No, speaking in tongues is not necessary.


I think what he is claiming is the prayer language that some Christians are able to pray in.

One of the things that was asked of me, is if I do not pray in tongues, how do I pray in the Spirit?

Which was followed by something of mine he quoted and then answered, which I will copy and paste here.

Originally Posted by Naomanos, "You are leading people into a false doctrine by telling them they must speak/pray in tongues in order to be saved."

That's a bit of a twist ... I'm saying they will speak in tongues, a promise of God, his doing not ours, when they receive the Holy Spirit, he will give them the utterance, he will not leave them dumb so to speak.

He is using this verse to prove his point, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Which is Romans 8:26.
 
John 3:16-17
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
NLT

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;
The Message
I believe this says it all.
 
I think what he is claiming is the prayer language that some Christians are able to pray in.

Well yes, that is precisely what he means. But speaking in tongues wasn't even any sort of commandment. If this gentleman is saying that our prayers would have to be said in tongues otherwise it's not done in the Spirit, then this sounds like a conjured-up doctrine.
 
He's still implying that if you don't speak in tongues you're not really saved. But the verse he references doesn't really imply WE will be doing the "groaning". Perhaps it's the Spirit's inaudible intersession on our behalf that gives us what is best for us, rather that what we may think we want.
 
BTW the word stenagmos ( 4726, the word translated as groaning) could also be translated as, "sighing" or, "speaking without language"
 
The modern practice of "speaking in tongues" is a great example of heresy crawling into practice solely because folks have a bad habit of "making it up as they go along". God and His angels always speak to people in whatever their native language happens to be, why would He do otherwise? So, take the hint and speak in your real language of choice. The whole purpose of language is to convey ideas. Babbling incoherently only conveys the idea that you are mentally disturbed.

Also note that "speaking in tongues", though possibly inncoent in some, is practiced by some of the worlds most notorious heretics and frauds.
 
I am part of a few Christian forums, and in the one that I am a part of, there is someone claiming that you must speak in tongues in order to have salvation. He has said the only evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is by speaking/praying in tongues.

I have never seen anywhere in the Bible where it states that you must speak in tongues to have salvation.

No Sir.

There is no Biblical evidence of that and in fact, a great number of people would say that if you do speak in tongues, you are proving that you are not saved.

The practice of speaking in tongues DID NOT originate with Christianity. It was done in the ancient Satanic worship temples in Corinth. They can also be traced by to the ancient Orient. At that time Corinth was a thriving seaport city and it had many temples in it. Patrons, worshippers would attend these temples, have sex with prostitutes both male and female to cleanse their sin and would speak in languages that were not able to be understood.

At the entry of Christianity, some of these people came to the church in Corinth BUT they brought the practice of "Speaking in tongues" into the church with them. That is one of the reasons Paul wrote to the Corinthians and both of his Epistiles were "corrective" ones.

My bro Glomung is absolutely correct!
 
He's still implying that if you don't speak in tongues you're not really saved. But the verse he references doesn't really imply WE will be doing the "groaning". Perhaps it's the Spirit's inaudible intersession on our behalf that gives us what is best for us, rather that what we may think we want.

More likely it is done to satisfy ourselves in some way. My experience has been that people who speak in tongues do it because they think it makes them more spiritual than others who watch them.

That of course speaks to works for salvation instead of grace.
'speaks in tongues'. Speaking in tongues is simply speaking in another language. 'Hearing' other tongues is hearing the Gospel in your own language even though the speaker is speaking another language. God opens the ears of the hearer to the understanding of His Word when the heart is truly seeking Him. There have been documented cases of this all over the world even in our present days. The account in Acts is the first documented case after Christ's ascension.

God's Word is simple to understand if we let it speak to us; WE over complicate it and create doctrines of man rather than showing the wonder of God. 'Speaking in tongues' is simply the use or hearing of another language as used in the Bible. Speaking in gibberish or in a language that no one understands (like Latin) is of no profit to the hearer and is ungodly. What good does the misunderstood Word do for those who are lost and starving for truth? Answer: NONE!

The answer is between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21.

Agreed!
 
Comment #12. Somehow I posted it and it came out as if it was all one comment. My comment was supposed to be only......

AGREED! It looks like I copied and posted another's comments. Actually I do agree with the copied words as well.
 
I meant to imply that the groaning mentioned in the verse wasn't an audible (or inaudible) "groaning" coming from our own mouth, but was instead some inaudible communication on our behalf by the Spirit.
I think you thought I was saying it was something we should do, or if we do it's somehow beneficial...

In fact I agree with you completely on your response.
 
If you continually tell people they are going to Hell if they don't speak in your preferred version of "tongues" (I've actually seen several versions out there), then you should also not be surprised when people start speaking in some form of tongues.

Several denominations believe in speaking in tongues in one form or another. Even my own denomination recognizes the gift, but it is unlikely to happen in any service. I could probably count on one hand the times something like that has happened in my lifetime. But, I find that in general the ones the "require" it, have a lot of doctrinal fallacies that stand out far more than just that. I can't say that they are all universally like this, but I can't think of any exceptions off the top of my head either.
 
I meant to imply that the groaning mentioned in the verse wasn't an audible (or inaudible) "groaning" coming from our own mouth, but was instead some inaudible communication on our behalf by the Spirit.
I think you thought I was saying it was something we should do, or if we do it's somehow beneficial...

In fact I agree with you completely on your response.

Now I am not trying to be a wise guy or anything like that but I had to laugh a little (lot) at your comment.

You said.............
"I meant to imply that the groaning mentioned in the verse wasn't an audible (or inaudible) "groaning" coming from our own mouth, but was instead some inaudible communication on our behalf by the Spirit".

Now........where in the world or body would this groaning come from if not from the mouth???????

I can not wait to hear your response (lol).
 
If you continually tell people they are going to Hell if they don't speak in your preferred version of "tongues" (I've actually seen several versions out there), then you should also not be surprised when people start speaking in some form of tongues.

Several denominations believe in speaking in tongues in one form or another. Even my own denomination recognizes the gift, but it is unlikely to happen in any service. I could probably count on one hand the times something like that has happened in my lifetime. But, I find that in general the ones the "require" it, have a lot of doctrinal fallacies that stand out far more than just that. I can't say that they are all universally like this, but I can't think of any exceptions off the top of my head either.

You are correct my friend. I as well have heard the same thing. Speaking in tongues is taught by some as the "Evidence" (proof) of being saved.

I am a Baptist by choice and tongues is not recognized as a gift. It has never been a big deal as most all people who visit know what is and what is not recognized in other denominations and they are gracious in their actions with us as we are with them in their church.
 
I am part of a few Christian forums, and in the one that I am a part of, there is someone claiming that you must speak in tongues in order to have salvation. He has said the only evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is by speaking/praying in tongues.

I have never seen anywhere in the Bible where it states that you must speak in tongues to have salvation.
Paul says speaking in tongues is a gift he wishes we would all have. He never says it is needed for salvation. But the mistake can be forgiven amongst newbie Christians as so many churches encourage it.

I find Paul's teaching on it very practical. I really don't see how anyone gets it confused. If you don't want to speak in tongues...God will never force you to and nor should any brethren.

Regarding the underlined, we know we have the Holy Spirit if we are able to call Jesus, God 1 Cor 12:3, Matt 16:16-24.
 
I could probably be persuaded more on the tongues issue if I saw it done more often in a practical way. We had the unique type of speaking in tongues from Pentecost where the Apostles spoke, but others heard it in their own language. I would LOVE to see that. Let me know if that starts breaking out in churches around the country, I'll be on it like Donkey Kong!

The other is when a person speaks in a tongue they do not know, but someone else does. I've experienced this in small doses a few time in my life. It is very cool, and very practical. You can easily understand why the Holy Spirit would work in this way so that the Gospel can be communicated.

The last is where someone speaks in a completely unknown tongue. I've heard this described as the language of the Angels or the language of the Holy Spirit. If this happens, there should be a translator, otherwise it is indistinguishable from either babbling or demon possession, or drunkenness. I have seen this in churches, and it is almost always what they talk about when they say speaking in tongues is a requirement of salvation. The real difficulty I have with this, is that it's not the same "babbling language" from one church to another and it's incredibly easy to fake. It CAN be dangerous because if that is a sign of salvation, it's an awfully easy sign to fake (unlike the signs given in Scripture that tell us that the fruit of the Spirit, or that you can know us by our Love).
 
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