Two or at the Most Three:
Paul's Evangelistic Imperative
Dear Readers,
This particular CT is more for Pentecostals/Charismatics than for non-Pentecostals/Charismatics. While this CT will be of theological interest to non-Pentecostals/Charismatics, this CT has a very practical application for those in Pentecostal and Charismatic camps. So, certainly, all are invited to read this CT, but some non-Pentecostals/Charismatics may feel a bit like they are reading someone else’s mail.
Just Do It Among Pentecostals and Charismatics the issue of tongues seems to be no issue at all: they just do it. Anyone who has been in Pentecost for any length of time has seen churches that allow their members to speak or sing in tongues in sort of a symphonic worship which, quite often at least, produces a harmonious, even glorious, sound. In fact, I have been present at many such singing in tongues worship “symphonies,” and I felt greatly moved by the fervency, harmony, and other-worldliness of the tongues singing.
However, as moving as that may be for those of us who likewise speak and sing in tongues, I have to ask this one and simple question: Is this the type thing that the Apostle Paul was regulating when he said:
If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God (1 Cor. 14:27-28).
Generally, we Pentecostals make a distinction between “speaking a message in tongues” and “praying or worshiping in tongues.” This division then, “allows” us to say that what Paul was referring to was the “tongues messages” and not the “tongues prayer or worship.” Thus, we (i.e., we Pentecostals/Charismatics) conclude, while it is incumbent upon us to give only two or at the most three messages in tongues, and then only with an interpretation of each message, this does not apply to our praying or worshiping in other tongues.”
Thus, this distinction is practically applied to church services in many Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. We say, “When there is a message in tongues for the body, it must be interpreted, and there should be no more than two or three such messages in any given church service.” So far, so good. However, we generally go on to say, at least implicitly and practically if not explicitly, “When our tongues-speaking members are worshiping or praying in other tongues, there is no restriction on the number nor any need of interpretation because these tongues-speaking activities are not “tongues messages to the body.” Thus, since they are not to the body, there is no need of interpretation. (I am quite aware of the debate concerning the idea that all messages in tongues are actually man speaking to God and thus it may be improper to suggest that any message is “to the body.” However, leaving that argument aside for now, I wish to take this article in a different direction.)
However, we must ask, is that what Paul meant or was teaching in 1 Corinthians? Would Paul have said, “Yes, as long as you all are worshiping or praying in tongues, then you all may do so in your church services and there is no need of interpretation nor a limit of number. But, should your tongues-speaking be a message from the Lord to the body of Christ, then we need to limit those to two or at the most three, and then only with adequate interpretation.”
I used to believe that it was OK to let the believers all sing or pray tongues at the same time. But, I was enlightened when I closely studied Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians concerning the issue of tongues in the church service.
The first idea at stake is the idea that there is a distinction between praying or worshiping in tongues (which is directed to God, and thus need to be interpreted) and messages in tongues which are directed to the body (and thus need to be interpreted).
Who is Paul Concerned About? When we look at Paul’s instruction, we must ask, “What is the central reason for Paul’s instruction?” What is it that Paul is most concerned with? Let’s look at his words:
1 Cor. 14:23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
Who or what is Paul’s main focal point in this passage? Who is this passage about? It is about those “who do not understand or unbelievers.”
1 Cor. 14:24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all,
Who or what is Paul’s main focal point in this passage? Who is this passage about? Again, it is about “an unbeliever or someone who does not understand.”
1 Cor. 14:25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
Who or what is Paul’s main focal point in this passage? Who is this passage about? Still, it is about that “unbeliever or someone who does not understand.”
Paul is concerned primarily with unbelievers and those who do not understand. Those who do not understand may be young Christians or non-tongues speaking (or non-gifted) Christians.
Sometimes Christians become very upset when this passages is clearly laid out in this way. I have had people rebuff me by saying, “You are not proposing that we are to worry about what the world thinks of our church services are you?” Or, “Since when are we to conduct our worship to make it pleasing to the unsaved?”
Admittedly, the world (i.e., the unsaved) is at odds with Christianity, and Christians cannot possibly live according to the world’s standards, but throughout the Scriptures, God instructs Christians to live and act in such a way that people will be attracted to (not repelled from) the Lord we serve. Jesus tells us:
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (emphasis added, Matt. 5:14-16).
Furthermore, whether we like it or not, Paul does say, “So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind” (1 Cor. 14:23)?
“Well,” many Christians ask, “why should we be concerned about what they think?” There is a very simple reason why we should be concerned about what they think. Jesus tells us, “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). The reason why Christians are to live and worship with decorum is so that others will “praise our Father in heaven.” Paul’s point is the same as Christ’s. We are to conduct our worship services in such a way that the unbelievers come to know God.
It is an amazing lack of maturity that massages the conscience of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians into thinking that all that matters is that they have a feel-good time worshiping God, no matter who is repelled by it.
Many will quote, “God’s ways are not the ways of the world.” One person who responded negatively to this line of thinking said, “Well, if they can’t stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen.” To which I replied, “But, what if God has called you to teach them how to cook?”
You see, the reason for Paul’s limitation of tongues-speaking in any given service is that the unsaved person will be drawn to the God we serve and not repelled by what he sees.
The real question that we must ask ourselves is, “Which is more important. My ‘warm fuzzies’ (i.e., feel good) or the conversion of the lost?” Again, it is an issue of maturity.
As mature Christians, one of our primary goals should be to lead people to the Lord, not to make ourselves feel good. Now, let me hasten to say that we will feel good when we come into the presence of our great redeemer and God, Jesus Christ. However, that is the by product of our relationship with Him and not the primary focal point. Jesus uttered these words not as a suggestion, but as a command:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).
What is the focal point of Jesus’ words? It is simple: make disciples. Paul tells us that when unbelievers (or the unlearned) come into our services, and we are all doing what we can to get our own “blessing” and “warm fuzzies” by speaking in tongues all at once, then we are repelling the unbelievers rather than attracting them to the God we serve. Oh, we get our blessings, but the unsaved just get more deeply confirmed in the judgment of God. So, instead of making disciples, we are actually repelling sinners from God.
TONGUES ARE A SIGN -- A NEGATIVE SIGN Another key point that many Pentecostals/Charismatics simply miss Paul’s statement that “Tongues are a sign for unbelievers.” Some people have mistakenly taught that since tongues are a sign to unbelievers, then we should speak in tongues so that the unbelievers will have their sign from God.
However, this is to miss Paul’s point entirely. Paul is not saying that tongues are a positive sign to unbelievers. He is saying that tongues area negative sign to unbelievers.
When we simply take the time to look at Paul’s words in context, we come to that undeniable conclusion. Paul says,
In the Law it is written: “Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,” says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind (1 Cor. 14:21-23)?
Notice that Paul likens speaking in tongues to the “strange tongues” of foreigners that spoke to God’s people. What was this? In Isaiah 28, the Bible indicates that the Assyrian foreign language was a sign to God’s unrepentant people (i.e., Israel) that judgment was coming upon them.
Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”—but they would not listen. So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there—so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured (emphasis added, Isa. 28:11-13)
Isaiah the prophet said that God’s people were being unrepentant, and therefore, God would send the Assyrian invaders speaking in strange tongues to bring judgment upon them. The connection is clear: strange tongues = a sign of judgment.
The information in the Isaiah passage is amazingly parallel to the information in the 1 Corinthians passage:
. . . so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured (Isa. 28:11-13).
What is happening here? The Israelites are unrepentant, and so judgment comes upon them through the Assyrians. When they hear the strange tongues, it indicates that they are in the midst of judgment. Now, let us note Paul’s words:
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind (1 Cor. 14:23)?
What is happening here? The unbelievers are likewise unrepentant. When they hear the strange tongues, they think that Christians are crazy. They do not repent, but rather go away from the service unrepentant, and they are in the midst of judgment. Tongues, then, are indeed a sign, not for believers, but it is a sign of judgment.
A Strange Connection? One person insisted that I was making a strange connection between the Isaiah passage and the 1 Corinthian passage. Well, this might be true if I had made the connection, but I didn’t. The apostle Paul did that. I'm just reporting. It was the apostle Paul who introduced the Isaiah passage into the discussion about tongues. And, his whole point was that we should not help confirm people in their unbelief, unrepentance, and thus judgment of God, but rather we should use our church services as an opportunity to help people come to forgiveness and justification.
Paul’s evangelistic imperative so controls his thinking that he establishes very strict methods of church operation so as to enhance the possibility of evangelism and so as to reduce the possibility of non-evangelism. In brief, Paul could be liberally paraphrased this way:
If you all speak in tongues during your services, people will go away thinking that Christians are crazy, and thus, they will be confirmed in their unbelief and remain under the judgment of God. So, don’t do that!
When you speak in tongues, there should be a limit: two or at the most three, and then only with interpretations.
After all, the real issue is being sure that unbelievers come to know the Lord, not that you come to have a good time.
So, to the person who asks, “Since when are we to conduct our church services so that they will be acceptable to unbelievers?” I say, “Since Paul told us to do so nearly two-thousand years ago.”
Actually, however, conducting our church services so that they will be acceptable to unbelievers is really missing the mark. We should conduct our church services so that unbelievers will be attracted to the Lord. And, according to the apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, every one speaking in tongues at the same time does not attract unbelievers to the Lord. In fact, it is like the Assyrian strange tongues, it is just a sign of judgment upon them.
The False Distinction
So, is there a distinction between praying or worshiping in tongues and giving messages in tongues? In other words, can Pentecostal/Charismatic churches comfort themselves in saying, “Well, we do what Paul says! When there are messages in tongues, we allow no more than three, and we make sure that they are all interpreted. However, when we are praying or worshiping in tongues, those are not interpreted nor limited to two or three because that’s not what Paul is talking about.”
Can we really make that distinction in light of Paul's instruction? Even if we could do so theologically, we can not do so practically. I believe that any such distinction that leads to the idea that many members in an open-to-the-public church service can simultaneously speak, pray, or sign in tongues is a false distinction, and here’s why: The main issue--what I have been calling Paul’s evangelistic imperative--is that unbelievers have the opportunity to come to know the Lord through our church services. Since the central person in this service is the unbeliever (not the believer), let me ask one penetrating question: Does the unbeliever make a distinction between messages in tongues or praying/worshiping in tongues? To the unbeliever speaking in tongues is speaking in tongues, and if everyone is doing it, the unbeliever is going to think that it’s crazy and out of order.
Everything Done Decently and in Order
In 1 Cor. 14:40, Paul says, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” These are his concluding words with regard to the tongues issue. (I fully realize that he also speaks of prophecy as well in this passage. However, the issue of tongues is what this CT is about.)
Quite often people argue over the interpretation of what “a fitting and orderly way” is. Some people with rather demonstrative worship services will argue,
Well, what’s “a fitting and orderly way” for one person or church may not be "a fitting and orderly way” for another person or church. In our church, our method of worship is loud with everyone singing or praying in tongues. But, for some other church, that may not be “a fitting and orderly way.”
This sounds pretty good at first blush. However, the apostle Paul was not saying, “What’s right for some is not right for others and vice versa.” His entire point about “a fitting and orderly way” was from the perspective of the unbeliever.
If your church service causes unbelievers to leave your church thinking that you are crazy, which confirms them in their unbelief and thus they remain under the judgment of God, then your service is not functioning in “a fitting and orderly way.” Why? Because, your services should lead unbelievers to “fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!” (1 Cor. 14:25)
Obviously, not all services will lead to this, but none should lead to an unbeliever going away from your service saying, “Those Christians are crazy.”
Send comments about this, or any, Coffee Talk to Rick Walston at: CES @ ColumbiaSeminary.edu
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