Of course not.

     This anti-Tongues interpretation is absurd.

     What about the other Apostles, and the other recorded examples of speaking in tongues.  Did they occur only when unbelieving Jews or Gentiles were present?

     See for yourself:

     Peter preached the Gospel to the assembled Gentiles in Cornelius' house, and they believed.  In the middle of Peter's sermon, "...the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word...on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God..." (vs. 44-46).

     Every person present in the room was already a Christian before coming there, or was born-again in that instant.  Now you have a room full of Christians, speaking in tongues, with no unbelieving Jews or Gentiles to hear them.  But Peter didn't frantically call out: 

"No! No! No, My Brethren!  Do not speak in tongues unless unbelievers are present!" 

     Another example from Scriptures that prove that genuine speaking in tongues can occur with no unbelievers present, is given to us in the account of Paul's ministry in Ephesus.  

     In Ephesus, Paul found 12 of John the Baptist's disciples.  He preached the Gospel to them, and they believed and were baptized.  They were full-fledged Christians.  Note what happened next: 

"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.  And all the men were about twelve."  (Acts 19:6,7).    

     Where were the "unbelieving Jews" in this case?  There were none.  The only ones present were Paul and twelve born-again, baptized Christians.

     Paul didn't stop them from speaking in tongues.

     And he didn't say, 

"Wait a minute!  None of that tongues stuff unless unbelieving Jews or Gentiles are present.  Hold it a minute while I go round up some unbelievers!" 

     No.

     If Paul meant by "a sign to them that believe not..." that speaking in tongues is to be allowed only when unbelieving Jews or Gentiles are present, then he violated his own instruction, didn't he?  They certainly spoke in tongues here, and there were absolutely no unbelievers of any kind present.

     See how absurd these anti-tongues arguments become when compared with Scripture?

     Someone might ask, "Well, are tongues a sign to unbelieving Jews or Gentiles?"

     They can be.

     We have already seen Scriptural incidents in which they are not:

• When Paul or another believer was praying in tongues in private alone, tongues were obviously not a sign to unbelievers.
• And when used in private devotions to worship and praise the Lord, they clearly are a sign to no one but the believer and the Lord.
• Tongues were not a sign to unbelievers at Cornelius' house.
• Tongues were not a sign to unbelievers when Paul ministered to the 12 at Ephesus.

     So Scriptures and common sense limit the use of tongues for a sign to unbelievers to some manifestations of tongues in a public service.  

     Then what is meant by tongues being a sign to unbelievers?

     I've seen this happen in one form or another, a number of times.

     You see, true speaking in tongues and interpretation is very powerful.  These gifts are riveting to observe.  Speaking a message in tongues and interpreting it in a public service can have a mighty, convicting effect on an unbeliever.  I've seen it take place in my own ministry.

     In 2000, I was in a service in my home church.  I arrived just before the service, and we sat in our usual place.  I wasn't scheduled to minister that morning.

     A friend we'll call Sally served on the praise and worship team.  Before going to the platform, she introduced to us her grown son who was visiting her from out of town for a few days.  He had never seen his mother sing in a worship service, so he had come to do so.  He sat down in the row behind us, and the service began.

     As the praise and worship started to wind down, a very strong message in tongues came upon me.  The pastor knew me well, and knew of my background with Sister Goodwin.  And he had given me permission to approach the platform whenever I had something from the Lord.  So as the worship ended, I went to the platform, and he handed me the microphone.

     I spoke out the message in tongues.  And since no other interpreter was present, I interpreted the message myself.

     The message had quite a powerful anointing in it.  It spoke, among other things, of Christ bearing our griefs and sorrows at Calvary, and that anyone who needed it could rise up and receive healing from past hurts if they would do so by faith.  I finished the message and returned to my seat.

     The service continued on as normal with receiving an offering, and the pastor preaching a sermon.  It wasn't an evangelistic sermon, but he gave an altar call at the end of it anyway to anyone who wanted to accept Christ.

     To my surprise, Sally's grown son went to the front and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.  Praise the Lord.  I had spoken to him only briefly, and Sally had never before even mentioned the son to me.  So I had no idea he was unsaved.

     Sally later told me that after the service she had asked her son, "What caused you to accept Christ today?  Was it the praise and worship?"

     Her son replied, "The music was good, but that wasn't it."

     She asked, "Was it the Pastor's sermon?"

     He said, "It was ok, but that wasn't it."

     Puzzled, she asked, "Well, what was it?"

     He replied, "I don't know.  I don't understand it.  But when that guy [me] got up there and spoke in that foreign language, and then translated it, I just somehow knew I had to get right with God!"

     Praise the Lord.

     You see, speaking in tongues worked that morning as a sign to an unbeliever.  A sign that brought him under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and which lead him to surrender his life to Jesus Christ.

     I have seen speaking in tongues accompanied by the interpretation of tongues have a very powerful, convicting effect on unbelievers, or even on believers who have sunk into sin and unbelief.

     Here is an example of the convicting power of a message in tongues and interpretation.  Click on this link and listen to the first 6 minutes of a service in which a couple of powerful messages in tongues came forth, and the interpretation brought great conviction on the congregation.  Forty years have passed since these messages in tongues took place at the Goodwins' church, and those still living who were present that day have told me that they still have not forgotten the power of God's convicting power that day.  To listen:  CLICK HERE.

     In Joe Jordan's biography of the Goodwins, a former staff member of their church relates a similar incident.  At the end of a service, Sister Goodwin spoke out a message in tongues, but Dad had no interpretation for it. 

     After the close of the service, a Jewish man walked up to the platform.  He told her that her message had been very beautiful, and asked her where she had learned what he called "High Hebrew."  She replied that she did not know how to speak any kind of Hebrew.  The man said she must know how to speak it, because she had done so only minutes before.

     He told her that in the message, she had called him by his full Jewish name, told him that Jesus Christ had died for him, and that this message was a sign to him that Jesus Christ was the Jewish messiah.  He had come forward to ask her how she had known his full Jewish name.     

     Sister Goodwin proceeded to explain the Gift of Speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues.  And she instructed him to do what the message had told him to do.

     When he realized that this had been a supernatural message from God, that she did not speak Hebrew, and did not know his Jewish name, he was powerfully convicted and gave his heart to Christ.  And he went on to serve Christ, the Jewish Messiah, for many years until finally going Home.

     Tongues in this instance did exactly what Paul said they would sometimes do--they served as a convicting sign, this time to an unbelieving Jewish man.

     I have also seen speaking a message through tongues and interpretation have a stirring effect on born-again Christians who have grown weary in the faith, and have gotten off into unbelief.  In other words, they were unbelieving Believers.  In these cases, tongues and interpretation has served as a sign to such unbelieving Believers, exposing to them their backslidden and faithless state, and stirring them to rededicate their lives to Christ and to be renewed in the faith.

     In conclusion:

     My Brethren, the Anti-tongues argument is unscriptural and even absurd: 

• Paul did not require that speaking in tongues be allowed only when unbelieving Jews are present.
• God can choose to use or not to use speaking in tongues as a convicting sign to unbelieving Jews or Gentiles.  That decision is entirely up to Him.

     Can you begin to see now how the present-day Church has been robbed of a great blessing?  Can you see how the erroneous teachings of men have grieved and quenched the Holy Spirit as He has attempted to move thorugh this beautiful gift only to be met with unscriptural restrictions and man-made obstructions?

     If you have followed this hideous anti-tongues argument, you now see it has no foundation in Scriptures or in common sense.  And you need to humble yourself under the correction of God's written Word, and repent of the way you have hindered the Holy Spirit in your church and life.

     If you are a pastor, a teacher, or a Seminary professor, and you have taught the anti-tongues nonsense, you need to ask God's forgiveness for leading your people astray.

     God is quick to forgive, and the Holy Spirit will gladly put it all behind you and Him, and will fill you with Himself and flow in greater power in your life and church.

     If you are already in the pro-tongues camp, I would urge you to think on the issues and explanations I have offered here.

     Don't just say, "Yeah...I know all this."

     No you don't because if you did, you would have it in greater manifestation in your life and church.

     The Bible says that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  If you will think deeply on these solid teachings from God's Word, embrace them in faith, and give the Holy Spirit the liberty to flow in your lives and services, then you will find Him manifesting Himself through tongues and through interpretations in stronger ways than you ever imagined.

     There is much, much, much more power and anointing in speaking in tongues than we have ever realized or tapped into.  And 100 years after the outpouring at Topeka Kansas and the later one at Azusa Street, it is high time we understand these gifts and flow in them in the strength and anointing God intended.

     God bless you!

     Copyright 2006  Mel C. Montgomery.  All rights reserved.  Material may be copied and shared with others as long as it is done so free of charge, in entirety, and attribution is given.