Good evening Pastor John.
I hope all is well. I was reading through some of your book “Speaking in Tongues at Spirit Baptism” and was trying to understand the conclusion of the book. Is it that true believers in Jesus will speak in tongues or that only true believers in Jesus will speak in tongues?
As you can see, one word made the difference in that question. So, what I’m basically asking is that those who are actually Christians will speak in tongues? Or that in order for you to actually be a Christian, you must speak in tongues?
Thanks so much and God bless.
Dominic.
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Thank you, Dominic, for writing. I am glad that you took the time to read my book, and I am happy to answer your questions.
“Only” is the correct answer. I am sorry if I did not make that plain enough in the book.
Dominic, only God knows the heart, as the Bible says, and everything I see in the Bible indicates that only God knows when a heart has truly repented. And He has not left His precious children to guess who has repented and been washed by the Spirit and who has not. He has given what Paul called the “sign for unbelievers”, to wit, speaking in tongues, or “stammering lips”.
That the baptism of the holy Ghost is the new birth is not even an issue among reasonable students of the Bible. And I am fully persuaded, as I tried to explain in my book, that the Spirit’s sound is heard every time it happens, just as Jesus told Nicodemus.
Finally, it is important to note that being a “Christian” has nothing to do with anything in the kingdom of God. To be what is now called a Christian means nothing to God. Only what is of the Spirit, which Jesus purchased for us with his blood, counts with God. Church religion is of the devil, not Christ, and it is a great blessing to know that, so that we might obey the heavenly voice crying out to all who belong to God, “Come out of her, my people!”
Coming out of that religion is the only way God’s children will ever be made one as the Father and Son are one. The religious system called Christianity is the very thing that divides God’s children. We must escape its clutches if we are ever to be truly free. I invite you to join us on the journey.
Thank you again for writing. I hope you will stay in touch. It matters to Jesus, and to me, what you think and how you feel about these important matters.
God bless you as you continue to pursue the knowledge of God.
Your servant in Christ Jesus the Lord,
Pastor John