If I've been babtized by the Holy Spirit, why cant I speak in tongues?

[GitRDunn]

Dear Kingsdaughter,
I read in Acts 2:38, that repentance from sins is necessary. So I must inquire, do you still commit sin?
If you do, then you haven't turned from sin, and that is what Jesus came to free us from.
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Then Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:32-34) If you're a servant of sin, you are not a servant of God. Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters..." (Matt 6:24) You must decide who to serve.
Remember, "God heareth not sinners...", (Jo 9:31), so a sinner cannot ask for the Holy Ghost. (Luke 11:13)

PJW, are you saying that once we are saved, we no longer commit sin? I'm sorry, but if you believe you have not committed sin since you were saved, you are sorely mistaken.

[jes]

Being born again and being baptised in the Holy Spirit are not separate events. How disrespectful to God to say that it is. This is one of the biggest errors in mainstream christianity, deceiving many into believing that they are born again, when in fact they are not born again ! It is doctrines like this that will lead many into hell.

Being born again is being baptised in the Holy Spirit ! When you do, you will speak in tongues !

[Slug1]

Being born again and being baptised in the Holy Spirit are not separate events. How disrespectful to God to say that it is. This is one of the biggest errors in mainstream christianity, deceiving many into believing that they are born again, when in fact they are not born again ! It is doctrines like this that will lead many into hell.

Being born again is being baptised in the Holy Spirit ! When you do, you will speak in tongues !

So a person who accepts Christ by declaring that Jesus is the Son of God as fruit of their belief in Jesus Christ and they are baptized in water... are you saying that they aren't saved in Christ until they speak in tongues?

[PJW]

Dear GitRDunn (post 31), (and Kingsdaughter, post24)
What I'm saying is that if you had truly repented, you wouldn't sin anymore. Peter said to the Jews, "Unto you first God, having raised up His son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26)
Jesus said,"If you love me, keep my commandments." (Jo 14:15) And He said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." (Jo 14:23-24)
My old self, my body of sin, was crucified with Christ. (Ro 6:6) I have the power, now, thanks be to God, to resist temptation, and I do.
I like Paul's words, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Gal 5:24)
James wrote, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (Ja 4:7) Peter wrote, "Foreasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." (I Peter 4:1) I suffered when I was crucified with Him. (Ro 6:6)
Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death;..." (Ro 6:23) He also wrote, "Some men's sins are opened beforehand, going before to judgement; and some men they follow after." (I Tim 5:24) My sins cost me my "old" life, but I have been given a new life, in Christ Jesus.
I have been born again of incorruptable seed. Jesus, time after time, used plant life for His teachings, including, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit..." (Matt 7:17), while warning about false prophets. I am "now" of His vine.
Remember, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matt 7:22-23)
Who do you suppose He is talking about? Sinners!
Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow me." I obeyed, and I took that cross to it's conclusion, death. My dead body was buried, by baptism, (Ro 6:4), and raised, with His, to walk in newness of life. (Ro 6:4)
I am a new creature now, and I thank God every day.

[Indueseason]

Mod Note : Just a reminder to everyone that this is a no debate forum. If you want to debate this subject more, please start a thread in Bible Chat. Thanks.

[shepherdsword]

I'm not satified with that anymore, I want to understand because if Jesus said that the disciples needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit to do His work, then I do to. I don't want my "tradition" to be an obstacle in maturing in the Lord, I want a deeper relationship, I want to know more of what this means and more of God.

Bless you sister! Your motive for this experience is pure and right in line with the reason Jesus does it. Keep seeking it out and don't let anyone deceive you with some "method" of receiving it. Jesus will provide this for you at exactly the right time....to do his will and know him better! The gifts of the Spirit are wonderful and useful but the real evidence of the baptism is walking in love

[Slug1]

Bless you sister! Your motive for this experience is pure and right in line with the reason Jesus does it. Keep seeking it out and don't let anyone deceive you with some "method" of receiving it. Jesus will provide this for you at exactly the right time....to do his will and know him better! The gifts of the Spirit are wonderful and useful but the real evidence of the baptism is walking in love

I agree... FRUIT of the Holy Spirit marks a person who is IN Christ and is walking with Him. NOT any manifestation of a Gift of the Holy Spirit. Some people may never experience a Gift of the Holy Spirit manifest through them.

[Kingsdaughter]

Called - short answer, if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have been called. Here's a couple scriptures on that.
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:5-7
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30

So I AM called by God to be conformed into the image of His Son. Called to be saints. , I haven't been a saint and I've made mistakes, no , not mistakes, sins, let me just call it what it is , sin, and I've repented of those sins and asked the Lord for forgiveness. The past couple of weeks thoughts of my past came flooding into my mind and I don't even know what triggered these thoughts. They came back into my mind with a vengeance. When I got saved, the joy and the love that I felt and experienced with God was incredible, that first year all I wanted to do was read my Bible and see what God had to say to me. Prayer and time with the Lord was so exciting. I remember going to my first church after getting saved, I was so excited to fellowship with other christians and talk about Jesus. I walked in that church and the women were all dressed in long skirts and dresses( I was the only one in jeans) and the men in suits. The woman I was sitting next to , holding her King James Bible, with a scowl on her face, looking like she wanted to chew me up and spit me out, turns to me and says that I am unworthy and that I needed to repent of my wickedness. Needless to say, I left that church and never went back.

I think God regrets calling me because I haven't been a saint. I used to feel like I was His daughter that He loved in those first years after getting saved. Now I feel like the bad kid He never wanted.

As for the feeling thing, I didn't say you would NOT feel something. Many do. It's just that the feeling you get is not it's purpose. You don't get baptized in the Spirit to get a feeling, even though you probably will get a feeling. It's about getting power to witness.
Let me give you an example. I am a teacher on the Navajo reservation. I teach a class every week. I can go out there and teach in my own effort, that is, I can put together a study, and stand there and talk to them for a couple hours. It may or may not have an affect on any of them.
On the other hand, I can go out there with nothing at all, no preparation, and rely entirely on the Holy Spirit to give me what He wants me to speak to them, and as soon as I open my mouth, my mind is filled with something to speak, and by the time I speak that, something else is given to me, and I can speak to them as long as they are willing to sit there and listen. And, because it is the Holy Spirit giving me the things to say, He is also opening their understanding to receive it, and everyone in the place is affected by what I am speaking. And you know what? Even I am affected by what I'm speaking.
Doing it in my own power, little is accomplished, and I come away exhausted. Doing it in the power of the Spirit, I can stand there all day long speaking, and never get tired.

Wow! So even you are affected by the words that come out of your mouth when you are teaching? thats kind of funny and awesome at the same time. Aren't you scared when you get up to teach and just trust that God give you the words? I would be scared to DEATH! I am shy and timid , even if I had something prepared to say, I would still be scared but to get up in front of a group and just trust that God give me the words? OH NO!! thats slang for "no way",Has there ever been a time when God didn't give you the words to speak when you trusted Him?

[Kahtar]

[QUOTE=Kingsdaughter;2799008]Unfortunately, our enemy is always right there to take away whatever we receive from the Lord. I am glad you saw through it and found a different church.

I think God regrets calling me because I haven't been a saint.

God, Who created the Universe, and you, and Who knows the beginning from the end, is never surprised by what we do. And, in spite of the things you may have done, He still chose you. You didn't choose Him, He chose you, and called you. Think about that a while.

I used to feel like I was His daughter that He loved in those first years after getting saved. Now I feel like the bad kid He never wanted.

This reminds of the story of the prodigal son. He ran off with his inheritance, squandered it all away, and found himself in a pig sty. He decided to return to his father's house, thinking he was only worthy to be a servant, and was ready to be happy with just that. His father, on the other hand, looked for him to return every day, and when he saw him coming a long way off, he ran to him, put the cloak of a son on him, and a ring, and gave him a feast. He never stopped calling him his son, even when he was away.
You never stopped being His daughter. And His arms are always open and ready to receive you.

Aren't you scared when you get up to teach and just trust that God give you the words?

I was to begin with. I had a dozen people expecting me to teach them something, and I was going out there with nothing to give them. Very uncomfortable. It required more trust than I had ever been faced with up to that point. But, after a couple months of doing that, it became routine, actually. Very freeing, because I did not have to study or prepare anything. I only had to trust. He had me do that for an entire year, and in that time, there was only one, single time that He did not give me something.
That one time, as it turns out, He had other arrangements. A woman, Navajo, was coming to the area where I taught to go to a revival nearby. As she drove by the church I was teaching at, the Spirit told her to go there instead of the revival. It was a Thursday, and she did not know if there was even anyone there or not. But she was obedient, and found us doing a study, or trying to.
I was in a dilemma. I went as usual expecting Him to give me something, and there was nothing. I did the usual starting to talk about something, anything, and expected to receive what to say. Nothing. One of the congregation was struggling with an issue, and asked how he should deal with it, and I was trying to answer when this woman came in. My answer was not even coming close to what he needed to hear. Suddenly, the woman began to speak, and she had the right words. And he understood.
Afterward, I was asking the Lord, 'What did I do wrong? Why didn't you use me?' I thought maybe I messed up somewhere and He didn't want to use me.
Then He reminded me of the very words of my prayer that I prayed on the way to the study. 'Lord, they are your children, and it is your Word, and your kingdom. I am just a vessel. Let your will be done, and your Word be spoken, and use whoever you want to speak it.'
It was a lesson for me to be satisfied with how God chooses to do things, and who He chooses to do them through.
Another time, when I got up to start teaching, He began giving me things to say that I did not want to say to them. He was 'raking them over the coals' so to speak, and they needed to hear a word of correction. I can assure you, if it had been my idea to speak those things, they would not have been received. But because He gave them, He also prepared their hearts and minds to receive them, and afterward they all agreed that was the best study they'd had. Lesson there, if you are going to trust God to give you what to say, you'd better be prepared to say it.

[WalkInChrist]

"Talking in tongues", in Semitic languages (Aramaic, Arabic, Assyrian, Hebrew, etc..) still means "Speaking (different) languages". In my understanding It was a gift from God to be used in times when Christians were few and needed to reach out to nations with different languages. There was no bible in that time, and most couldn't read and write even in their own native language. So they leaned allot to their oral testimony. And speaking word of God in their mother tongue did indeed help foreigners unbelievers to come to Christ. That they could hear Jewish people talking their own mother tongue was a great sign for many unbelievers.

However, speaking heavenly tongue language, is somethning i dont have any experience of.

[Godslittleangel]

I've heard people speak in tongues and when they do, there is always someone who translates afterwards. So I believe its real. But I've never spoken in tongues, I am saved, I believe in Jesus and accepted him into my heart when I was a teen. Still haven't spoken in tongues, does that mean I'm not saved? Nope. Speaking in tongues is a gift, not everyone will have it. Some will say it is something that shows you are saved, and everyone who is saved speaks it and if not, you did something wrong or aren'ts aved. But they are wrong, the Bible says its a gift. Not everyone will havce that gift. I dont' have it, you may not have it or just not yet. Who knows? If God sees it that you will have it, then it will happen on his timing. But don't let anyone tell you that if you haven't spoken in tongues, you aren't saved. They are mistaken and misunderstood the bible or had a person teach them the wrong thing. God may give you the gift of tongues or a different gift, all gifts are special and all work and should be for hte glory of God. Not everyone is going to have the same gift. But I do know the Bible speaks of it as one of the gifts. Keep praying to God and let him show you what your gift is. let him work on it and in his timing.

[PJW]

Peter said "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:38-39)
If you obey Peter's words, turn from sin and have your old sins washed away, you get the gift. If not.........you don't.

[chad]

You really shouldn't think this way at all. God loves you. Part of maturing in christ is learning to grow in the spiritual desert.

http://stobie.home.sprynet.com/religion/GrowDesert.htm

I think God regrets calling me because I haven't been a saint. I used to feel like I was His daughter that He loved in those first years after getting saved. Now I feel like the bad kid He never wanted.

[jpoole21]

Don't know why the quote didn't work, but this was towards PJW.

I've come across a few people like you who say they now live a PERFECT life 100% of the time and never have committed a single sin since they day they were "saved". In most cases you avoid the questions of "have you committed a sin" and simply quote scripture after scripture about how we are not supposed to anymore.

It's people with views like yours that discourage new Christians and drive them away because you make them feel like failures because they slipped and made a mistake.

If you believe that you're clean from past present and future sins due to the blood of Christ then you're correct, but if you believe that YOU have not made ONE mistake or had ONE slip since the day you were saved then that's flat out false. We ALL fall short at times.

[Indueseason]

Mod Note : There is too much debate in this thread for this forum. Moving it to Bible Chat, where it can be discussed further if desired.