Must I speak in tongues in order to be saved?

From Gospel Translations

Jump to:navigation, search

Related resources
More By John Piper
Author Index
More About Spiritual Gifts
Topic Index
About this resource

© Desiring God

Share this
Our Mission
This resource is published by Gospel Translations, an online ministry that exists to make gospel-centered books and articles available for free in every nation and language.

Learn more (English).

By John Piper About Spiritual Gifts
Part of the series Ask Pastor John

The following is an edited transcription of the audio. 

Must I speak in tongues in order to be saved?

Go to 1 Corinthians 12:30 and read how Paul said that not all Christians speak in tongues. That is as explicit as you can get. "Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" The clear answer is no. That is the first place I would go. Not all speak in tongues.

Secondly I would go to Romans 3:28, "We hold that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law." Faith alone is the means by which we are united to Christ and justified. Therefore, insisting on some subsequent thing like tongues as an instrument of salvation would go against the idea of faith alone.

So those two things would, in my judgment, nullify the belief that you must speak in tongues in order to be a Christian.

If you read 1 Corinthians 12,13, and 14—which is where tongues are dealt with most—you're going to see Paul dealing with tongues very differently than by saying that they are necessary signs of salvation. In that passage he is trying, rather, to minimize the use of tongues—not maximize them—because they're getting the church into all kinds of difficulty.

Navigation
Volunteer Tools
Other Wikis
Toolbox