Charismatic? Tongues

It is my belief that I must hold to what the Bible says and I bind my self to a conclusion. Well, I am open-minded enough to become reformed by my own study. Yet, I became reformed first and foremost by the experiences of my life. The church i attend merely pointed me in the right direction. I have some disagreements but they are slight. With this said, I cannot say that I would ever want a perfect church. If I found one I am afraid that I would have to leave it unless I spoil it.

Now let's discuss my Charismatic leanings for they are unique to me:

If you ask whether I am a third or second wave. I am neither. I fall more along the lines of a pre-charismatic like John Bunyan. I seek being filled with the spirit none-the-less. If you ask me about Prophecy, I will put it neatly into a box of what I believe it is and is not. It is turning old truths over anew. It is strengthened convictions and impressions, not new convictions or ethics. This allows bringing doctrine to bear on a person's life, opposed to the creation of new doctrines for their life.

Next, You ask me about "Praying in the spirit", I will first and foremost point to understandable prayer over tongues. I do not look favorably at one of the proposed purpose of tongues, when other means can be employed to the same end. These other means are not just equivalent. These means are far superior in every way. God's gift now becomes inferior in showing His sovereignty, grace, and care. Why even bother to even bestow it. I don't think gifts that ignore these aspects are bestowed. Tongues also must be informed with truth that is understandable and coherent. It is not fit to be used in worship otherwise. Worship must be in both spirit and truth. I have spoken in Tongues before and found it only mildly edifying. I am not moved to speak in tongues often but it may be in my gifting. The time would be better spent through the normal means of earnest prayer. This perhaps proves that it is the least of the spiritual gifts. It also proves that it is abusable. Yet, I don't think this is the right answer for it as a gift. I think it just proves that it is ill-suited to that end.

The previous christian contemplation article got me thinking on mysticism. Tongues would seem much more pagan if it is merely something one does for prayer, when it is not informing one of truth or conveying truth. I tend to doubt that tongues is a "prayer language" for this reason, even if spurious interpretations existed for it. Tongues here becomes like a meditation technique. A technique inherited and used by pagan mystics also. Tongues cannot exist as such for today.

This does not rule tongues out, especially when it comes other uses or real languages. Tongues would be more suited in dealing with truth in real languages. It is that simple. It is not suited for prayer. We are not conversing with angels. We are conversing with God. Furthermore, I do not believe tongues has any relation to spiritual baptism beyond that of other gifts. This is to say that tongues has as much relation to Spiritual baptism as Water baptism does. Period.

Next, If you point to extraordinary gifts, I will point to that which is really extraordinary first. Conversion is an extraordinary gift. Faith is an extraordinary gift. Repentance is an extraordinary gift. Grace is an extraordinary gift. This is in no way a limit, but rather the obvious. We need the seemingly ordinary gifts first. For they are surpassingly extraordinary. I love the focus on the ordinary means of the Gospel at my church for this reason. Tongues exists to edify the church, but misuse of it as substitute for prayer is not right. I cannot condone it. There needs to be interpretation of it so that it can serve as a sign gift. Or there needs to be a real means of grace in speaking it for other christians. (such as a prophetic word) Perhaps God can use gibberish to convey words of a real languages. I dare not presume it impossible. I find it more likely since the Greek word for tongues is the same as languages. (This is not the same as being fluent hearing/speaking in that other unlearned language, such is a sign of demon possession.)