Before I get into any of this, I would like to say that no matter what you believe now concerning the possibility of Backsliding and/or Eternal Salvation, please read this entire manuscript. It will give you the chance to allow you to learn what others might believe. If nothing else, it will give you the opportunity to study for yourself (2 Timothy 2:15) what you really believe, and why.

GETTING STARTED

Just recently a woman and her grandson were in a Bible Study. The minister spoke to some extent on the Holy Ghost and touched on the Gifts of the Spirit. He taught of the “sin of babbling in tongues.” I must wonder where in the Bible it mentions that speaking in tongues was ever a “sin.” I would like to have Chapter and Verse for this opinion.

However, since he was not asked about it, and for a fact, there is NO Scriptural passage that gives any implication that speaking in tongues is, or was ever a sin.

THE PROPHESIES

Of Joel

I feel that I must let the Scriptures speak for themselves. Let's look at a few passages starting with the Prophesy given by Joel.

In Joel 2:28-32 we find it written that:

“...it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

Of John the Baptist

I find that John the Baptist told of the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ would impart upon His Children. In Matthew 3:11 John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” (Also John 1:33). Pretty clear, huh...? Christ would see that the Holy Ghost would be with us.

Of Jesus Christ our Lord...

Even our Lord Jesus Christ, of Nazareth spoke of the coming of the Holy Ghost as a “Comforter” for the Believers. Jesus told us in John 14:16 that He would “pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”

We must keep in mind here that He's speaking to the Believers. That this “other” Comforter would abide/live with them.

The Comforter???

We may ask, 'Just who IS this Comforter?' Jesus answered that too. In John 14:26, Jesus told the Believers that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (see also John 15:26; 16:7)

So now we know from the words of Jesus, that the Comforter would be the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) whom the Father would send.

THE OUTPOURING OF THE POWER

When Did It Begin?

In Acts 2:1-4 we find that of which Joel and Jesus both had spoken. It's where the prophesy that God would pour out His Spirit in the Last Days was revealed.

You might ask, how do we know that this is that of which Jesus and Joel had spoken?

Not a difficult question to answer... If we read on in Acts chapter 2, we find that Peter spoke his first message. In this message, in Acts 2:16, Peter said, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;” Then Peter went on to quote what Joel had written (Acts 2:17-21).

I Heard Another Doctrine

Was the tongues in the speaking or the hearing? In Acts 2:1-4 we see where that the Spirit was indeed poured out on the 120 in the upper room. At that time the initial evidence that the Spirit was poured out, the 120 began speaking in other tongues. That is, tongues of the people of other nations.

There is a doctrine which says that these people spoke in their (the speakers) own native language (Galilaean), and the hearers heard them in the language of their home land. This can't be further from the Truth. Here's why...

First, in Acts 2:4 we can see that And they were “...all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” This is clear that the 120 were speaking in the languages of other nations...

Second, let's look at the hearer's side of this. Acts 2:6-11 says:

“6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

This too seems quite clear that the hearers “heard” them “speaking” in the language of their native homeland.

It Was Meant For The Disciples Only

Some of us are/were taught that there's absolute proof that the outpouring of the power of the Holy Ghost was indeed for the Apostles, and not for today's Believers.

If we look at 1 Corinthians 13 we will see a very convincing argument that the Holy Ghost is not for today. Look at 1 Corinthians 13:8 which says that:

“8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

It teaches us that “whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” So tongues, knowledge, prophesy, and such are removed, and we no longer have them. We are told this teaches that the gifts of the Spirit are in the past, because they are no longer needed. And it's understandable.

However, I find that there's much more to this passage. Later, we will look at the complete chapter and compare it with the rest of the Word.

THE IMPARTING OF THE HOLY GHOST

When is the Spirit imparted?

That all depends. Please allow me to explain... Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” The interesting thing about this passage is the word “and”... It says, “Holy Ghost and with power.”

This word “and” is Strong's #G2532 which is “apparently a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so, then, too, etc.”

This tells me that the power was in addition to the Holy Ghost. In other words, Jesus had the Holy Ghost, and He had the power also. Two separate things, and indeed, there is a reason for these two things. Let's look at them.

Imparting of the Holy Ghost at the time of Salvation?

I must say that we do indeed receive the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Here's Jesus speaking of the New Birth; the time when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord.

I see in the Word that John 3:3,5,6 says that:

“3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

We must be born of the Spirit as well as water to enter the Kingdom of God. Being born of water is the natural birth which we all have. However when we're Born Again, we are born/adopted into the Family of God (Romans 8:14-15) and we receive God's Spirit, that is, the Holy Ghost, at that point.

Then Romans 8:9 elaborates on this. Paul wrote, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Here we're told that if we don't have the Spirit of God living within us, then we are not Believers, because we are “none of His.”

Could the Spirit be Imparted Sometime Later?

Yes! We can, and many do, receive something more of God at a later time.

We know that Acts 1:8 tells us that “...ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (emphasis is mine) This power, as we can see, comes after the Holy Ghost is upon us.

How will that power be manefest in our witness to others? By the use of the gifts of the Holy Ghost which will show the sinner that there's more to God; there's power in Him. Power to do things which are not natural for human beings alone, but normal for the Power of a Living God.

Some will say that this is speaking of receiving the ability of witnessing to others. However, we don't need the Holy Ghost to be a good witness. This simply says that we “shall receive power.” When? After that the Holy Ghost has some upon us... and then we shall be witnesses.

But that's not all I find in His Word. Acts 8:12-17 says that:

“12 ...they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

This says they “Believed,” then they were “Baptized,” and then, in verses 15-17, they had not yet had the “Holy Ghost”... but they were Believers who were Baptized. They didn't receive the Holy Ghost until the disciples hands were laid upon them.

Interestingly, accepting Christ and receiving the “Holy Ghost” was NOT at the same time. But let me continue, and then I'll explain why there's a difference here.

I read in Acts 19:2-7 that:

“2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.”

Again, the Holy Ghost was not imparted on them until later in their Christian lives. They were Believers (v2) and baptized (v3), but they had no Holy Ghost because they didn't even know there was anything called the Holy Ghost. But again, they were indeed believers because Paul said, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”

So What's the Difference?

There is indeed a difference. We found in Acts 1:8 that they would receive “power” after the Holy Ghost was come upon them. The difference is this: We receive the Holy Ghost at Salvation.

Then we can see in Romans 15:13 that there's more “power” evidence. It says, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

This is a lot like this... We can have the Holy Ghost without the power, just as I can have a beautiful car, and no gasoline.

Definite Differences

We know that Acts 1:8 said that we would receive power to become Witnesses in “Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Then our Lord ascended up into the clouds (Acts 1:9).

Then Mark shows that Jesus clarified that comment. Mark 16:15-19 says this:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

This says the same thing, but with more clarity. There are two pre-requisites here.

First is that we Believe. The second is that we are baptized. I was always taught that to Believe here, was to Believe in the Doctrine of Christ. That is to believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, born of a virgin, ministered three years, was brutally beaten, crucified on a cross, was resurrected, then ascended unto the Father and is now at the Right hand of the Father.

But since I'd accepted Christ in 1972, I noticed something more to this. That maybe this is a passage of dual meaning. As I'd learned more about other churches, their beliefs, and how they viewed this subject, I'd also noticed something else.

Those churches which do not “believe” that the gifts of the Spirit are for the Church of today, those Believers living now in the 21st Century, do not usually have any of the Gifts of the Spirit in operation in their churches.

Yes, I said usually... That's a place for an occasional operation of a Gift of the Spirit because God wills it to be used, by whomever is willing at the time. Yes, I'm saying that there can be times when one who doesn't believe in the operations of the Gifts of the Spirit may indeed be used of God to work one of the Gifts or other demonstrations of the Power of the Holy Ghost.

I'm reminded of a man who would not listen to God or His messenger. So God used a donkey to “speak” to the man (Numbers 22:21-31). If God can and did use a donkey to do His will, then He can also use someone to do it, who doesn't even Believe in it.

HOLY GHOST vs HOLY GHOST POWER

Holy Ghost?

When we receive the Holy Ghost when we accept Christ, we do indeed have the Holy Spirit. We find that 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 explains this:

“12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

When we accept Christ as Lord, we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the one and only Holy Spirit.

With the Holy Spirit we can have a relationship with Jesus Christ, a Comforter, and a means to the Father in Heaven through Christ (John 14:6).

When we have the Holy Ghost AND the Power that the Holy Ghost can provide, we have far more.

Holy Ghost Power

First, let's look at the manifestations of one who has the “power” of the Holy Ghost.

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 tells us that the Holy Ghost Power gives the power of wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, workings of miracles, prophecy, discerning of Spirits, various tongues, and interpretations of tongues. These are the gifts that the Holy Ghost provides for the Believers.

Think about this...

1. We have Joel's prophecy that God will pour out His Spirit in the Last Days (Joel 2:28-31).
2. We have John the Baptist and Christ Jesus telling that the Holy Ghost Power would be given to the people (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16).
3. We have Jesus telling them that they should wait for the Power of the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8).
4We have this outpouring beginning in the upper room with the 120 faithful Believers. Now we have the attributes of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit] (Acts 2:1-4). This is the beginning of the Last Days.
5. We know the attributes of the gifts of the power of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

Now, with all this knowledge so obvious, it's time for a final, very serious, question...

WHEN DID THE IMPARTING OF THE
POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST END?

I Must Teach This

Now for a very serious question... We know that these things were to happen in the “Last Days”.... Just when did those last days end? If the Last Days didn't end, then the gifts must still be in operation today. If they DID in fact end, then we would be with our Lord and not on this earth.

“Oh,” some might say, “the Bible tells us that it was only for the people in the first century; for the Disciples. It ended when the apostles died. It's in 1 Corinthians 13.”

Don't be misled in this. 1 Corinthians 13:8 was speaking of life now as compared to life in eternity. We must keep the Word in context with not only the surrounding verses, but also in context with the entirety of the Word of God.

Life now is to be lived in “Love” and it says that we can speak in tongues of men or angels, and it makes us no better than the average unrepentant sinner. Then it gives the attributes of Love, where we're encouraged to conduct our present lives in this fashion.

Then it mentions more contrasts between the present and the eternal future.

"...but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:8b-10)

This is simply telling us that now we have prophesies, tongues, and knowledge, but they will vanish away... not in the first century, but when Christ comes to catch up His Bride, the Church, and takes us with Him. There in His presence, with no sin, there will be no need for these things because we'll be living in a perfect world and perfect existence.

Verse 10 further clarifies verse 8. When Christ takes us to that perfect world, these “Gifts of the Spirit” won't be needed.

Then we have 1 Corinthians 13:12 which offers an even further contrast of the present and the eternal. It tells us that “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

We can't see eternal things clearly now, because there are many hazy areas of what we can comprehend. However, when we step over into eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ, then there will be no haze or fog, but we will be able to see all with crystal clarity.

Again, the Gifts of the Spirit are to help us cope on earth. The Last Days are not over yet, therefore they are available to Believer today, as Gifts of Power from the Spirit of God.

IN CLOSING

I Must Teach This

I have one last thought on this. That comes from Hebrews 13:8 which instructs us saying that “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Our Lord does not change. He's just, and does not change the attributers of Righteousness and His Will. He's the same today as He was 2000 years ago.

Another passage that comes to mind is James 1:17 which tells me that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

The Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 were good gifts given by the Spirit of God. Why would God take away a good and perfect gift from His Children? Again, this verse says He does not change.

Now I ask, if the “Gifts of the Spirit,” including speaking in tongues, were appropriate gifts from God 2000 years ago, when how could it be a sin today?

If it is truly a sin today, then it had to have been a sin in the early church and with the Disciples?

Nothing which God brings forth for His Children is evil. God brought forth the good and wonderful Gifts of the Spirit, and the manifestations of the Power of the Holy Ghost, and that can never be evil.

For Him to make it right once, and a sin later makes God a liar. My God doesn't change; He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change. His attitude toward, and description of good and evil are the same now as they were in the early Church. His good and perfect Gifts of the Spirit which He gave us must still be ours, because again, since these things were to exist in the Last Days (Joel 2), and it all began in Acts 2. Now I ask you, just when did the Last Days end...?