If we want to improve in any skill, we must practice. This axiom is also true for preaching. If you don’t get many opportunities to preach, them you won’t be able to grow as an expositor. But there is an additional tool beyond practice that is also needed. As a matter of fact, it goes hand in hand with practice. It’s feedback. We need help with seeing our blindspots and our weaknesses in our sermons and delivery. One good place to get helpful feedback is from our church–those people that love us and want us to grow in our skills.
Biblical Christian leadership has always been in short supply. For some prominent leaders, sometimes the cracks in the facade begin to show that below the surface, there exists a double standard for life–“What is good for thee is not for me.” For Christians, our final authority is Scripture, but it seems that for some, biblical authority is placed below popularity, past success, and unquestioned loyalty. Every person will answer to the Lord and no one is above biblical scrutiny. “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” (James 4:6, ESV). How can we be assured that we don’t fall or become dis-integrated? King David’s Psalm 101:1-4 gives us great encouragement and direction for becoming leaders with integrity.
“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.” (Psalm 101:1–4, ESV)
Leading with Integrity:
1. Requires a Resolute Determination (vv. 1-3). David sings over and over again, “I will…” with a resolute determination that he will worship with song and life. He will live in such a way that he pleased the Lord and not the flesh. There are basically three things we commonly call “resolutions.” The first is what some people do each New Year–promises they don’t intend to keep. Then there are official statements made by governments and groups which really have little to no power to change anything. It is simply a public declaration. The third type of resolution happens deep in the heart and soul. It is the opposite of the other two. It is a strong and determined statement of the will that says that you will do everything in your power to fulfill this promise. The leader of integrity determines that with God’s help he will accomplish the will of God.
2. Requires a Balance of Love and Justice (v. 1). David is wise, declaring his love and desire for both loving mercy and justice. James Montgomery Boice wrote, “Mercy and justice operate as checks on one another. Justice checks love that might otherwise be wrongly indulgent and therefore harmful. Love checks judgment that might otherwise be unduly harsh and therefore also harmful. David wanted his rule to be marked by both of these.”(James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 42–106: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 819). We should strive to be leaders who are both merciful and just. Whether in our home, work, church, or other group, we should strive to be balanced in love and justice. That can be hard, but that is what we see in our Lord Jesus, don’t we?
3. Requires a Biblically Thoughtful Direction (v. 2a). Pondering is not a glance at something, a simple passing over or a peek at it. Pondering means to look long and hard at something while meditating on it. What is the object of David’s pondering? It is the “way that is blameless” or “the perfect way,” which for the Christian is the Word of God. And the child of God who desires to lead with integrity needs to take this Book and use it to gain biblically thought ful direction and guidance. Your Bible should be like an old path–familiar and worn out. David said he would “ponder” the way that is blameless. Do you meditate on the Word. I know we ponder on our failures, our struggles, our temptations, our hurts, our needs, and our disappointments. But do you ponder God’s answers? Do you sit and think? Do you take God’s Word into your thoughts like a hard candy in your mouth. Rolling it over and over, savoring it?
4. Requires Beginning in the Heart and Extending to Every Realm of Our Lives (v. 2b). To walk with integrity of heart is a way of speaking of growing in holiness, what we call the process of sanctification. In his book, Living for God’s Glory, Joel Beeke writes, “Holi- ness that resembles God and is patterned after Christ saves us from hypocrisy and resorting to a “Sunday only” Christianity. It gives vitality, purpose, meaning, direction, and contentment to daily living” ( ) The word “integrity” is a math term, from the word “integer.” And integer is a whole number, it is not a fraction. Put theologically, it means a whole person, not a partially committed person, a half believer or an “almost Christian.” Leading with integrity requires that we must begin in our heart first. Before you look to your spouse for change, or your children or other family members, or your boss or friends or so- ciety or the church, where do you need to begin? With yourself.
5. Requires an Awareness of the Company that We Keep (v. 3). This word “worthless” in v. 3 is the Hebrew word belial, and it means “worthless,” but not in the way we think of trash or junk. The KJV uses the word “wicked” and the HCSB uses “vile.” These two translations show us that “worthless” is a ref- erence to its deep moral depravity. David says that he will not place before his eyes anything that is wicked or worthless. To see the proper understanding of this for ourselves, it is helpful to see this in a spectrum:
Absolutely abstain from the outright wicked–Gal 5:19-21
Situationally discern the marginally wicked–Prov 25:16, 17
Strategically refrain from useless pursuits–2Tim 2:1-6
In Psalm 101:3, David makes a commitment that he won’t look at wicked things, and that he won’t allow wicked people into his life. As the King, this would have meant in his realm. Do you al- low wicked things into your life? What about into your home? If you’re walking in the counsel of the wicked you might not even recognize them. You might even tell someone who points it out that they are being too legalistic. Imagine that, a Christian brother or sister counsels you to move toward holiness, but you would rather walk with the wicked! May this never be said of any of us. May we be men and women of integrity who lead our homes and work place with a heart moved to holiness.
6. Requires Removing Wicked Influences from Our Lives (v. 4). The “perverse heart” is not the danger from within, but the dan- ger from without. Remember, we are talking about leading with integrity here. We must guard our own hearts from wickedness lest we become a wicked leader. But we just as much guard ourselves from wicked counselors who would lead us away from godly leadership as well. Brothers and sisters, we must have discretion in our choices of those who are influential in our lives. You see, the danger is not merely in making poor choices in leadership. The danger is far greater than that. The greater threat is that we shall become like the wicked. We shall join their ranks.
I want us as Christians to think about how we behave in regard to stepping in and offering help to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ when there is a chance that we might get berated, burned, verbally beaten, or worse.
“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
(1 Corinthians 12:8–10, ESV)
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.””
(Acts 2:1–13, ESV)
One of the more divisive issues within the evangelical Christian church today is the issue of speaking in tongues. The growth of Pentecostal denominations and charismatic churches over the last 100 years has been phenomenal. For some, this is enough evidence that the modern gift of tongues is biblical. Add to this the experiential element and those who are convinced of the legitimacy of modern charismatic practices would be hard-pressed to deny their existence. Although the continuationist view is the newer position on the use of the miraculous gifts today, it has become the majority view within evangelicalism.
In this post I’d like to look at three characteristics on the Day of Pentecost to consider the question of what is the gift of tongues? After I answer them, I’d like to compare that special day and see if Pentecost is still happening today.
The account in Acts 2 follows Jesus’ ascension after he told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit came. This small band of believers gathered together in an upper room and prayed together. The following is an examination of what happened in that room when the Spirit came:
Sound (vv. 2, 6)
This was a sign to both the believers gathered as well as the unbelievers that were drawn to the loud commotion.
This sound is described as being like “a mighty rushing wind.” The Greek word for “wind” is pneuma and it is also the word used for Spirit. The wind was described as sounding like rushing or violent wind. This sound was meant to communicate the power of the Holy Spirit.
This surprising sound was not wind but was “like” wind in its mighty power–reminding the disciples of the promise given by Jesus in Acts 1:8 that he would give them power to accomplish his commission.
Sight (v. 3)
The “tongues of fire” appeared to those in the upper room and thus were a sign to the believers gathered.
The tongues were distributed among them all, and everyone in the room received this sign as it rested upon each of them. This was followed by speaking in tongues. In 1Cor 12:11, Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit gives his spiritual gifts to those whom he wills.
Why a sign of fire? Throughout the Bible fire represents two major ideas-judgment and purity. In this setting and context, it is appropriate to understand the symbol as a reference to the purifying work of the Spirit (Isaiah 6; Rev. 1:14, 15).
Speech (vv. 4-11)
The speech was a sign to the unbelievers (vv. 6-12). Those gathered Jews in the city of Jerusalem did not hear God speaking in Hebrew, as he had done in the Old Testament through his prophets. He spoke to them through the foreign languages of the nations. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul said, “In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.” (1 Corinthians 14:21–22, ESV)
What did these Christians say when they spoke in tongues? What was the content of their speech? We don’t have to wonder. Verse 11 says they were speaking of the mighty deeds of God. It is important to also note that their words were understandable to the people–not Christians, but unbelieving Jews.
Additionally, it is important to point out that the miracle was in speech, not hearing. Verses 9-11 tells us that the people gathered heard the praise of these Christians in their own tongues. That was because the languages were genuine human languages from the places these Jewish pilgrims had come from.
Conclusion: What happened after this event? What were the conclusions the crowd came to?
Confusion (v. 12). They didn’t have a clue about what was happening.
Contempt (v. 13). They mocked and said the people were drunk.
Conversions (2:41). Three thousand souls were saved.
Some Parallels to Today’s Tongues Movement?
Before I get to my questions, I need to ask, is Acts 2 descriptive or prescriptive? In other words, is Acts supposed to be a handbook for how we should conduct the Church today or is it a history of how the early church functioned at one time and in many ways is unique?
Some within the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement call the church to a new Pentecost. They lament that the church is powerless today because we need that same power, and so we need the same Pentecostal experience. If Acts 2 is prescriptive and gives instructions for the Church to follow today:
Where is the rushing wind sound today?
Where are the fiery tongues today?
Why are tongues not identifiable languages today?
Why are tongues not used to testify to the unbelievers today?
Why are there not mass conversions on the scale of those in Acts 2 today?
Why is it that all those who are believers are not given this gift today? Even the 3,000 that were saved that day are never said to have been given the gift of tongues. Why not if it is supposed to be normal for every Christian?
It is my conviction that the gift of tongues and its accompanying gift of interpretation ceased after the completion of the Bible and is no longer necessary for the church to function. This is not just my opinion, but is in fact the confirmed historical stand of the Church from the end of the Apostolic age all the way up until the early 19th Century.
We do not need to practice tongues to become close to our Savior, God, and King. If you do not read God’s Word, tongues will not help you know Him better. If you do not pray, muttering in a supposed “angelic language” will not edify anyone. If you do not practice love, you can have no part with the Father. Such a large portion of so many churches are taken up with this practice that whole churches are known for their concentration on the Holy Spirit. Let us not forget what Jesus said concerning the Holy Spirit in John 16:13-14, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13–14, ESV). The Spirit never points to himself, but to Jesus. May we do the same.
We have been considering the need for the Church of Jesus Christ to preach the Bible faithfully, in full dependence upon God and the power vested in His Word. In the first article, I wrote that we must preach the Bible because it is our only authority. Without that divine Book, no man standing up on a Sunday morning has any authority. Secondly, we must preach the Bible because the Bible alone demonstrates divine power. Manipulation, oratorical skill, and emotionalism will only get you so far. Today I want to look at one last reason why we must preach the Bible.
3. It Demands Divine Duty
The hard soil of men’s hearts is not something unique to the 21st century. It is as old as humanity itself. This fact needs to sink into the heart of the pastor who is looking for low-hanging fruit when he seeks a ministry. God has not called most of us to a large pulpit ministry, nor world-wide fame. But He has called every one of His ministers to faithfully proclaim the Word wherever we are sent. Hard hearts, gang violence, poor attendance, meager offerings, inadequate facilities, nonexistent leadership, are all realities that can make ministry challenging, but none are reasons to walk away from a church or a community. As a matter of fact, all of these are reasons that a faithful Bible preaching, gospel-saturated church is needed in that place. The marks of this divine duty require us to preach faithfully, preach plainly, and preach patiently.
Preach Faithfully (Ezek. 2-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-5)
Facing the rebellious nation of Israel, the Lord clearly told Ezekiel what he must do, “And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezek. 2:7, ESV). Over and over again, Ezekiel was told that Israel was a rebellious house, impudent, stubborn, and hard-headed. And yet, his instructions were clear, speak God’s words to them. Though they would not listen, and though they were so hard in heart, it did not change the directive—be a watchman (3:17) and speak the words of impending judgment (v. 19) no matter what. Faithfulness is what God requires (3:19, 21).
As the Apostle Paul faced his own death, he exhorted Timothy to continue to persevere in the ministry of the Word in season and out of season. For Timothy, Paul’s imprisonment and coming death was a very real illustration of the threat to the gospel ministry. Paul didn’t instruct Timothy to move to a safer territory nor did he instruct him to avoid suffering, but instead encouraged him to keep preaching even when people will no longer endure it and that this might include the need to endure suffering for the sake of Christ. Paul was faithful to preach the whole counsel of God and he would receive his reward in due time (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
Preach Plainly (1Cor. 2:1-5)
Plain preaching is not the same as bland preaching, nor does it mean to preach simplistically. Paul’s desire to give Jesus Christ all the glory required him to make sure that his own preaching did not put the spotlight on his considerable education, gifts, and talents. Although the so-called super-apostles had a low view of Paul’s presence and preaching ability (2 Cor. 10:10), he placed his full dependence upon the power of God’s Spirit working through the Word of God. In doing this, Paul put the cross of Christ on full display. Plain preaching is not flashy, gimmicky, or self-seeking. Simply put, plain preaching is Spirit-empowered, not man-centered. The Puritan Richard Baxter wrote, “It is no easy matter to speak so plain that the ignorant may understand us, so seriously that the deadest heart may feel us, and so convincingly that contradictory cavaliers may be silenced.” (Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, (Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, 2012), 695).
Preach Patiently (2 Tim. 4:2)
Our duty to preach the Word must be done with the reminder that we do not preach ourselves nor do we preach our words. Pastors are under-shepherds that are to lead without being domineering. We are to be loving examples to the flock that has been placed in our charge (1 Pet. 5:2-4). This means that we must teach the Word of God with the patience of our Master (2 Tim. 4:2), and that is easier said than done, particularly when we are facing the growing challenges of ministry today. Nevertheless, we must teach and preach with great patience, waiting upon the Word and Spirit to do their mighty work.
Although the reasons that we preach the Word could be multiplied, these three should stand out for us—it is our authority, our power and our duty. And as we faithfully proclaim the Word, we can expect that it will do its mighty work of reviving the soul and enlightening the eyes (Ps. 19:7, 8). The benefits of doing so will manifest themselves in due time, showing us that as we sow the seeds of the Word into the hearts of our congregations that all our efforts are profitable (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and will accomplish the will of God in the end (Isa. 55:11).
As William Gurnall wrote a long time ago, “The Word of God is too sacred a thing and preaching to solemn a work, to be toyed and played with” (Ibid., 685). May we pick up our Swords and faithfully execute the ministry that the Lord has called each of us to do, for His greater glory and for the good of the Church.
Always Reforming 