Bible Questions and Answers

Thanks for your question.

There is only one way in our day and age to be filled with the Holy Spirit and that is by filling one's mind with the word of God and obeying it from one's heart.

Many groups insist that the ability to "speak in tongues" is the sure sign that one is "filled with the spirit." They see it as a sign that one has been "saved." This is not Bible teaching as is made crystal clear in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13. The gift of tongues was a temporary measure given to allow the disciples to effectively preach the Gospel to nations whose languages were not known by the preachers of that day. The actual gifts of the spirit died out when the last of the apostles, John, died around 100 A.D. 

The miraculous gifts of the spirit are no longer available today, except for the ultimate gifts of the spirit, faith, hope, and love. The so-called gift of tongues claimed by some denominations is a form of ecstatic babbling called glossalalia. This is a well known psychological phenomenon and it is common among not only Pentecostals and so-called "Holiness" groups but also among many pagan tribal religions and especially among the Voodoo-Catholic cults of Brazil. Linguistic scientists have studied the claims of modern "tongues-speakers" thoroughly and they have never once come across an instance of a genuine language. 

In my experience, these folks exaggerate to the point of lying about their spiritual experiences and especially about speaking in tongues and their so-called healing gifts. They fit Paul's description of religion in the last days - See 2 Timothy 3:13 "while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

Take a look at this material on the https://www.thisisyourbible.com website:

If you want to come to grips with what the Bible really teaches, why not take our free online course, "Exploring the Bible," on our website, http://ww.thisisyourbible.com? This course will give you a background in the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. As with everything we offer, there is no cost to you other than your time and effort. You will also have a personal tutor to whom you may pose questions either from the course itself or those questions which come to you as you read the Bible.

I hope you have found this helpful

God bless!

Mike