Now please turn back with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians 14. We do appreciate Marco reading that passage and reading it so well. I know that it sometimes is a nerve-wracking thing for folk to be behind the pulpit and in front of the congregation, but as I mentioned last week, we're trying to encourage our young men to do these kind of things and perhaps who knows what avenues of service the Lord will open up for them in years to come, so we appreciate that. Now last Sunday morning I began to deal or to try to deal with chapter 14 of this epistle and I approached it by asking this question, are the tongues today the same as those in the New Testament. Or if you were to put it another way, is the revival of tongue speaking in this day in which we live a genuine revival of true New Testament tongues? And I said last week, and I want to emphasize again because I think it's ethical when you're borrowing a great deal from someone else that I am much indebted to the work of Dr. O. Palmer Robertson in this area, who I think has been extremely helpful. I've endeavoured to study the whole area much and to read as many different viewpoints as I can, and I've found none more helpful than his, and I'm very much indebted to him, last week and also this week. Now I made two points last Sunday morning. I made quite a number of preparatory and introductory remarks, which I think are important. If you missed the message last Sunday, they'll be on the tape. But I made two basic points in the message. First, the tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 were revelational. That is, the tongue speakers in the Corinthian church and in the New Testament were vehicles of immediate inspiration and divine revelation. They were on a par with prophecy and they were giving forth immediate inspiration, the New Testament of course largely being unwritten at that time in history. And secondly, the tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 were intended to edify the people of God, the church at large. They were not private tongues. They were not given for private blessing and for private use. They were given, as all the gifts were given, for the edification of the church, the people of God. So as we come back this morning, this is really the third point of the message, the first of this morning. the third of the overall treatments, and it's simply this. The tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 were foreign languages. Now this, of course, is hotly contested in these days of neo-Pentecostalism and the modern charismatic movement. It's hotly contested, but I think it's an important point. Folk insist today that the tongues in the New Testament were ecstatic utterances. that they were, quote, heavenly languages, such as no other languages ever upon earth. I want to suggest to you this morning that the evidence is quite the other way. That the evidence basically points to the fact that the languages of 1 Corinthians 14 and the New Testament generally, these tongues, were in fact foreign languages. Come back with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. Now, we did touch on this back in July, but because it's so significant, I want to look at it again this morning. Acts chapter 2, of course, is the first instance of tongues speaking in the New Testament. And because it is the first instance, it is therefore significant in that it sets a pattern before us, as is often the case. We have a pattern here, it's very important. Let us read together, as we look at Acts chapter 2, I shall read it and you follow along from verse 4 through 11. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, this of course is the day of Pentecost, the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. They'd come up of course for the feast of Pentecost. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? Parvians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene Visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God Now this is a very intriguing passage and as I say a very important one but I think as you read that passage something is abundantly evident And what is evident is that the tongues that were being spoken by the apostles were the languages of the people that were gathered. I think that is absolutely clear. It could hardly be clearer that the apostles were speaking in what we would call foreign languages. The miracle that God performed that day was that he enabled men who were basically uneducated men certainly they were not highly educated they were fishermen and tax collectors and others they were not highly educated men the miracle was that he enabled them to speak forth the wonderful works of God in a language that they had not learned and studied and languages which were the languages of the people that were listening so they were speaking in the Parthian and Mede language in the language of Cappadocia, in the Egyptian language, the Libyan language, the Arabian tongues, and so forth. They say we heard them speaking in our own languages, these wonderful works of God. Now, in this part of the text, the Greek text, the original language that the Apostle used, and Luke, as he wrote this Acts of the Apostles, the Greek language, there are two words used here. The one is the word glosa, which simply is translated, if you look it up in a lexicon, a Greek-English lexicon, you'd find that it is, glosa is the member, the tongue, the literal organ in the mouth, it is also the language that people speak, and it'll give you a variety of comments upon it. Glosa, tongue. That is used in verse 4. They began to speak with other tongue. And also down in verse 11, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. The word glosa is used there. There's another word used in the Greek text here, it's the word dialecto, from which we get our word dialect. And that's used in verse 6, and it's translated in the New King James Version, language. because everyone heard them speak in his own language and the same also in verse 8, how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born. Now it is significant then that Luke, as he records what happened here, uses these two words interchangeably. The glossa are the dialecto, the dialecto is the glossa, he uses them interchangeably. They speak with tongues and the people say, hey, we're hearing what they say in our language. They hear them in their language and they say in our own tongues. Clearly then, the tongues of Acts chapter 2 were foreign languages. They were the languages of the people gathered. Now the point is, in 1 Corinthians 14, if we come back to 1 Corinthians 14, We find, again, if you were to take an interlinear Greek New Testament and you were to trace the lettering and so forth, you would see that the word glosa is used throughout 1 Corinthians 14. It's the word that is translated tongues. It's the same word as is used in those two instances I gave you in Acts chapter 2. And there is no compelling reason, there is no logical reason for believing that somehow the glossa of Acts 2 are different from the glossa of 1st Corinthians 14 or vice versa. It's the same word, it would appear to be the same phenomenon. That the miracle is happening again, that men were speaking in languages that they had not studied, they had not learned, it was a miracle whereby God enabled them to speak in foreign languages. Now, we go on further in this line of reasoning and I think it's evident that Paul's quotation of Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 14 gives strength to the argument. In 1 Corinthians 14.21 we read, in the law, remember that the word law was used quite often amongst the Jews for the entire Old Testament, in the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people and yet for all that they will not hear me, says the Lord. Now this is a quote from the book of Isaiah But did you know, did you realize that there are two other places apart from Isaiah in the Old Testament where tongues are referred to? Turn back with me to the book of Deuteronomy, the Old Testament, the fifth book of the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy, and chapter 28. Deuteronomy chapter 28. And a verse 49 verse 49 the Lord will bring a nation against you says God through Moses speaking to the Israelites the Lord will bring a nation against you from afar from the end of the earth as swift as the eagle flies notice a nation whose language you will not understand a language A nation rather whose language you will not understand. That's a reference to foreign languages, foreign tongues. Go to the book of Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah, chapter 5 and verse 15. Jeremiah 15, or 5 and 15. Behold, says God through Jeremiah, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord, It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation. Notice, a nation whose language, whose tongue you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. And then of course there is the passage that Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 28. You find it in Isaiah 28 and verse 11. Isaiah 28 and 11. And that reads this way. Get the right reference here, Isaiah 28, 11. For with stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people, to whom he said, this is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear. Rebellious Israel. I will speak, he says, with stammering lips and another tongue. Now what is significant about these three Old Testament references, one in the book of Deuteronomy, one in the book of Jeremiah, one in the book of Isaiah, is that all of them occur in a context of judgment. All of them. Just check out the context, do it for yourself when you get home, check it out. All of them appear in a context of judgment. God is pronouncing judgment upon an obstinate and rebellious and gaze-saying and unbelieving people. And he says in Deuteronomy, he warns them in Deuteronomy that he would speak to them in judgment through a people whose tongues they didn't understand. Jeremiah picks up the same theme or Isaiah picks up the same theme and says it again, warns them again, God will speak with tongues that they don't understand And Jeremiah, in fact, actually lived to see and to hear what to the Jews were stammering lips and certainly another tongue. Jeremiah lived to see the Babylonians in Jerusalem. And they heard the babblings and the tongue, the strange foreign language of the Babylonians right there in Jerusalem as God judged them back there centuries before the Lord Jesus Christ. So these verses, these passages are all in a context of judgment. When the Jews heard the utterances of strange languages in their midst, it was a sign according to their Old Testament that God's judgment was upon them. And I say Moses warned of it, Isaiah warned of it, Jeremiah heard it. The judgment of God in the form of the Babylonians, they heard the speech of foreign language of Babylon. Now Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14.22 the tongues are for a sign not to those who believe but to unbelievers and given the context in which he's been speaking with men of other lips and with other tongues I will speak to this people that was the Jewish people We should see the unbelievers here as the unbelieving Jews of the first century, the apostolic era, who of course gave the apostles a very difficult time and who basically rejected their Messiah. And Paul says that the tongues are for a sign to unbelievers. The gift of tongues was a sign of God's judgment upon a nation who had rejected their own Messiah. A nation that were rebellious, and obstinate, and gainsaying, and who went to the ultimate of repudiating the very Son of God Himself. And it is indeed sobering to remember that just about fifteen years after this epistle was written, Jerusalem was demolished again. and the Roman armies under Titus came and demolished Jerusalem, the Levitical priesthood was dismantled, the whole sacrificial system was demolished, and God's judgment was evident upon them then as never before. And so the tongues that Paul is speaking about correspond with the tongues that the Old Testament spoke about And therefore it's a very strong supporting argument that what Paul is speaking about here is a foreign language. For the tongues of the Old Testament were the tongues of the Babylonians, which was a foreign language. It wasn't gibberish. It was to the Israelites, of course. They couldn't understand it, but it wasn't some ecstatic utterance. It was a language of Earth. But it was a foreign language. For fourteen hundred years, you see, God had spoken to one nation, basically, in one language, basically. Now he was to speak to all nations in many languages. All nations in many languages. The tongues of first Corinthians marked a turning point in redemptive history, a turning point in God's dealing with his people. And it's very, very important that we see that, and we're going to come to that in a few moments. The Babylonian tongue, corresponding to the tongues of 1 Corinthians, a foreign language. Now this is further supported in the 1st Corinthians passage by verses 10-13 where Paul says there are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world and none of them is without significance. Therefore if I do not know the meaning of the language I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Even so, you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. Therefore, let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret." Now there's another word that's used in the Greek text here, it's the word phonē, from which we get phonetics, telephone, phonograph and so forth. It is translated in the New King James Version as languages. And again if you were to look up a Greek lexicon you would find that most of the discussion, though it does mean sound and things like that, but most of the discussion is taken up with the idea of languages. Paul is quite evident in what he says, he says there may be so many kinds of languages in the world and none of them is without significance and so on when he says in verse 11 if I do not know the meaning of the language I shall be a foreigner to him the Old King James Version translated barbarian but again if you were to look at a lexicon you'd find that though that word did comes to have a negative and pejorative idea and content to it, if you look in the lexicon you'll find that the word used in the text basically means somebody who spoke in a different language to yours and therefore that you couldn't understand. It was a foreigner in other words. A foreigner. A barbarian only in the sense that he was someone that you just could not understand at all. And so Paul, in 1 Corinthians, is not speaking about out-of-this-world babbling, he's talking about languages of the world that are not understood by people. And we say it then, first of all, because Acts 2 clearly teaches that the languages were foreign languages and known. Secondly, because the quotation from Isaiah 28 indicates that it was a known language just as in the Old Testament the judgment came with a known language the Babylonians and thirdly because of verses 10 and 11 where he clearly is speaking about languages but the languages that weren't understood by others and so I'm saying first of all then that the tongues of 1 Corinthians 14 were foreign languages. Now then, there's a foreign language being uttered at the moment, so we'll just wait until we get that foreign language out of the way. And I've already anticipated, in fact, my second point. I've already anticipated the second point, in fact I've already made it, but let me put it more succinctly. The tongues of 1 Corinthians 14 were assigned to the Jews as a specific and unique point in history. The tongues of 1 Corinthians 14 were assigned to the Jews at a specific and unique point in history. So we've already seen that these references in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Isaiah, were all given in the context of judgment. And Paul says that, as he quotes Isaiah, these tongues are a judgment. one language to one nation for 1400 years, but now it's going to be all nations in many languages. The Lord Jesus said to the Jews, the Lord Jesus himself in Matthew's Gospel, he said to the leaders of the Jews a very significant thing in Matthew 21. He said to them, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." That was a very significant statement. The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, from the Jewish nation as a nation, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits. What was that nation? Peter identifies it when he speaks to the believers in 1 Peter 2. He says, you, Christian believers, are a holy nation. The new Israel, the church of Jesus Christ, now bring forth the fruits of the kingdom of God. But there was a point in history when God turned from dealing specifically and exclusively with the Jews, and he turned to all the nations of the earth. His judgment fell upon the Jews, and yet mercy was sent out to the Gentiles. So that we can in fact say, the tongues are not only a sign of judgment, but they're also a sign of mercy. You know, there's always the two sides of the coin. On one side is judgment, on another side is mercy. And so Israel's exclusive place, Israel's exclusive place as the unique people of God was coming to an end. That was what they found so difficult to accept. Still do. That was what they found so difficult to believe. But the reality was that Israel as a unique people of God as a theocracy and a unique nation was coming to an end. But God was now going to gather a new people and a new nation from every tongue, tribe, people and nation. and God now was going to send his truth and his saving message to all the nations of the world and to gather his elect people from all of those nations but that change, listen carefully now, follow carefully that change from the exclusive dealing with Israel to the universal dealing with all the nations that change came in the first century And that change was marked by the gift of tongues, the sign to the unbelieving Jews, that the judgments of God had come upon them for their repudiation of the Messiah, and that his mercy was now going forth to all the world. Not now one nation and one tongue, but many nations and many tongues, and that was graphically illustrated in the gift of tongues in the Apostolic Church. So, says Paul, tongues was a sign, a sign especially to unbelieving Israel, that judgment had come upon them, that their exclusive position was over, God was now forging a nation from all the world. But you see, once that has happened, once that has taken place, the sign doesn't continue, right? The sign doesn't continue. Dr. Robertson gives two rather interesting illustrations. He gives two illustrations which I think are helpful. He says, you know, when you're going along in your car, you're going along in your car and there's a bend, maybe a sharp bend down the road, right? And so there's a sign on the edge of the road that indicates this sharp curve ahead. Now once you've gone around the sharp curve, you don't keep seeing that sign down the road all the way, do you? Sharp curve ahead, sharp curve. No, no, that's gone. And Dr. Robinson says, you don't, as you're going by in your car, you don't lean out the window and grab the sign and take it with you. Right? It's done its job. It's done its job. It's told you about the curve in the road. The other illustration he uses is this, he says, you know, is there anything more annoying, and this is really, I can relate to this, and I think most of us could, is there anything more annoying, you're following someone in your car, and they're going to turn a corner, so they put the flashing light on, you know, blink, blink, blink, down the corner they go, but they don't turn it off, alright? And you're behind this, and it's blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, you know, they've turned the corner, They're down on the highway, and it's blink, blink, blink, blink, you know, that's aggravating, isn't it? That's aggravating. Because, you know, you don't keep indicating the turn once you've gone by it. Of course not. Now there came a turn in the dealing of God with Israel. There came a turn in the dealing of God with the nations. It came in the first century, as I've said, when God terminated Jewish exclusivism and introduced what I sometimes call Christian Universalism. Not one nation, one tongue, but many nations and many tongues, and he indicated the turn with the sign of the gift of tongues. Now you don't take the sign with you down all the succeeding centuries. You don't need that sign anymore. We don't need that sign anymore. You don't keep the blinker going all down the... the turn's been made The change has happened It is irrelevant to say that we need now the gift of tongues when the reason for it is over And so our summary then is this Tongues in 1 Corinthians were revelational Tongues were intended for the edification of the Church Tongues were foreign languages, and tongues were assigned to the Jews at a unique point in the history of redemption. Now then, the question is, how does the modern tongues movement measure up against that? I suggest that it doesn't. First, because they're not revelational, because we have a complete Bible. I do not believe in spite of the claims of many of them, that they are giving us fresh revelations from God. We have a complete Bible. We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Secondly, most of them that we speak of these days are claimed to be private things, but God says the ones in 1 Corinthians are public, for the church, not for private use. Thirdly, they certainly these days are not foreign languages, Very, very few, if any, would claim that. They're not foreign languages at all. They've been examined and linguists have analysed them and so forth. They're not foreign languages. And fourthly, the sign to the Jews was given, as I've said, at a unique point in history. And that's gone. So my conviction is, and I say it with all due respect to those who insist otherwise, many of them are very fine Christian people, but I suggest that the modern tongues movement does not meet up with the criterion of 1 Corinthians 14. They are not the same. It is not a revival of the New Testament gift. Well you say, how do you explain it? Well, there's a sense in which it's not mine to explain. That's not my problem. Perhaps it's their problem. I do think that some of it is just quite phony. Perhaps not very much, but there's some that would come under that category, where people are just playing a game. There is some also which is probably very marginal, but there probably is some satanic deception involved in some instances. But I think that the most of it is emotional and psychological. And if you discuss this with some of them, and you ask them, you know, what happened? Well, you realize that there was a great deal of manipulation, there was a great deal of emotional, psychological manipulation, and a great deal of it is simply self-induced. Tongue-speaking, as I've said before on other occasions, is not unique to sects of the Christian religion. You find it in other religions as well. It can be produced, you can learn how to do it. And so maybe some of those areas would have to be explored, especially I think the psychological and the emotional area of things. But I do not believe that we can really see that this is a revival of the New Testament gift. Well, what is needed? What is needed? I tried to end up last week with some practical application. Let me try and do the same this week. Practical application. I say again, what is needed is not the sensational and the tongues and the miracles and the powers and the wonders and so forth. What is needed first of all is that people come to know Christ as Saviour and Lord. That's the first thing. Let us remember One of the most sobering and frightening passages in all of the Scripture is in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, where Jesus himself paints the picture of people standing before him and saying, Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do many mighty works in your name? And Jesus says, I will say to them, depart from me, I never knew you. Man, that is a frightening passage of scripture. This is not radical liberals that Jesus is talking about. It's people who thought that they were doing wonderful works in the name of Jesus, and he said, I did never know you. So my dear friend, the presence of miraculous powers is not necessarily the sign of the blessing of the Lord. Let us not be taken up with the sensational. What we need first of all is that we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Secondly, that we study the Scriptures and become grounded in Christian doctrine and teaching. Oh, what a desperate need there is for us to be grounded in the teaching of the Word of God in Christian doctrine. It is a sad, tragic thing. And I'm not speaking abstractly now, I've spoken to people who have been so tremendously committed to signs and wonders and speaking in tongues was just the ultimate for them. And you know the tragic thing is they have been grossly ignorant of the foundational doctrines of the Gospel. And I'm not putting them down, I'm not caricaturing them. This is the sad reality. that they get so obsessed with the sensational, and you talk to them about the foundational realities of the gospel of Christ, you speak to them about justification by faith, or the propitiatory work of Christ, the atonement of Christ, and the doctrine of adoption, and sanctification and so forth, and they have not got a clue. That's tragic. That is really tragic. We must study the scriptures and become grounded in Christian teaching. Thirdly, we must live godly lives. Godly lives. We have seen again that people who themselves strongly advocate sensational gifts to be in operation, can at the same time be living in adultery. Is there anything more heartbreaking than that, that men advocating tongue-speaking can at the same time be visiting prostitutes? Now be careful that if you quote me, I'm not saying that all tongue-speakers do that. I'm saying that, and you know who I'm referring to, that there are those who whilst advocating these marvellous gifts are living ungodly lives. And what I am saying is this. That it's not sensational and miraculous gifts that are needed in the church. It is, as I said last week, holy living, godly living. The implementing of the word of God. Fourthly, we are to serve the Lord. We are to live our lives in the service of God. And fifthly, we are to seek to build up the church of Jesus Christ. to build up the Church of Christ. That was Paul's great concern here. He says to these people, stop playing with your toys. That's what he's really saying. Brethren, he says in verse 22, do not be children in understanding. In malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. Grow up, he says. Stop playing with your toys and start building the Church of Jesus Christ. These are the things we must be concerned for Do you know the Lord this morning my friend? Do you know the Lord? There are people you know and you get talking to them They want to discuss this perhaps and they don't know Christ You knock on their door and you get to talk to them Well they raise this question and they don't know Christ Do you know Christ? You might be a veritable superman and have all kinds of miraculous powers if you don't know Christ You're lost forever. Do you know Christ? Are you studying the Word of God? Are you living a godly life, seeking to follow the Lord? Are you seeking to serve Him? Are you endeavouring to contribute to the up-building of this Church? These are the things that are important. And so I suggest to you that the answer to the question, are modern tongues the revival of New Testament tongues? The answer is no. Whatever they are, they're not that. And it would be a red herring in the side-tracking if we pursue the kind of things that many tell us to pursue these days. You know what we're to pursue these days? Well, Paul tells us again and again and again, doesn't he? Two verses just jumped into my mind and with these I'll close. he says in 2nd Corinthians, he's writing to the same people but the 2nd epistle, 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1, therefore having these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God and the author of the great book of Hebrews, that magnificent epistle of Hebrews says you remember As he writes to these people who were wavering in their confession of faith, who were beginning to wonder whether they shouldn't throw over the Christian gospel, he says, look, pursue peace with all men and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected." Oh, says Paul, the true holiness. Know the Lord, and seek to be like Him in your character. Well, may God give us understanding on a very difficult passage of Scripture. I hope we've had some illumination from the Spirit in the last couple of weeks. And let's pray that we might give our priorities to biblical priorities, and pursue the knowing of Christ with all our diligence. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, We pray that you would illuminate us by your Spirit, that you would, O God, forgive anything in us, even within the message that has not been in accordance with the Spirit of Christ, or that has not been true. But wherein we have been unable to see truth, will you seal it to our hearts, and grant, O God, that we might know Jesus Christ by faith as our Saviour and Lord, and seek to pursue holiness in the fear of God, and make our calling and election sure, and give ourselves to serving the Lord and to the upbuilding of His Church. Help us in this, I beseech you, and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We shall sing together hymn 361 as we conclude the service. 361. We emphasised last week the sufficiency of scripture. The sufficiency of scripture. And here's this lovely old hymn, very simple, but very delightful. Lord thy word abideth and our footsteps guideth. Who it's truth believeth, light and joy receiveth. The word of God which lives and abides forever. 361. I've said. I can join with thee. Let the drops that they water, Let the storms that o'er us, And the clouds before us, To make shepherds branded, By my burning fountain, To my fish-bowl pounded. Lord of mercy, living, were not like the flying, struck down to the dying. So that we may be standing in And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be ours this day and forevermore. Amen.