I have a question about Jesus and how I can be baptized in the Holy Spirit.  It says in the Bible that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and they talked in tongues, right?  So I’m wondering why I can’t speak in tongues; I’ve gone up to the front at church a long time ago when I was young and was prayed over, but no tongues ever came out of me.  Does this mean I’m not God’s child?  Am I doomed?  I know it sounds dumb, but I need help; I don’t know what to think.  I don’t want to go up there again ever; I’m scared now.

Sincerely,
Tongue-Tied

Dear Tongue-Tied,

You don’t need to speak in tongues to be saved… which is a good thing because nobody speaks in tongues anymore.  Holy Spirit baptism was a miraculous event that happened to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).  The only other time that Holy Spirit baptism occurred was at the first Gentile conversion (it was given as a sign to Peter that it was okay for non-Jews to become christians – Acts 10:45-48).

Holy Spirit baptism is not what saves you; water baptism is what saves you (Acts 8:36, Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).  The Holy Spirit provided certain people with the ability to perform miracles.  Other than the apostles, christians received these miraculous abilities by the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:16-19).  Doing the math, that means that the last person to have miraculous abilities (like speaking in tongues) had to have lived at the same time as the apostles.  The last apostle died over 1,900 years ago!  Any church that tells you that you have to speak in tongues, prophesy, perform miracles, etc. to be saved is lying to you and misapplying the Scriptures.  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”, so you can see what the Bible really says about salvation.  If you would like help finding a faithful, Bible-following church in your area, feel free to e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

Can an instrument be in a church, or is it a sin?

Sincerely,
Open Mic

Dear Open Mic,

God has given us instruments to use for worshipping Him – our hearts (Eph 5:19).  In the New Testament, God tells us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to Him.  He wants the only melody He hears to come from our hearts.  Instrumental music wasn’t introduced into the church until over three hundred years after Christ.  In fact, ‘a cappella’ singing (singing without instruments) literally means ‘as the church’.  There are no examples of the church using instruments to worship God in the New Testament.  If we start using them, we are adding something to God’s Word (Rev 22:18-19).  All we are ever told to do is “sing and make melody in our hearts”… pluck your heartstrings as you sing to God, and you will make God happy.

What do you do when you feel that you have been pushed aside and not allowed to let your calling being used?  I was a director of a youth choir at my local church.  We now have a minister of music, and now I have been told by them that my services are no longer needed.  Whenever I asked to direct the choir because the Lord has laid a song in my heart, I am told that they have to pray about the song.  I talked to the pastor, and I was told that I should work with the minister of music, but they are not allowing me to work with them.  I have been directing and singing since the age of seven, and I am presently 49.  I have asked the Lord to help me with this situation because I am not clear about what I should do.  I have been asked to join another ministry, but I do not want to leave my present church.

Sincerely,
The Other Director

Dear The Other Director,

We are not exactly sure what advice to give you.  On the one hand, we could simply tell you that it is important to do whatever you can to be at peace with all men (Rom 12:18).  There are many times when we must deal with disappointment in order to get along with others.

On the other hand, we are concerned that we would be giving you a small piece of advice on human relationships while overlooking the weightier issue - the fact that you have been caught up in a world of choirs, ministers of music, and other things not found in the Bible.

The Bible gives us a simple example for worship.  God tells us that all christians should sing and make melody in our hearts (Eph 5:19).  There are no choirs in the New Testament church.  Choirs have audiences... in the church, we should all participate in praising God with our voices.  Choirs are a denominational concept that deviates from the New Testament pattern.  We here at AYP love singing and praising God in song, just like you do.  It is important that we stick to the Bible pattern and have everyone praise God and pluck their heart strings together.  Worship only makes God happy when we worship Him the way He wants (1 Sam 15:22).

I now believe as you do regarding miracles and why they ceased to exist when they did.  Also, you enlightened me on why God today uses unseen influences to make good things happen for us when we pray as if we're asking for a miracle.

My question: what is happening in these charismatic meetings when people report blind people seeing again, limbs growing, all the things you read about in their literature?  I hadn't given it much thought, not seeing it myself, until a neighbor told me she went to Oklahoma to a huge meeting some years ago, and a preacher, who has since died, would just walk by a portion of the congregation, and everyone would fall out on the floor, start speaking in tongues, people in wheelchairs getting up and running, etc.

Then you hear about some of the people 'losing their healing' some time later.  Are they actually receiving something, or is it all in their minds because they've been 'ramped up' during these meetings?

I'd like to know your opinion and what the Bible has to say about these groups because it seems like they're just going for all the right reasons, believing that they'll get healed.

Sincerely,
Caring For The Sick

Dear Caring For The Sick,

Charismatic preachers are false teachers that take advantage of the vulnerable.  People in their darkest hours of sickness seek hope from any source.  Faith healers prey upon this.

The meetings that you are talking about where people fall over, start randomly speaking gibberish, and supposedly are healed are infamous for being rigged.  Many journalists have investigated these tent meetings and found that they are specifically designed to work people into a frenzy.  During that frenzy, the evangelists will tell people they are healed, and the adrenaline of the moment gives some the momentary feeling of being healed.  There are documented cases of patients going to these meetings and being told that they had been cured of their cancer only to have the doctors diagnose them as terminally ill days later.  Other “healed” people are deceivers planted within the audience that pretend to be sick and throw their crutches away to add to the charade.

Those who go to these meetings are vulnerable to false teaching and are consequently deceived.  They are seeking a cure, and the false teachers know what to say to raise their hopes (2 Tim 4:3).  The faith healers are false teachers, and they will be judged by God for their wicked deceptions (2 Pet 2:1-2).  A teacher is more strictly judged (Jas 3:1), and therefore, these preachers will be held accountable for their lies.  It is our duty to try and undo their deception by bringing the truth to those who have been deceived.

This post is a follow-up question to “Not Nice Nicene” – AYP)

Thank you so much for answering my question in a timely manner.  Every Sunday during our worship service at church, we recite the Apostles’ Creed, and I cannot see anything in it that goes against the Bible.  Am I missing something important?   When we recite, "I believe in the holy catholic church...", I am under the impression it means I believe in the universal church.  I am of the Methodist faith, and I really want to do what is right in keeping with the Bible.  Am I correct re: the Apostles’ Creed?  Thank you so much for helping me. Sincerely, Creed Control

Dear Creed Control, There are several things unscriptural about reciting the Apostles’ Creed.  First of all – it really isn’t the apostles’ creed at all.  Paul said that the only thing he preached was the message of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 2:1-2).  He also said that if anyone preached anything other than that message, they were wrong (Gal 1:6-8).  So a creed named the Apostles’ Creed is already hypocritical – the only creed the apostles had was the Word of God. Furthermore, there are several phrases within the Apostles’ Creed that are vague at best – and at least one sentence that directly contradicts the Scripture.  We have highlighted it below in bold:

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
 the Maker of heaven and earth,
 and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
 born of the virgin Mary,
 suffered under Pontius Pilate,
 was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven,
 and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
 from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost;
 the holy catholic church;
 the communion of saints;
 the forgiveness of sins;
 the resurrection of the body;
 and the life everlasting.  Amen.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, He told the thief next to Him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43).  Jesus clearly said that He was going to be in Paradise after dying on the cross… not in hell.  The Apostles’ Creed is a direct contradiction of Scripture. This just goes to highlight the problem with human creeds – at very best, they say the exact same thing as Scripture (in which case… they are redundant and unnecessary), and more likely, they say things that are wrong.  The best thing mankind can do is throw off all creeds and accept nothing but the Bible.