Hi.  My grandmother does hoodoo; I know the name after researching the things she owns.  Is she going to hell; is hoodoo a sin?  The biggest thing is that she is a christian, a very godly woman; she attends church every Sunday and even gives one hundred dollars every month.

Sincerely,
Grandma Grief

Dear Grandma Grief,

Hoodoo is wrong and is a warping of the Scriptures.  Hoodoo is a term used for those who use the Bible like a magic spell book and protective talisman.  Instead of treating the Bible like an instruction book for life (which is the right attitude – 2 Pet 1:3, Rom 1:16, Rom 10:17), Hoodoo treats the Bible like a lucky rabbit’s foot.  If you open to the right Psalm or the read the proper verse at the proper time, you will be given special protection, health, or powers.  This is totally opposite of what the Bible teaches.  In fact, during the days of Paul, there were exorcists that tried this tactic.  A group of Jewish exorcists saw that Paul had power from God, so they tried to talk and act like Paul in order to receive the same powers Paul had… it didn’t work (Acts 19:13-16).  The Bible isn’t a tool to gain magical powers; it is a pattern for living (2 Tim 1:13).  No matter how much money your grandmother gives and how regularly she attends services, this practice is sinful.

I sometimes pray with a group of people on a prayer line.  The leader calls in from Africa.  The man calls himself a prophet.  No one has ever seen him.

The prophet is the leader of this prayer line.  He seems to be a wonderful man of God with spiritual gifts… always praying in the name of Jesus.  I’m very concerned and do not want to be deceived into any magic or anything that is against God.

He often asks the people who are having issues to bring oil, water, white handkerchiefs, stones, garments, shoes, rings, pictures, honey, sugar, salt, shirts, and many other objects.  He would pray over them and tell us what to do with them (for example: wear it to bed, put it under your pillow, flush things down the toilet, place it in the Bible, and various directions).

Could it be that, in the background, he is working magic?  Is this of God?  Should christians be involved in this?  Thanks for your honest answer.

Sincerely,
On The Party Line

Dear On The Party Line,

This man is definitely not of God.  God tells us to test all teachers and compare them to the Scriptures (1 Jhn 4:1) because even false teachers disguise themselves as ministers of the light (2 Cor 11:14-15).  This man is a great example of this.

God never teaches that we should do the things that this “prophet” is telling you to do.  In fact, the Bible teaches that all behavior like this is occult and should be fled from.  When the christians of the first-century converted, they burned their books of magic and fled from such occult practices (Acts 19:19).  Paul tells us that all spiritual gifts have ceased (1 Cor 13:8-10).  This man isn’t teaching or living by Bible principles; he has warped God’s Word for his own purposes, and that will get him in a lot of eternal trouble (Gal 1:6-8).  This man has gone beyond the Scriptures (1 Cor 4:6).  Don’t unwittingly become his accomplice by entertaining his false notions (2 Jhn 1:11).  You are right to be concerned.

I grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal church, and I was taught that every baptism of the Holy Ghost was accompanied by speaking in tongues.  This created a lot of psychological trauma because I never spoke in tongues, at least beyond the threshold of doubt in my mind; others who had prayed with me that I would receive the Holy Ghost claimed that I did, but this only confused me further.

How is it that one knows he has spoken in tongues under the control of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to merely babbling in a highly-charged emotional state?  I witnessed a lot of "speaking in tongues", especially when converts supposedly received the Holy Spirit, but I never could discern anything beyond babbling from their lips and that they were obviously joyful.

Sincerely,
Not Speaking The Same Language

Dear Not Speaking The Same Language,

You are not alone in your frustration and suffering over this issue.  The Pentecostal teaching that speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation and that you aren’t truly faithful unless you do it is a false teaching.  The Bible simply doesn’t support it.  You might find it interesting to read a fellow reader’s question and sorrow over not speaking in tongues (“Stage Fright”)… many people are devastated because they can’t play along with the charade of the Pentecostal church.

Every time someone spoke in tongues in the New Testament, it was a REAL language that people could understand (Acts 2:7-11).  The “hidden” or “secret” languages that the Pentecostal church tries to get people to believe are total rubbish. The whole purpose of speaking in tongues was to allow the gospel to be spread rapidly.  The gift of speaking in tongues was only useful if it allowed someone to teach another person God’s prophetic Word (1 Cor 14:6-9).

Miraculous gifts were given to the first century church because they did not have the complete Bible as we do.  Miracles were a confirmation that those preaching were sent by God (Mk 16:20); miracles were how God bore witness that these men were His servants (Heb 2:2-4).  These miracles were necessary at that time, but now that the perfect Word of God has been completed, they are no longer needed (1 Cor 13:8-10).  We have all the prophecies of God written down (2 Pet 1:13-15), all the divine knowledge is in God’s Word, and the Bible is translated into every language on the planet.  Speaking in tongues simply isn’t necessary anymore, and it was NEVER necessary for salvation.  If you would like to know what the Bible does say is necessary for salvation, read our article “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”.

Hello.  I have a question that deals with the interpretation of tongues.  So here it is; I’m going to explain it the best that I can.  Can a person that speaks in tongues be his own interpreter?  There has been some confusion between my mother and I about this subject.  It states in the Bible that there has to be an interpreter, but it doesn’t really explain past that (or if there are any restrictions on who it can be).  Hopefully, you can be of some assistance.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Seeking A Translator

Dear Seeking A Translator,

The problem with answering your question is that the modern practice of speaking in tongues is nothing like the Bible account of the topic.  Speaking in tongues was a miraculous gift that allowed a person to speak in other actual languages (such as German, French, etc. – see a list of some of the languages in Acts 2:6-11).  The modern teaching of speaking in tongues has people speaking in “hidden” or “spiritual” languages that have no bearing on society.  Speaking in tongues was a tool God gave to the first century christians to help spread the gospel to people of many cultures without facing the language barrier – it wasn’t for the church’s edification; it was for evangelism (1 Cor 14:22).  Modern speaking in tongues is exactly the opposite.

Furthermore, speaking in tongues was a gift from the Holy Spirit.  The way that people received those gifts was through an apostle laying his hands on them (Acts 8:17-18).  Since it took an apostle to convey the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gifts would cease with the death of the last person that the last living apostle laid his hands on.  In fact, God promised that this would happen.  Paul says that spiritual gifts would eventually perish once God had given us the complete and perfect Bible (1 Cor 13:8-9 – read more on this subject in “Gifts That Stop Giving”).  So when you ask if you need an interpreter, we are hard-pressed to give an answer for an issue that is no longer applicable within the Lord’s church.

(This post is a follow-up to “Trouble At The Top”)

First of all, I wanted to thank you for the answer to a recent question about the doctrinal problem I was having in the church I attend.  But because of the answer, I have other questions I would like to ask.  They are:

1. Why is this truth of Acts 20:17 not taught?
2. All the churches in the area that I know of have a pastor, two to three elders, and deacons.  Where is this type of church government found in the Word?
3. If it is not, why is it so popular and allowed?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

There is a constant battle in the religious world between doctrinal purity and ecumenicalism.  Ecumenicalism is the teaching that we should accept anyone and everything just as they are.  It is impossible to accept everyone as they are and still remain true to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  As people move toward tolerance of all, they move away from Christ.  Sadly, most churches in America flourish under the banner of total acceptance… this is why Acts 20:17 (among other simple but unpopular biblical teachings) isn’t taught.

The Bible even warns us that such things would happen.  Paul told Timothy that most churches would eventually stop teaching truth and start preaching whatever peoples’ ears itched to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).  Whenever the main goal of preaching becomes to make people happy, false teaching abounds.  Paul also warned that there would be a “falling away” in the years following the Bible’s completion (2 Thess 2:3).  Every time a church shoves the Bible to the side and begins to do what is popular instead of what is faithful (faith comes by hearing and applying God’s Word – Rom 10:17), it falls away.  That is what began to happen to the Galatian church.  Paul warned them that they were misusing the Bible.  The Galatians were warping and twisting the Word, and that is just as bad as not using the Bible at all (Gal 1:6-9).  Many churches do exactly what the Galatian church did; they add or subtract from the Bible whenever it suits them, and consequently, they stop being a faithful church (Rev 22:18-19).

The biblical pattern for a congregation is for a plurality of elders to lead the church (1 Pet 5:1-2).  Those elders must meet the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  If there are men qualified to be deacons, they should be appointed to serve as helpers for the elders (‘deacon’ means ‘servant’).  Deacons must meet the qualifications found in 1 Tim 3:8-13.  There is no example in the Bible of a leadership structure other than that.  The single-pastor system is totally manmade… popular, to be sure, but still manmade.  We’ve all seen that many things in this life that are popular are also wrong.  The Bible is God’s tool to bring us salvation (Rom 1:16-17)… if we want that salvation, we must stand firm and not let Satan delude its influence.  The only way to stay doctrinally pure and pleasing to God is to test every church practice against the Bible (1 Jn 4:1).