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   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   "Robert’s" claim rests on a chain of anecdotal reports, not on biblical   
   authority. The Word of God—not human experience—must decide whether   
   the gifts continued. Scripture itself tells us that tongues “will   
   cease” (1 Corinthians 13:8, ESV). The verb is in the middle voice,   
   meaning tongues would cease of themselves, not be forced to stop.   
   Their purpose was temporary—to confirm the gospel when it was first   
   preached.   
      
   “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by   
   those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and   
   various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according   
   to his will.” (Hebrews 2:3–4, ESV)   
      
   The writer of Hebrews, addressing a second generation of believers,   
   speaks of the signs and wonders as past, completed acts by which God   
   already confirmed the message. The confirmation was finished. There   
   is no indication that the signs continued. Likewise, Mark 16:20 says   
   the Lord “confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” Once the   
   message was confirmed, the signs had fulfilled their purpose.   
      
   The history Robert cites—Luther, Jansenists, Quakers, Shakers,   
   Irvingites, Mormons—proves nothing about God’s Spirit. Many of those   
   groups held doctrines contrary to Scripture. False religions can   
   produce ecstatic speech, trances, and emotional outbursts. The   
   presence of such phenomena never proves divine origin. Scripture warns   
   that Satan’s ministers can appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians   
   11:14–15). The Bible commands us to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1),   
   not accept every claim of supernatural experience.   
      
   When tongues truly operated in the early church, they were actual   
   human languages (Acts 2:4–11), immediately understood by hearers from   
   many nations. They served as a sign to unbelieving Israel (1   
   Corinthians 14:21–22), showing that God had turned to the Gentiles.   
   Today’s “tongues” bear no resemblance to that biblical pattern. They   
   are unintelligible, repetitive, and self-focused—precisely the   
   opposite of the gift’s purpose.   
      
   Furthermore, the later New Testament epistles—Ephesians, Philippians,   
   Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and the letters   
   of John—never mention tongues, miracles, or healings as marks of the   
   Spirit. Instead, believers are known by faith, love, and obedience:   
      
   “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the   
   children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not   
   of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10,   
   ESV)   
      
   Robert appeals to history, but God appeals to His completed Word. Once   
   the foundation was laid and the gospel confirmed, the sign gifts   
   ceased of themselves (1 Corinthians 13:8). What remains are faith,   
   hope, and love—and these abide (1 Corinthians 13:13). Seeking   
   miraculous signs after God has spoken fully in Scripture does not show   
   faith; it shows unbelief.   
      
   “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.” (Matthew 12:39,   
   ESV)   
      
   Therefore, the believer’s confidence rests not in alleged revivals or   
   ecstatic utterances, but in the sure Word of God already confirmed   
   once for all.   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)