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   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   "Robert’s" argument again attempts to use scattered historical claims to   
   prove continuation of tongues, but his reasoning fails at the point of   
   biblical authority. The question is not whether some people throughout   
   history claimed ecstatic experiences, but whether Scripture teaches that   
   such gifts were to continue after their stated purpose had been fulfilled.   
      
   The Bible alone is our rule for faith and practice.   
      
   â€œLove never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for   
   tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we   
   know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the   
   partial will pass away.â€� (1 Corinthians 13:8–10, ESV)   
      
   The verb “will ceaseâ€� is middle voice, meaning tongues would cease of   
   themselves. They had a built-in time limit, unlike prophecy and   
   knowledge, which would be made to cease when “the perfectâ€� comes.   
   Therefore, Scripture itself teaches that tongues were self-terminating.   
      
   Robert’s appeal to church history also collapses under its own weight.   
   Nearly every group he cites—Montanists, mystics, and medieval Catholics—   
   is theologically suspect. The Montanists were condemned as heretics for   
   their uncontrolled ecstasies and false prophecies. Medieval nuns and   
   monks claimed all sorts of visions and miracles, yet the same Roman   
   Church suppressed Scripture and taught salvation by works. No true   
   spiritual gift ever validates false doctrine.   
      
   The Word of God tells us the true purpose of tongues:   
      
   â€œThus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while   
   prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.â€� (1   
   Corinthians 14:22, ESV)   
      
   Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11–12, where “people of strange lips and with a   
   foreign tongueâ€� were a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel. Once   
   that judgment fell, and once the gospel was confirmed by the apostles’   
   miracles, that purpose was complete.   
      
   â€œIt 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.â€� (Hebrews 2:3–4, ESV)   
      
   The Greek verb “was attestedâ€� (á¼�βεβαιώθη, ebebaiÅ   
   thÄ“) is aorist passive   
   indicative, pointing to a finished act in the past. God already confirmed   
   the gospel. The apostolic age had fulfilled its confirming purpose. From   
   then on, faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17), not by   
   witnessing new signs.   
      
   When John later wrote his gospel, he said:   
      
   â€œThese are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the   
   Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.â€� (John   
   20:31, ESV)   
      
   The written record of the signs now serves as God’s sufficient witness.   
   Scripture replaced the temporary confirmation of miraculous gifts.   
      
   After Galatians, the New Testament never mentions tongues again.   
   Epistles like Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, and the   
   Pastorals teach believers to walk by faith, display the fruit of the   
   Spirit, and hold to sound doctrine—not to seek new tongues or   
   prophecies. Even Paul, once a healer, later left Trophimus sick   
   (2 Timothy 4:20) and told Timothy to take a little wine for his ailments   
   (1 Timothy 5:23). The age of signs had faded, replaced by faith resting   
   in the completed Word.   
      
   Scripture warns that “false christs and false prophets will arise and   
   perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even   
   the elect.â€� (Matthew 24:24, ESV) The presence of miraculous claims in   
   later centuries therefore proves nothing; it may just as easily mark   
   deception.   
      
   True faith does not demand fresh evidence. It trusts what God has   
   already confirmed. “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.â€�   
   (Matthew 12:39, ESV) The true mark of the Spirit today is not tongues or   
   ecstasy, but holiness, love, and sound doctrine. The sign gifts ceased of   
   themselves when their divine purpose was accomplished, and Scripture now   
   stands as the enduring testimony of the Holy Spirit to Christ.   
      
      
      
   --   
   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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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)