The Danger of Speaking in an Unknown Tongue

[EA]

Originally Posted by DAII

This may explain why some are adapting a "missional" approach, even in Pentecost, which has been mislabeled and vilified as "emergent".

I think there is great value in keeping a "missions-minded" approach.

And yes, that requires being relevant.

If the goal is to separate oneself from denominationalism by creating one of their own ... MISSION COMPLETE ... if the mission and target audience is reaching the lost ... THEN some are further than ever ... since they speak an unknown tongue.

I see more churches operating independently, moving away from any outside influence. They want their own identity, apart from any movement.

[EA]

In Acts 2, Peter spent quite a bit of time appealing to the culture of his audience. He took them on a verbal tour of Jewish history, placing Jesus in the middle of it all.

After they understood what had happened, and exactly who Jesus was, they responded affirmatively.

Look at the way he appealed to commonalities. Things they knew. Shared history.

Acts 2

12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

[DAII]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

In Acts 2, Peter spent quite a bit of time appealing to the culture of his audience. He took them on a verbal tour of Jewish history, placing Jesus in the middle of it all.

After they understood what had happened, and exactly who Jesus was, they responded affirmatively.

Look at the way he appealed to commonalities. Things they knew. Shared history.



37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

We hear a similar appeal to Greek/Roman culture and even religion by Paul on various ocassions ... such as his using the Unknown God as a springboard in Acts 17.

[RevDWW]

Main Entry: rel·e·vance
Pronunciation: \ˈre-lə-vən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 1733

1 a : relation to the matter at hand b : practical and especially social applicability : pertinence <giving relevance to college courses>
2 : the ability (as of an information retrieval system) to retrieve material that satisfies the needs of the user

Relevance does not mean we need to blend into the world, become like them so that we can reach them. It means presenting the matter at hand, in this threads case the Gospel, in such a way that makes it pertinent to the hearer. Paul on Mars hill spoke to the Athenians using their own culture and was able to get the message across about the Unknown God. Jesus spoke in parables that the hearer could understand and made the Gospel relevant to them. We need to make the lost understand the reality, revelation, and relevance of the Word.

[RevDWW]

I like this verse from the Casting Crowns song What This World Needs

What this world needs
Is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well that people can't see the difference
when it's the difference that sets the world free

[EA]

Originally Posted by DAII

In the novel we are still reading with our students, The Giver, a futuristic "utopian" society decides to genetically engineer color-blindness throughout the community. The overall intent and guiding principle of the community is that Sameness will take away conflict in every aspect of life ... and so racism can be eliminated by taking away the perception of color.

Notwithstanding and ironically, there are still prejudicial tendencies found in the utopian community especially when it comes to one's assigned occupation and status.

In the story, the protagonist, Jonas, starts to "see beyond" and begins to see colors. He and The Giver are the only ones that can.

Jonas becomes increasingly frustrated because he cannot transmit or communicate color to his peers and family ... because they see everything in the same hue. He even tries to "lay hands" on them in the hopes that he can share this wonderful, new experience with them ... to no avail ...

They can't see color and no matter how he tries to convey color ... it's all the same to them ... no value ... an unknown tongue.

How does one describe color to a person who cannot perceive it?

I think that there is a large measure of understanding that comes through the Holy Spirit ... when we preach the Word. And ultimately faith given by God.

Daniel, I really enjoyed this post.

I think we've become a subculture that is becoming more and more disconnected from American reality. We've developed our own language. One which no one else could possibly understand. This has been done to separate ourselves from other Christians, just as much as to separate from "worldliness."

[freeatlast]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

I see more churches operating independently, moving away from any outside influence. They want their own identity, apart from any movement.

I'd like to see us there by the end of the year.