Yes, no, maybe, I dunno

WARNING: long post

Controversies in the church... it's a controversial subject. I mean, seriously. Did you know there is even a controversy about whether there should BE controversies!? We are supposed to be studying 21 controversies this week but so far, we've gotten through 3. What can I say, it's Pastor Don!

John Piper says, "Controversy is essential where precious truth is rejected or distorted. And controversy is deadly where disputation about truth dominates exultation in truth." Jesus wants the Church to be united and commands us to love above all things (Col. 3:14) so even if we disagree, we should still be able to love each other! As Christians we are all part of the body of Christ - ONE body so no matter the controversies, we can't tear that body apart or it becomes wounded and dysfunctional. We are to speak the TRUTH in LOVE (Eph. 4:15) that iron may sharpen iron (Prov. 27:17).

We talked a lot about Charismatic churches and the gift of tongues. It is by far one of the most controversial topics out there. I remember a while back when Jeff first addressed the issue at Northview. It was the first time I had really even heard much about the gift of tongues and it kind of scared me. It frightens me still a little to think that there are churches out there in which speaking of tongues is commonly the main part of a church service - where everyone speaks in tongues and is expected to be able to do so. The Bible states that not all will have every gift. There are a variety of gifts given directly by the will of the Spirit and therefore, though we have different gifts, they are all from the same source as 1 Corinthians 12 emphatically states. If the Holy Spirit gives the gift, well then I find it a little disconcerting to hear that many Charismatic believers try to get everyone to speak in a tongue, they try to help them along but NOT everyone will do so and we shouldn't try to if it isn't given to us. Moreover, I don't even know if I believe the gift still exists today. 

Pastor Don said that most theologans say there are 3 options for the manifestation of 'tongues' today: 1 It is the work of the Holy Spirit 2 It is from the evil one (who can duplicate and pervert the gifts) 3 it is something from the Fall that is manifesting itself as a shadow of perhaps something that Adam and Eve could do. Whatever it is, I believe as Pastor Don does that if you speak with tongues, you should get an interpreter, or pray for an interpretation as it says in Corinthians because you need to know what you are saying as it says in 1 Corinthians 14. Without an interpretation, the gift is not edifying to the church and as it has today, it actually divides. 

I found it amazing that the love chapter (1 Cor. 13) was found right in the middle of these two chapters on the spiritual gifts. I had never noticed it before. In fact chapter 12 ends off with: "And I show you a still more excellent way" and goes on to talk about the how the spiritual gifts are nothing if you have not love. I had never seen all the parallels to the spiritual gifts in this familiar chapter on love and I now see it in a whole new light. Further, Don pointed out verse 8 which states that the gifts of prophecy and knowledge will be done away and the gift of tongues shall cease. Now we looked into the tenses these were written in in the Greek and done away is in a tense which implies that something will stop the prophecy and knowledge but cease was written in a way to indicate that the gift of tongues shall stop itself. Perhaps the very purpose of the gift had a built in purpose which would cause an end to it. Pastor Don personally believes that the gifts of healing, tongues and miracles are no longer manifest today and I think I have come to agree with him. Yes healing does occur as do miracles but people do not have these gifts in a way in which they used to occur in the early church. 

This has become a really long post and I don't know if it makes much sense as I am just sorting through our class discussion in my mind and it is coming out as such. There is so much more that we learned and the text has so much more information but I don't want to bore you all with little details. I'm sure some of you would love to sit in on the class and maybe we can discuss these things some more when I get home in TEN DAYS!