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SPIRITUAL GIFTS __________________ A Paper Presented toDr. Adam HarwoodThe College at Southwestern __________________ In Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for THE4103-A __________________  byWes Terry November 29 2007
 
SPIRITUAL GIFTSTwo young boys pack their bags for church camp. They have been best friendssince the fifth grade and were eager to share a week together worshiping the Lord. Lukewas from a Southern Baptist background whereas Ethan had grown up with more of aPentecostal influence. When the boys got home from camp they could not wait to telltheir parents about camp. Ethan went home and told his mother that he had been filledwith the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues at the Wednesday night worship service. Lukecame home happy that he had gone but worried about something. He told his dad that the boys at camp told him he was not really a Christian because he could not speak intongues like the other kids. Luke’s father had to answer a question that is still argued inevangelical circles. Has the gift of tongues ceased or is it still a valid spiritual gift for theChurch today? This question can be answered intelligently if one understands the background of Pentecostalism, interprets and applies Scripture correctly, and evaluatesthe gift of tongues by a biblically consistent standard that exalts Christ and divertsattention away from oneself.
A First Hand Look at Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a form of Christianity that has grown explosively throughoutthe twentieth century. Concerning salvation, United Pentecostals hold that salvation can be fully experienced only by being baptized in the name of Jesus and that salvation isevidenced by speaking in tongues.
1
The following except was written by a Pentecostal
1
H. Wayne House,
Charts of World Religions
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan,2006), 33.2
 
3minister named David Wilkerson. The firsthand account comes from a twelve year oldgirl named Neda.Though she was young, Neda had already delved into the world of sex, drugs,and alcohol. She knew kids who used to have the same problems, but after going to thechapel and “speaking in other languages” they seemed to be able to resist temptation.“So they made me want the same thing. I went into the chapel one day to pray by myself. I started telling God all about my problems and I asked Him to come intomy life like he had to those drug addicts. Like a blinding light, Jesus burst into myheart. Something took over my speech. It made me feel like I was sitting down by ariver that somehow was flowing through me and bubbled up out of me like amusical language.”
2
This is one example of the spontaneity found prevalent within Pentecostalchurches. Does a person’s conversion experience really count if it was not accompaniedwith the ability to speak in tongues and the filling of the Holy Spirit? That depends onwho is asked. What does the Bible say?
A Look at Scripture
The examples of spiritual gifts in the New Testament are varied. No one list isexhaustive nor is one particular gift named in every list.
3
There also seems to be somedegree of overlap between spiritual gifts. In 1
st
Peter 4:11 the author boils down allspiritual gifts into two categories: whoever speaks and whoever renders service. Withsuch overlap and vagueness in Scripture, both sides of the camp can find Scripturalsupport for their claims.Some of the debate over tongues centers on the interpretation of 1
st
Corinthians12-14. Many believers take the middle ground because they believe that Scripture does
2
David Wilkerson,
The Cross and the Switchblade
(New York: Bernard GeisAssociates, 1963), 197.
3
Wayne Grudem,
 Bible Doctrine
, ed. Jeff Purswell (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1999), 398.
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