Can I receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues?
With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), therefore, the answer to this question is yes. However, it is a highly qualified yes! I personally know of two people who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in English rather than in unknown tongues. Both were exceptionally sensitive, prophetic men, true spiritual giants of our time. One is Dr Frank Laubach, through whom the Holy Spirit manifested Himself supernaturally in English.
The other was Rufus Moseley, who, some months after his baptism in the Holy Spirit, began to speak in tongues and continued to witness faithfully to their value until his death. In a booklet entitled “How to Enter, Abide, and Increase in Union with Jesus Christ,” he makes this excellent statement:
My feeling is that we must not be dogmatic and say that no one can have the baptism of the Holy Spirit unless he speaks in tongues. God, of course, can speak in English and in every tongue of men and angels. But He now seems a little more real to me when He speaks in tongues, especially if I am given the meaning of what is spoken. And when an ignorant person speaks in languages entirely unknown to him, it is easy to see that he is not doing the speaking.
The Lord will do wonders for us even if we are prejudiced against tongues, if we are willing to yield at other points. He uses well the all of us that is yielded to Him well while he waits for all that is not yielded to be yielded.
My feeling is that we must not be dogmatic and say that no one can have the baptism of the Holy Spirit unless he speaks in tongues. God, of course, can speak in English and in every tongue of men and angels. But He now seems a little more real to me when He speaks in tongues, especially if I am given the meaning of what is spoken. And when an ignorant person speaks in languages entirely unknown to him, it is easy to see that he is not doing the speaking.
The Lord will do wonders for us even if we are prejudiced against tongues, if we are willing to yield at other points. He uses well the all of us that is yielded to Him well while he waits for all that is not yielded to be yielded.
He doesn’t cut us off because we are not yielded at every point, but I have an idea that those of us who have been prejudiced against tongues will be faced around and will like them best of all.
So, we must admit that the baptism in the Holy Spirit can be received without the manifestation of tongues, but we encourage no one to seek the baptism without expecting tongues. Both our understanding of spiritual gifts and our willingness to receive them affect what gifts and manifestations will appear.
So, we must admit that the baptism in the Holy Spirit can be received without the manifestation of tongues, but we encourage no one to seek the baptism without expecting tongues. Both our understanding of spiritual gifts and our willingness to receive them affect what gifts and manifestations will appear.
Something is missing in your spiritual life if you have received the Holy Spirit yet have not spoken in tongues. Those Spirit-filled Christians who have not yet spoken in tongues will receive a precious added assurance of God’s presence and power when they do.
True, speaking in tongues is controversial, but if we are really seeking all God wants to bestow, we must seek God’s blessings on His terms, not ours. It is better to hold to the scriptural pattern than be swayed by human prejudices.
True, speaking in tongues is controversial, but if we are really seeking all God wants to bestow, we must seek God’s blessings on His terms, not ours. It is better to hold to the scriptural pattern than be swayed by human prejudices.
All who speak in tongues have the authority of Scripture behind their experience. They do not need to defend their baptism in the Holy Spirit by saying, “Yes, I have received the baptism, but I do not speak in tongues.” So, if you tell me you have received the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues, I do not deny your claim. But when you witness to me that you do speak in tongues, I rejoice because your experience is fully consistent with Scripture.
We encourage everyone seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit to seek the baptism on scriptural terms, fully expecting to speak in tongues when they receive.
Those who ask the question, “Do I have to speak in tongues?” make it sound as if they are being asked to swallow an unpleasant dose of medicine. Their question indicates that they believe speaking in tongues is something to be endured rather than enjoyed! Speaking in tongues is a blessed experience!
We encourage everyone seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit to seek the baptism on scriptural terms, fully expecting to speak in tongues when they receive.
Those who ask the question, “Do I have to speak in tongues?” make it sound as if they are being asked to swallow an unpleasant dose of medicine. Their question indicates that they believe speaking in tongues is something to be endured rather than enjoyed! Speaking in tongues is a blessed experience!
It is a joy and a privilege to be able to communicate with the Lord in this new and exciting manner. Someone has rightly said, “You don’t have to speak in tongues; you get to!” Or, as Dr. David du Plessis commented, “You don’t have to, but you will.”
Any person receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit can, from the moment he or she accepts the Holy Spirit into his or her life in this new and powerful way, speak in tongues. The actual physical process is discussed elsewhere in this book. But rest assured that anyone filled with the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues.
Sometimes, one receiving the baptism may refuse—because of shyness or fear or false teaching—to yield his tongue and lips at the moment he receives the Spirit and so is robbed of this blessing for days or even weeks. But time and again, we have heard the testimony of such persons upon eventually yielding and receiving tongues. They admit that had they not resisted or backed away, they would have spoken in tongues the moment they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Any person receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit can, from the moment he or she accepts the Holy Spirit into his or her life in this new and powerful way, speak in tongues. The actual physical process is discussed elsewhere in this book. But rest assured that anyone filled with the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues.
Sometimes, one receiving the baptism may refuse—because of shyness or fear or false teaching—to yield his tongue and lips at the moment he receives the Spirit and so is robbed of this blessing for days or even weeks. But time and again, we have heard the testimony of such persons upon eventually yielding and receiving tongues. They admit that had they not resisted or backed away, they would have spoken in tongues the moment they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
