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So, "Are those who haven't spoken in tongues without the Holy Spirit?" Only those who have the Holy Spirit can truly speak in tongues. To be a Christian is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11), whether one speaks in tongues or not. Indeed, many believers in Christ, including those from Pentecostal and charismatic traditions, have never spoken in tongues.

For many believers, speaking in tongues continues to be an evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence. There are, however, many other evidences of the Spirit's activity: the other gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) and, most important, the expression of the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The church in our time needs a healthy balance of all these evidences.

J. Rodman Williams is professor of theology at Regent University and the author of Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Zondervan).

J. Rodman Williams's site at Regent University offers information about the professor and his works, and has many of his writings available online.

CBN also has a site for Williams and his writings.

For the history of how speaking in tongues became so important to the Pentecostal movement, see Christian History's Issue 58: "The Rise of Pentecostalism," particularly "American Pentecost" and "Pentecostalism's Global Language."

Christian History looks again at Pentecostalism's founding in its current issue on the "10 Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century."

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• Is Christmas Pagan?
• Are Christians Required to Tithe?
• Is Revelation Prophecy or History?
• You're Divorced-Can You Remarry?
• If Grace Is Irresistible, Why Evangelize?
• If I'm an Evangelical, What Am I?
• A Cracked Code
• Committing the Unforgivable Sin
• What Bible Version Did Jesus Read?
• Did God Die on the Cross?
• You Must Be Born Again-but at What Age?
• Was the Revolutionary War Justified?
• Can the Dead Be Converted?
• Cloaked in Mystery
• Is Hell Forever?
• Denominations: Divided We Stand
• Did Paul Baptize for the Dead?
• Do Demons Have Zip Codes?
• Doubting Thomas's Gospel

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March 6 2000, Vol. 44, No. 3