Does the Holy Spirit always manifest His presence in a believer through the ability to "speak in tongues"?

Speaking in tongues doesn't always accompany the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 gives no indication that the converts on the Day of Pentecost spoke in tongues. Moreover, the apostle Paul explicitly declared that not all speak in tongues, any more than all are called to be apostles, prophets, or miracle workers ( 1 Corinthians 12:30 ).

Through nearly 20 centuries of church history, the tongues phenomenon played a very minor role among orthodox Christians,but it suddenly and spectacularly burst on the scene early in the 20th century. Most people who call themselves Pentecostals view tongues-speaking as an indispensable sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many charismatics do not see it as essential. Some view it as a gift to be exercised publicly; others consider it a private prayer language. Some churches try to follow Paul's rules for public tongues-speaking ( 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 ), while others pay little attention to them.

RBC Ministries neither denounces nor advocates tongues-speaking. We don't claim to have absolute biblical or historical evidence that it ceased with the apostles, nor do we imply that present-day tongues-speaking by Christians is sinister or demonic. However, we also have good reason for believing that it was not a major gift during the apostolic era and that it is unlikely to be one today. As we observe the modern tongues phenomena, we see no evidence of miraculous speech in foreign languages as occurred at Pentecost ( Acts 2:1-18 ). In fact, in spite of considerable research and the availability of modern technology, we aren't aware of even one incident of miraculous tongues that has been tape-recorded or corroborated by unbiased testimony. Besides, many evangelicals who once "spoke in tongues" now think that their tongues-speaking was psychologically induced. Another troubling factor is that ecstatic tongues-speaking as practiced by Christians seems to be similar tothat found in some non-Christian religious groups. It certainly is an area where self-deception can easily occur.

We respect and love our Christian friends who are convinced that they genuinely speak in tongues. Many of them offer abundant testimony of genuine commitment to Christ. We hope that they won't take offense at our conscientious attempt to evaluate the biblical evidence on this subject, just as we aren't offended when they defend their own view.