Tag Archives: charismatic movement

Lifting Up Holy Hands

Literature, , ,

by David E. Moss

What was once primarily a charismatic practice is now becoming more wide spread among evangelical Christians: that is, the raising of hands while praying or singing during worship services. Those who do it believe they are obeying Scripture, for they read in 1 Timothy 2:8, I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Certainly, we do not want to cast doubt upon the sincerity of Christians who are trying to be intense in their worship of God by raising their hands. We do, though, want to have a right understanding about the things God has said. If God meant for us to raise our hands in the air while praying, why do so many of us not do so? Are we too lazy? Do we lack the feeling that charismatic worshipers possess? Are we missing out on something God wants us to experience? Or, could it be that God did not use those words in a literal sense and really meant for us to understand them in a figurative sense? Could this phrase, lifting up holy hands, be an idiom?

An idiom is a statement which is not intended to be literal, but to represent a peculiar concept. For example, when we want to describe how nervous a person is before a big performance, we say he has “butterflies in his stomach.” We do not mean by this that he has real physical butterflies flitting around inside his body. We are only drawing a comparison between the nervous sensation he is feeling and the erratic activity of those little animals. In this way, “butterflies in the stomach” serves as an idiom, that is, a statement not intended to be understood literally, but to describe a peculiar concept.

There are many idioms in our English language. Someone who is said to have a green thumb does not really have a thumb colored green. A green thumb is an idiom referring to someone who has a talent for gardening and an ability to make things grow. Similarly, to say someone has “cold feet” means he is nervous and hesitant to proceed. To be an “eager beaver” is to always be ready to work or do something extra. To “hit the bull’s eye” is to make the point of your argument. To be “dressed to kill” is to wear one’s finest clothes. None of these idioms are intended to be understood literally and everyone familiar with the English language understands the figurative implications when such statements are used.

Other languages also use idiomatic statements and the language of Scripture is no exception. When David said in Psalm 6:6, all the night make I my bed to swim, was he saying that his bed was doing the back stroke in the palace swimming pool? Of course not. He used the phrase as an idiom to describe the abundance of his tears. Or, how about when Jesus said, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet (Matthew 7:6)? Was he advising women against throwing their pearl necklaces in a pig pen where they would get squished into the mud? Obviously not. He used the statement as an idiom to show us how unprofitable it is to give the truth to those who have no interest in receiving it.

Among the many idioms that can be found in Scripture is this one, “Lifting up holy hands.” In telling us to lift up holy hands in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8), God did not have the physical gesture in mind at all. He used the statement as an idiom to represent the quality of a man’s behavior. In fact, God’s idiomatic use of hands in Scripture can be substantially demonstrated. And the lifting up of holy hands teaches a particular spiritual principle that all believers should practice.

God’s Idiomatic Use of Hands In Scripture

Some will argue that physical gestures like the raising of hands in worship were literal in the Old Testament and serve as an example for how we should worship in the New Testament era. In doing so they will refer to such verses as Psalm 134:2 which says, Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. On the one hand, it is possible that Old Testament references to lifting up the hands in worship were also idiomatic. On the other hand, the fact that Old Testament saints may have used certain physical gestures in worshiping God is not in and of itself a sufficient argument for New Testament believers to do the same thing. Many of the physical activities of the Old Testament served as pictures for spiritual activity in the New Testament. For example, in the Old Testament, unleavened cakes mingled with oil were offered to God as a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Leviticus 7:11-13). But in the New Testament, the fruit of our lips [itself an idiomatic statement since our lips do not actually bear fruit like apples or oranges] accomplishes exactly the same thing.

Hands are used idiomatically throughout Scripture to represent the activities of a man’s life. For example, Psalm 24:4 refers to clean hands and a pure heart. We easily understand that the word heart in this verse does not refer to the physical organ of the human body, but to the inner man, the person housed in the body. Used here in conjunction with a pure heart, we should also be able to see the idiomatic nature of the term clean hands as referring to outward man, and the things he does with his body. Thus, “clean hands” does not refer to physical hands that have been washed with soap and wa ter, but to the sanctified way in which a man has lived his life.

In 2 Samuel 18:28, Ahimaaz brought news concerning Joab’s victory over Absalom. In his report he said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. Absalom and the men who followed him did so much more than simply raise their hands in the air as a gesture of defiance against David. The phrase lifted up their hand was used idiomatically by Ahimaaz to describe the total movement of rebellion against the king.

In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah described the great distress experienced by the remnant left in Jerusalem after it was decimated by Nebuchadnezzar. He also directed this little group to finally do what the nation had failed to do up to the very end: turn back to God with sincere repentance. His words were: Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens (Lamentations 3:41). Could anyone really think that he was suggesting a person should remove his physical heart and lift it up to heaven with his physical hands? Of course not. This statement is obviously idiomatic both for the word heart and the word hands. To lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens is to show God the genuineness of our repentance by a change in the behavior of our lives.

Thus in Scripture, as the heart often represents the inward man, the hands often represent the outward man. As in Proverbs 23:7, Solomon said, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…, referring to the character of a man’s soul, so in Ecclesiastes 2:11 he said, Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought… referring to the activities of a man’s life. Of course, much of the physical activity of a person involves the use of his hands, whether in writing, or eating, or using tools, or a thousand other things. The hands are thus the logical part of a man’s body to be used as an idiom in referring to his behavior.

God’s Use of Hands In Making Spiritual Applications

The Bible is consistent in using the terms heart and hands when evaluating a man’s life. The heart represents the internal part and the hands represent the external part. Genesis 20:5 says, Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. Abimelech offered this statement as a defense for nearly taking Sarah to be his wife. The integrity of his heart described the motive of his inner man and the innocency of his hands described the actual deed. Abimelech used these two idioms together to say that both in motive and deed he was guiltless in his conduct toward Sarah.

This perfectly illustrates how the hands are used throughout Scripture to evaluate the activities of a person’s life. The following list of Scripture verses gives additional evidence that this is so.

Regarding evil or irresponsible activity:

  • Deuteronomy 31:29 – …because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
  • Psalm 7:3 – O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands…
  • Psalm 9:16 – …the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
  • Psalm 26:10M – In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
  • Proverbs 6:10 – Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep…
  • Proverbs 21:25 – The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:18 – By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
  • Isaiah 59:3 – For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity…
  • Mark 9:43 – And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off:…

Regarding good or responsible activity:

  • 2 Samuel 22:21 – The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
  • 1 Chronicles 12:17 – …seeing there is no wrong in my hands…
  • Job 16:17 – Not for any injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure.
  • Job 17:9 – …the righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
  • Job 22:30 – He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
  • Psalm 18:20 – …the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
  • Psalm 18:24 – Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
  • Proverbs 31:31 – Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

The Idiom of Lifting Up Holy Hands

Following a consistent practice in Scripture, God uses the phrase lifting up holy hands as an idiom in order to teach a spiritual principle. He uses these words to say that a man’s prayers to God should be preceded by holy living. God, after all, is a holy God, and those who approach Him in prayer and worship should do so worthily: in a manner that shows respect and honor for the nature and character of His Divine Person.

In Isaiah chapter one, God confronted the nation of Israel for the impurity of their worship. In verse 13 He called their oblations vain, their incense an abomination and their solemn meetings on the Sabbath iniquity. But their worship was filthy only because their lives were corrupt. In verse 4 He said, A sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. The only way their worship could be pure was for their lives to be clean. So, in verse 16 He says, Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes…

In the Old Testament, God put a great emphasis on cleansing in preparation for worship activities. In Numbers chapter 8, He gave instruction to the Levites regarding this. In verse 6 He said, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. He explains in the chapter that this is necessary because the Levites have been set apart to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation (verse 19). No one who had not been properly cleansed would be allowed to participate in this service. Approaching the holy God was and is serious business and must not be attempted without appropriate preparation.

This same concept of cleansing in preparation for worship is carried over into the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-31, Paul confronted local church members for failing to properly prepare themselves for the observance of the Lord’s Table. He said in verse 29, For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. He then suggested that some of them were experiencing physical infirmities, even physical death, because of their failure to be properly prepared before approaching God in worship. He said in verse 28, Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. And in verse 31 he said, For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. In other words, a time of self examination and confession of sins is a prerequisite to acceptable worship because God wants those who approach Him to be clean.

It is for this reason that He said in 1 Timothy 2:8, that He wants people to lift up holy hands when they pray to Him, with more emphasis on the word holy than on the word hands. He wants people to present a clean life to Him when they intercede for others and make their requests known to Him. To approach God any other way seriously jeopardizes the chances God will respond affirmatively. As James 1:6-7 says, But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. God told the Israelites virtually the same thing in Isaiah 1:15: And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Conclusion

Think about this logically for a moment. A person meanders through life during the week, moderately living by biblical principles, working a little, playing a little, but not really setting the world on fire by his faith. !n fact, occasionally he commits a little sin and causes his unsaved acquaintences to wonder about the genuiness of his profession. Then on Sunday he goes to church. He is greatly moved by the music and the excitement created in the worship setting. As the songs begin to affect his mood, he becomes very sentimental about God. He raises his hands above his head, closes his eyes, and slightly sways his body back and forth, feeling very spiritual because of the experience. In such a situation, has the raising of the worshipers hands really enhanced his approach to God, and has he gained any advantage that he would not have been able to secure without this physical gesture? Is God worshiped more effectively by raised hands than if the hands are not raised? After all of God’s rebuke to Israel for showy worship without substance (Isaiah 58, for example) are we to believe that He is pleased with such sentimental exercises while little attention is given to sanctification in the worshiper’s daily life?

A reverent posture in worship is certainly advisable. But even if we were to concede that raising the hands in worship was appropriate, there is another way that it can be done besides the charismatic model. By bending the arms at the elbows, a person can raise his hands to his chest and fold them together. With hands raised in this manner and with his head bowed, a person can assume a very reverent, respectful, and biblical worship posture. For all through the Bible, you find true worshipers bowed, fallen prostrate, and humbly subdued when in the presence of the Almighty. No where do you see them swooning sentimentally to visceral music.

But without a clean life to present to the Lord, no posture of the body is of any consequence to Him. Certainly, He Wants people to pray to Him. Certainly, He wants people to worship Him. But when they do, He wants them to seriously consider the divine majesty of the One they are approaching and to present themselves worthily. So He says, I will that men every where pray. But when they do, remind them to lift up holy hands. I want to see hands that are without wrath: that is; a life that is without violence and anger and offensive behavior. I want to see hands that are without doubting: that is, a life that is characterized by a vibrant faith and unwavering trust. I want people to pray to Me who have prepared themselves with holy living, showing by the daily conduct of their lives that they know and respect who I am.

So when you pray, lift your life up to God, not just empty hands. Let Him see how you have prepared yourself to meet with Him in holy communion. In doing so you may enter into a fellowship that is filled with joy and rejoicing because there is harmony between your spirit and God’s. How could it be that God would desire any less? How could it be that we would want to give God any less? How could it possibly be that God would be satisfied with a few sentimental physical gestures? We ought to know that His interest in us goes much deeper than that.

Does The Experience of Speaking In Tongues Agree With The Truth of Scripture?

Literature, , ,
A Biblical Answer To a Contemporary Question

by David E. Moss

A certain segment of Christianity preaches that there is a necessary experience after salvation if a Christian wants to have all that God has prepared for him. According to them, the gospel consists of something more than being born again by faith in Jesus Christ, for they claim to preach the “full gospel.”

One of the primary manifestations of this post-conversion experience, they say, is speaking in tongues. Some go so far as to say that tongues speaking is the evidence that a person has received the Holy Spirit. Others do not insist on this extreme view, but still consider speaking in tongues to be an appropriate manifestation of the work of the Spirit within the life of a Christian.

There is a strong division over this matter of tongues, because another segment of Christianity believes the legitimate use of tongues, as a spiritual gift, terminated with the age of the Apostles. Thus, to speak or not to speak, for some, becomes a puzzling question. For others, there is no doubt that all modern tongues speaking is unbiblical. At the heart of the issue is the basis upon which we determine the validity of an activity.

The Power Of God

One of the standard criticisms of those of us who do not believe in the use of tongues for today is that we deny or, at least, question the power of God to perform miracles. If God wants someone to speak in tongues (or, for that matter, perform some other miracle), who are we to say that God cannot do so? The truth is we do not say God “cannot.” We say He “does not”; and there is a significant difference between these two things.

We acknowledge that God has unlimited power to do whatever He wishes. We acknowledge the truthfulness of all the miracles recorded in the word of God. He created everything out of nothing. He parted the waters of the sea, healed the sick, and brought the dead back to life. We also acknowledge that occasionally, God does some things today which seem pretty miraculous. God is indeed quite capable of performing any miracle He chooses to perform and we are happy to acknowledge this truth.

What we do not acknowledge is that God chooses to perform miracles through human agents today. The miraculous spiritual gifts were withdrawn from the Church a long time ago. The operative word is “choose,” not “ability.” God is able to do anything, but He does not always choose to do what He is able to do.

History demonstrates that God has chosen to perform miracles through human agents only at select times. Moses, Elijah and the Disciples all were used to perform miracles. But Adam, Abraham and Jeremiah were not. Consider Abraham. He is called the father of all those who exercise faith in God. He was the beneficiary of a miraculous birth for his son Isaac, but he himself never performed one miracle. Why would a man of such great faith not be given the ability to perform miracles? It certainly would have been advantageous in some of the circumstances he faced. The fact is God simply did not choose to perform miracles through Abraham. He performed one (and only one) for Abraham, but none through him.

Today, God may occasionally perform some miraculous things for individuals, but he does not choose to use men as the means by which they are done.

The Experience of Man

One of the hardest things to refute, however, is a person’s experience. People really do speak in tongues. They experience this phenomenon in situations where they are invoking the name of God and are “worshiping” Him. So how can anyone say it is not real when it is actually happening?

We do not question that it is real, but we do question that it is right. Just attaching the name of Christ to an activity does not make it right. Jesus himself testified that some people would perform real miracles in His name but He would not recognize such things as valid (Matthew 7:21-23). Just because a person has experienced something does not mean it is legitimate.

Experience can never be the gauge by which activities may be measured correctly. This would be like using a student’s own test answers to grade his test. He would always score 100% because he would always agree with himself. Similarly, there has to be a higher standard than our experience to determine the value of life’s activities. In fact, there is. The standard is the truth recorded in the Word of God. If anything we experience does not agree with Scripture, then something is wrong with our experience, not with the Bible.

The Truth of the Word

God’s Word has some very specific things to say about the tenure of tongues as a spiritual gift, the most important of which is in I Corinthians 13.

8. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then fact to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Verse 8

By saying that Charity never fails, God specifies that Agape love never comes to an end. There is never a time when it ceases, so that a husband or wife ought never to say “I don’t love you anymore.” If you have covenanted together a pledge of divine love, that is something which has no ending point.

To illustrate this, God chooses to contrast unfailing love with things that do have an ending point: three spiritual gifts — prophecies, tongues, and knowledge.

Verse 10

God qualified the ending point of these spiritual gifts as the moment when “that which is perfect is come.” This then is the key statement regarding the tenure of tongues, and other spiritual gifts specifically designed to communicate direct revelation from God.

Verse 9

Each of these spiritual gifts provided New Testament Truth to the infant Church. They needed the same revelation that we need today. We have the whole New Testament in print, they did not. In fact, some of the New Testament had not even been written yet. So gifts of knowledge and prophecy, in particular, and tongues in a less direct way, provided these truths to local congregations for their edification. The limitation of these gifts was that they could only provide small parts of the New Testament at any given time. This left the first century believers with the privilege of hearing parts of the New Testament, but without the means of reviewing all Scriptural truth at will. The word “part” is significant to understanding this passage.

Verse 10

The word “but” indicates that verse 10 is intended to stand in contrast to verse 9. Verse 9 speaks of that which is in “part.” Verse 10 speaks of that which is “perfect.” Thus “part” and “perfect” are opposites. The word part we can understand. It is something that is incomplete. The word perfect, as it is used in Scripture, can sometimes create confusion. But in these verses its meaning is clear. As the opposite of something that is incomplete, it represents something that is complete.

If verse 9 is talking about spiritual gifts that communicate parts of the New Testament, or parts of the Word of God, then verse 10 is talking about the completed Word of God. Thus when the Word of God is completed, by the writing down of all the New Testament, then the spiritual gifts which communicate parts of the Word of God will be done away. Who needs pieces when you can have the whole thing.

Verse 11

For further clarification, two illustrations are given. The first in verse 11, compares the spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge with childish ways of speaking, understanding and thinking. The connection is obvious — children lack the information they need to function on a mature level. Their knowledge is partial and incomplete. Once a person’s education and development are complete, he can lay aside the insufficient tools of childhood and conduct himself like a mature adult.

This illustrates what is to take place when the Word of God is complete and available to the Church in written form. The spiritual gifts which conveyed parts of the Word orally would be discontinued. They were tools of an infant church that would no longer be needed. All the truth they needed would be provided in the form of Scripture.

Verse 12

The second illustration in verse 12, speaks of looking at one self in a mirror. The mirrors used in the first century were not crystal clear as the ones we use today. When one peered at himself in a mirror, he could see only an incomplete reflection of himself. So it was that by hearing revelation through those who prophesied, spoke words of knowledge, or communicated truth by means of speaking in tongues in conjunction with an interpreter, a Christian could have only an incomplete understanding of truth. (Now I know in part.)

But then shall I know even as also I am known. When? When that which is perfect is come. When the Word of God is complete, I will be able to see the whole truth and understand how all its parts fit together in the same way that another person can look directly at me and see exactly what I look like.

What this passage is not saying.

There are many well meaning Bible students who interpret this passage to say that “that which is perfect is come” is referring to the return of Christ, because He is the perfect one. When He returns, they say, my understanding will be opened up so that I will never again have to walk about in the fog of an imperfect mirror.

If this is so, then tongues would certainly be for today. However, nothing about this word “perfect” suggests such an interpretation. The context as we have shown leads to a different conclusion. The meaning of the word does suggest a reference to Christ. And, the gender of the word is neuter, concerning which Christ is never in any other place in Scripture referred to with a neuter term.

This passage is definitely not a reference to the return of Christ, nor to the effect it will have on the understanding of a believer.

Conclusion

There are other reasons to believe that tongues are not for today. (1) It had a very specific purpose as a sign to unbelieving Jews that this new revelation was truly the Word of God (I Corinthians 14:22). Thus tongues had no intrinsic value to the church other than as a tool of evangelism. (2) When Scripture says that a person who speaks in tongues edifies himself, this is a criticism not a compliment (I Corinthians 14:2-4). It in no way suggests that tongues were to be used in private devotions, because the context of these verses is public worship. Those who spoke in tongues were not to do so without an interpreter present, because everything in a worship service is do be directed toward edifying the group, and directed away from a performance that benefited an individual.

The crucial issue, though, in the debate over tongues involves the closure of divine revelation for our age. Does Scripture represent the entirety of truth for our age? Or, is God still communicating parts of truth through spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues and knowledge?

To believe that tongues are for today is to believe that the Bible is incomplete and therefore insufficient. It is to believe that we need more than the Bible to know God and to serve Him adequately.

To believe that the Bible is the complete body of truth God intends to provide for us in this age, requires that any means by which additional revelation is communicated be rendered invalid. Regardless of what man experiences, truth always takes precedence. If what man is doing does not agree with what God has said, then it is not difficult to figure out which one is wrong.

The disagreement over the use of tongues goes far beyond a mere denominational distinctive. It is a matter of grave doctrinal difference. It is serious enough to believe that those who deny the completion of revelation and participate in pseudo spiritual gifts, which purport to communicate extra-biblical truth, are guilty of disorderly conduct and should be excluded from the fellowship of obedient believers according to I Thessalonians 3:6-9, and 14-15. Among them may be genuine believers who should be caused to question the validity of their practices by our unwillingness to fellowship with them. To treat them as obedient brethren, only just a little different than we are, would be to encourage them in their error.

There is, of course, a serious side effect of the charismatic phenomenon, as it is called. It has the potential to convince some who follow it that their salvation is based on something other than believing in the work of Christ and receiving Him as their salvation.

The death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the full gospel. When a person understands that he is a lost sinner and receives the gospel by faith, he is redeemed, forgiven, justified, sanctified and indwelt by the Holy Spirit all in a single moment. At the very moment of salvation, a person gets everything God has promised. As we learn more and more of the truth we learn how to appropriate all that we possess in Christ.

Never let your experience lead you into an activity which contradicts the truth. And, never let another person’s experience confuse you about what the Scripture says in very precise terms.